A/N: This has taken quite a while. I want to thank my Beta reader, she has been eternally patient with me. Especially with this chapter…I pretty much forgot all of my lessons and just wrote the plot down. Thank you very much Rayestar! And thank you, my readers, for waiting so patiently. Now without further ado, here is chapter eight!
"Tama…Tama…" Sakura dropped to her knees, her eyes never leaving that haunting, glassy white stare of Tama's lifeless body. She could have been sleeping for all Sakura knew…if it weren't for those eyes…those milky white eyes that wouldn't stop looking at her. This wasn't right, not at all. Sakura was supposed to defy fate and change the path that Tama had been set upon. Sakura had failed Tama and had failed herself once again.
"Tama…Tama…TAMAAAA!!!!!!!!!" Sakura could feel those tears she had long been forcing back come gushing through her in multiple bursts. Tama and her entire village had been enslaved by Shouta and made to do his bidding. Who knew how many nights Tama went to sleep in tears? Sakura had no right to cry—she wasn't the one who had their life cut short, yet she just couldn't stop herself.
"Ah, yes. Cry, my pretty kunoichi. Your tears can only bring me even more satisfaction about this slave's demise. What a shame you couldn't see me take the very life from her lips or see as her dark, vibrant eyes dulled with death. It was all too pleasing." Sakura continued to sob uncontrollably.
"Get up." Sasuke's words were terse, but somewhere in them Sakura could tell he had no intention of being rude. Somehow rudeness just came too naturally to the dark haired ninja. As much as she wanted to scream obscenities at the Uchiha and beat every living being that came into her vision, Sakura knew that she needed to stand. A ninja could not fight on their knees. Not if they wanted to live, anyways.
The kunoichi took several broken breaths and stood up with her fists clenched so tightly, she could feel her nails piercing through her gloves. Her body was shaking in anger and anguish. She felt a warm touch on her shoulder and looked to see Naruto glaring menacingly at Shouta. Sakura wiped her tears away and calmed her body and mind. She needed to keep her wits about her if she wanted to take this despot down.
Sakura brought her hands together and cracked her knuckles, releasing some long built tension in her hands.
"Ooh, getting serious?" Shouta's eyes sparked with laughter.
"Believe me, you son of a bitch, this is one side of me you should've never awakened." Sakura reached from behind her and pulled out three shuriken, each resting between the fingers of her right hand. She was itching to lodge each of them into his skull.
"Oh, but it's not you I want to awaken. However…I suppose if you want to play—" In a flash he stood before her, his hand cradling her chin. "Let's play." Before Sakura could react, the man grabbed her by her wrist and flipped her onto the ground. The kunoichi jumped back up, not missing a beat. There was no way she was going to get taken out with some simple move. She sent her weapons flying right towards the man's head, heart, and abdomen, opting to spread the attacks all over his body. Shouta barely dodged her assault, and instantly Naruto leapt after the man, his kunai sinking deep into the man's shoulder. Shouta hissed, his hands clutching onto the blond shinobi's arms. The two began to struggle.
"Tch, that baka. He fell right into his trap—" Sasuke had remained stoic, his eyes the only part of his body flickering every now and then.
"What do you—" Sakura looked to Naruto and gasped. "Naruto, look away!"
But it was too late. Sakura watched helplessly as Shouta's pupils widened, activating his power. Sakura watched as Naruto's body began to shake violently and his grip on Shouta loosened. A smile crept across the portly man's face as Naruto turned around. The blond shinobi's eyes were dulled and his face was vacant of his normal passionate look. He was a complete stranger to the woman.
"If I cannot control you, Sakura, I will control him to get to you." Shouta smiled happily, his face completely smug.
The kunoichi felt a cold grip wrap about her wrist tightly, stopping her from strangling the enemy.
"Don't move." Sasuke's eyes were turning into the familiar red and black; he was activating his Sharingan.
"Let me go." She was absolutely livid.
"You don't stand a chance against Naruto's strength."
A ball of fire blazed within the pit of Sakura's stomach as her anger began to overflow. She tore away from Sasuke's grasp and began to take her cloak off. "Don't you ever tell me what I can and cannot do, Sasuke! I'm fucking sick and tired of having you and Naruto protect me. I can fight, and I can win."
"Don't be foolish, Sakura. I won't have you getting in the way. With Naruto under that man's control, there's no stopping him from unleashing the Kyuubi's power."
"He's not stupid, Sasuke. If he unleashes the Kyuubi's power now, he won't be able to control it. He needs Toru's chakra to be able to keep him in his mental grasp."
"Very clever, Sakura," Shouta said, "I'm going to have Naruto rip that annoying amulet from your throat so I can have you lead me to your son." A sick smile spread across the man's face as his words darkened with malice. "I was going to wait until I drained your son of his chakra to take control of your lover here, but you just decided to piss me off."
Sakura threw her cloak aside and tightened her gloves. She could feel the ball of fire in her stomach raging painfully with the thought of what Shouta intended to do with Naruto and their son. "Sasuke, you either fight with me or get the hell out of the way—because I'm not holding back." Sakura felt her chakra pulse violently like never before. She knew chakra was tied closely to ones' emotions, so maybe that was the reason she felt such strength. The pink haired woman took a deep breath and guided her chakra to the soles of her feet and to her tightly clenched fists. Sasuke almost rolled his eyes in reaction.
"Tch, you're still annoying."
Sakura laughed out loud. "And you're still our teammate. So fight."
"Who said I wasn't going to?" Sakura looked to her dark haired teammate to see him lightly smirking. But the smile was short lived as they heard a chuckle rumble from the portly enemy.
Shouta lifted his hand and flicked a finger towards Naruto. The blond ninja's head snapped towards Sakura. The kunoichi's heart clenched, but she kept her wits about her. Naruto crouched low to the ground, his dulled eyes beginning to swirl with red. Sakura gasped.
"Already?" she whispered.
"Of course." Shouta overheard her. "I am not a man to waste an opportunity. Although I may not be able to bring out the demon completely, there is no reason I cannot use this jinchuuriki's powerful chakra reserve."
To her side she heard Sasuke draw his katana.
"You're not going to hurt him, are you?" Sakura's heart was racing wildly, furiously pumping blood throughout her body. She needed to come up with some kind of attack plan in the next five seconds, or she could very well die. Naruto was being controlled by The Collector, who had a time limitation to his power. So if they fended off Naruto for five minutes, they could take down the weakened Shouta. Okay, that was simple.
"If that dobe is stupid enough to get killed, it won't be my fault."
"Naruto," Shouta said in a darkened tone,"get the necklace."
Sakura felt a cold chill rush down her spine as she watched Naruto, her eyes tracking every slight flicker of motion from his body. There was no way she could have him take the amulet. That would not only mean her death, but Toru's as well. The blond ninja took off almost immediately towards Sakura at an insane speed. The kunoichi would not hesitate.
She coiled her arm back, her eyes locked onto her target. The moment he stepped into her line of fire, she rammed her fist into his abdomen. Sakura heard the air shoot out of his mouth as he flew across the forest floor, landing painfully into a tree. Sakura was breathing heavily, but it was not from lack of energy. Her anger was raging, and she knew that that would be the key to deciding the end of this fight.
A blur of colors shot in front of Sakura, followed by a loud clang. A shower of sparks floated about her as her vision righted itself to see Sasuke holding Naruto back with his katana. How did that idiot recover so quickly? Sakura growled and jumped over Naruto, rushing towards Shouta with her chakra enhanced speed. While Sasuke kept Naruto busy, she could take out the source… starting with his eyes. Sakura whipped out several senbon, her face darkening with hatred.
Shouta laughed as the kunoichi closed the gap between them. She snarled and leapt at him, one hand wielding the senbon, the other clenched and ready to break his bones. Shouta dodged her attack, but Sakura was quick to turn and grab his ankle. She hauled his body over herself and slammed him into the forest floor. The man growled as the smile on his face disappeared. He obviously couldn't handle his emotions too well, but why was Sakura the one to talk? The kunoichi threw her senbon down at him, but Shouta rolled out of the way just in time. The pink haired woman growled in anger and snatched the senbon back up from the ground.
Sakura jumped back towards him, her fists flying. Shouta brought out a blade and whipped it across Sakura's arm. It drew blood, but it was something that could be easily stitched up once this was all over. Sakura threw her fist out at him but missed narrowly, shattering a tree directly behind him.
"Missed—tch." Shouta suddenly winced, and Sakura watched as his eyes flickered from black to red. The man shot his gaze to the side of him, eyes filled with malice.
What?
"Your mind control is intriguing, Shouta." Sakura turned to see Sasuke clutching Naruto by his throat, his eyes marked with the Sharingan. Though his grip was firm on the shinobi, it wasn't life threatening. "You use the portal through their eyes to make your way in and simply overflow them with your own chakra, like sending yourself into them." Sasuke's eyes focused intently upon Shouta, the black and red colors swirling wildly. "No wonder you use such a massive amount of energy to do something like this. And you thought you could control the Kyuubi with something as plain and common as this? How naïve… and pathetic." Sasuke smirked.
"Uchiha…" His attention was taken now, completely drawn in by Sasuke's words. He looked absolutely livid. Sakura looked to Sasuke, and for a moment she could've sworn he looked towards her, but it must've been a trick of the eye… She looked back to Shouta to see him completely taken in by his anger and pride.
"Your powers are nothing. All I had to do was freeze the flow of chakra within him. Hn. You truly are pathetic." Sasuke's body hadn't moved an inch save for his face. It was strange. Sakura looked at him more intently and saw that, in fact, his body wasn't moving one millimeter. He was keeping an intense concentration. Then it happened. Sasuke's eyes flickered once more to Sakura with such a determined look in them that it almost sent a shock of electricity through the woman. Sakura's eyes widened, and it clicked.
NOW!
Sakura sent her senbon flying, quick as sound, and landed them squarely into Shouta's unsuspecting eyes. The man screamed and dropped down to his knees, blood pouring down his face.
"How does it feel to lose something important to you, asshole?" Sakura was so angry, tears were pouring down her face.
A loud growl emitted from behind Sakura, and a burst of air whipped around her as Naruto raced past to jump on top of the wounded man. He must have immediately snapped out of the man's mental hold once Shouta's eyes were blinded. "You want to get in my head, you bastard? You want to see the demon in me so much?" Naruto reached behind him and unsheathed the dagger Tama had given him that mission so long ago. He held it to Shouta's throat and growled.
"Do you have any last words?" Though Shouta was breathing hard, and Sakura could tell he was in pain, a smile still cracked upon his bloodied face.
"You have until sunset tomorrow."
"What?"
A loud cackle emitted from the psychotic man, and Naruto finally snapped. He took the dagger and tore it across the man's throat, severing his life. Naruto's breathing was jagged, and Sakura could tell that if he was provoked any further, the demon within Naruto would have almost certainly made an appearance. Sakura sighed, taking in a deep breath. It was over, although the man's last words were a bit enigmatic. Sakura turned to Sasuke and gasped.
The Uchiha was sweating profusely, and from the looks of it, his chakra was damn near depleted. "Sasuke!" Sakura rushed to her teammate and grabbed an arm to support him.
"You…" Naruto got on the other side of Sasuke and helped lift him with Sakura. The dark haired shinobi was having trouble standing.
"Lied," the Uchiha whispered harshly. "Although the technique was true, the power he had over Naruto was almost binding. I had to distract that pompous idiot so that you could take him out. But you were taking so damn long in figuring out the plan."
Sakura's face paled. "Was this what Shouta was talking about? Until sunset tomorrow?" Sasuke didn't say one word. He looked overly drained and his breathing looked labored. Sakura hoisted him up further, determined not to lose anyone else in her life. She suddenly stopped short and looked behind her.
"Tama…"
"Sakura-chan, we need to get Sasuke to Tsunade-baa-chan." Naruto's face was grim, but his eyes were sympathetic. "We can have someone sent here the second we get him there."
Sakura's heart was pounding with guilt, but Naruto was right. Right now Sasuke was in dire need of medical attention, and Tsunade-sama was the only one she trusted to attend to him.
"Okay, let's go."
"Hm, he's kinda cute for a spawn of that blond idiot. I would've expected pink hair, though. But then again, that's a good thing for the boy." The fifth Hokage sat at her desk, not with a bottle of sake in her hand (very surprising) but with one of warmed milk. And in her arm was the exact replica of Naruto Uzumaki save for those big green eyes that stared back at the older woman. Tsunade never in all of her life expected herself to be holding a baby—especially at the ripe age of…well, that was something no one would ever know. Nonetheless, she never thought she would be sitting in her office, feeding the child of her apprentice. But when Sasuke Uchiha came barging into her workplace with a baby attached to his back…Kami, what a morning. And she hadn't had one ounce of sake yet. She was surprised she hadn't thrown anything at Shizune…yet. Must be a record… But then again, it was still morning.
"Tsunade-sama, shouldn't you be filling out that paperwork. I'll take Toru—"
The blonde woman threw a stamp at her assistant. Well, so much for the record. "Let me feed the damn boy. You go check on Kakashi and make sure he hasn't left the hospital yet. Kami knows he would." In reality, the Hokage just wanted a reason to not do all that trivial paperwork. It was tiring and boring, and it made her head hurt much worse than a hangover. But Kakashi should be checked on. He was known for hating hospitals and leaving to heal on his own. So many house visits had to be made by Sakura, the poor girl.
"Tsunade-sama, at least let me go put him down for a nap…"
The head ninja looked down to the little boy who had somehow, in that past minute, managed to fall asleep with his head nestled into her generous bosom. Tsunade rolled her eyes and handed Shizune the child and let the woman go. Damn, so much for that excuse. Now she'd have to get to look over those papers sent from that Nara boy.
Speaking of which—
"Shizune! What's the status on the—"
"TSUNADE-BAA-CHAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!"
"Naruto?" Why would he be here? Unless…
"Shissou!" The doors to her office slammed open, and there stood Naruto and Sakura holding up an unconscious Sasuke.
"His chakra is depleted. If he had held back The Collector's chakra any longer, he would've…" The Hokage didn't finish her sentence. There was no need to delve into something that hadn't happened. Sakura stood next to her shissou, looking apprehensively over her shoulders. Sasuke had sunk into unconsciousness approximately ten minutes from the Hokage's office. Despite what her teacher said, depending on how much of his chakra he actually used, the Uchiha might just sink into a coma…
Sakura felt her mind darken with guilt. If only she had paid closer attention to what Sasuke was doing—to his signals, then he wouldn't have had to use so much of his power. If only she had followed Tama's words more closely or killed that despot back at the headquarters, her gypsy friend would've never been killed. If only she had been strong enough, Naruto wouldn't have been taken control of in the first place. She had made so many stupid decisions that had caused all the people around her to be hurt.
She felt a warm hand touch her back, and she jumped. Turning around, she saw a pair of vibrant blue eyes softening their gaze towards her. Sakura couldn't help it; her heartbeat picked up rapidly at just the sight of Naruto being in front of her. Her mind flickered back to that moment in the forest where she had finally told him her true feelings for him. Unfortunately, her guilt was much more powerful at that moment, so the smile she tried to bring to her face didn't reach her eyes.
"It's not your fault, Sakura-chan. Sasuke knew what he was doing."
"You two need to go to the main office and have a medic-nin look over you." Tsunade-shissou was hooking Sasuke up to an IV and looking through all the monitors, checking his heart rate and blood pressure. It looked stable to the pink haired kunoichi, but things could change in a wind's breath.
"Shissou, I'm fine—" It was true. She felt perfectly fine thanks to those potions Tama made.
"Sakura, you will see a doctor for physical or mental conditions. You've been through a lot these past several months, and PTSD tends to hit when you least expect it. Go, the both of you. Sasuke will be fine." Her words lost their power with the last sentence, and the two teammates felt a cold chill rush over them.
Sakura suddenly sparked with hope. "Shissou," she said as she reached behind her, "give this to Sasuke." She still had one bottle of the concoction Tama had made to stimulate her chakra flow and to help strengthen her body. This could very well bring Sasuke out of his unconscious state.
"Components?"
"Perpetro root mixed with the juices from the Vigoratus plant."
"Place of origin?"
"Two days travel from here in a field next to the Gypsy Village called Antiquus Angelus. Translated into the Old Angel.
"Preparation?"
Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, her mind flashing back to Tama's medical hut. She could just see the woman working through the steps with careful hands.
"The Pertetro root was grinded using a stone mortar and pestle while the Vigoratus plant was pressed of the liquid using a flat stone, a red clay colander and a red clay mixing bowl. The powder was poured into said bowl and then stirred together with the liquid using a simple wooden spoon for approximately four minutes and twenty-five seconds. Then the concoction was placed into the metal vial that you hold. It must be orally ingested." She didn't even take one breath between her sentences.
Tsunade-shissou smiled. "Good girl."
Sakura smiled in return. It felt great to be praised.
"Now, the both of you go," the Hokage barked.
"Tsunade-baa-chan…about what Shouta said." Naruto took a few steps ahead of Sakura, shifting the placement of his hand from Sakura's back to her hand. His grip was firm but gentle. "He said that we have until sunset tomorrow."
"Hn. Well, I already had the ANBU squad weed through the city and the surrounding forest. There's nothing suspicious. We even had a thorough autopsy of Tama's body—"
"Shissou!"
"We can't take any chances, Sakura. We even checked The Collector's body, and Haruka's. He could have planted a bomb inside that could have been set off by the predetermined time." The older woman's eyes hardened. "The coroner found nothing, however. It could have been just a fluke."
"But…" Sakura's hand was trembling, even though she tried to steady it. "What if he was talking about Sasuke?"
"His condition is stable, and with the potion, he should recover quickly thanks to you, Sakura. If The Collector's aim was Sasuke, then he was duly thwarted." Tsunade-shissou looked down to the Uchiha, her eyes sharpening slightly.
"Now as your Hokage, I am ordering the both of you to seek medical attention immediately. Then, once you're cleared, you're free to go. But…" The blonde woman turned to look at the two teammates, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'm pretty damn sure you have something else of an important matter to see to in Shizune's office."
Sakura caught on instantly and felt her heart flutter. It had felt like forever and a day since she had seen Toru. And with the thought of Naruto finally meeting his son, she damn near passed out. Sakura felt the warm hand holding hers tighten slightly. She looked to her side and locked eyes with Naruto. It was time.
"Press the stethoscope a little more to the right, Kyou." Sakura was sitting in a cold chair in a room next to where Naruto was having his own check-up. She thought that it would be a quick run-through, but because they were understaffed today, the two teammates had to have interns do their check-up. The kunoichi even wrapped up her own wound where Shouta had sliced his blade against her. Sakura sighed inwardly as the ever so clumsy Kyou fumbled with the sphygmomanometer to take her blood pressure.
Suddenly a high pitched scream sounded from the room next to them, followed by a loud crash.
"I'M TELLING YOU, DAMMIT, I'M FINE! I'M JUST NERVOUS!!" Naruto's voice boomed through the thin walls, and Sakura felt her anger twitch to life. She never liked having people yell in the hospital.
"Excuse me a moment, Kyou?"
"Hai, Haruno-san, of course." Sakura stood up from the cold chair and briskly walked out of the room to the next room's door. She took a deep breath and tried to cool her anger. She would not lose it in the hospital.
"JUST SIGN THE DAMNED FORM SO I CAN GO!" Sakura could feel his voice vibrate through the door. She clenched her teeth and rapped her fist on the door. Having no response, the kunoichi opened the door to find the room in complete bedlam. Chairs were turned over, equipment was thrown all over the place, and worst of all—Sakura could smell blood.
"Haruno-san!" A soft voice sounded from the corner. Sakura turned to find a teary eyed female intern strapping a wild looking Naruto into a chair. His mouth had been gagged. "Thank Kami you're here!" She rushed to the pink haired woman and wrapped her shaking arms about her. "He wouldn't stay still, and the Hokage said if I didn't do a legitimate check-up, she would fire me! And when I found that his heart rate was abnormally high—" A muffled shout interrupted the woman. Sakura looked to Naruto and glared daggers. Instantly the blond shinobi went silent.
"Naruto, if I have Fumiyo take off the gag, are you going to behave?" Naruto nodded fervently, and Sakura looked to the intern, nodding. Fumiyo walked cautiously towards the man and removed the bandages from his mouth.
"SAKURA-CHAN, I—"
"What did I just say, baka?" Sakura walked briskly towards him and grabbed the idiot by his collar. "Lower your voice."
Naruto nodded. "Sakura-chan, it wasn't my fault my heart rate was high or whatever. I was nervous!"
The kunoichi rolled her eyes and loosened her grip on his collar, though she kept her hand in place. "And why were you nervous, Naruto? You should be used to these routine check-ups as a shinobi." Sakura refused to believe he was nervous because it was a female intern giving him the check-up. Otherwise, she might have very well lost it.
"I...was nervous…because...we're going to see…him." Sakura watched as the Uzumaki's eyes softened greatly. The woman's hands dropped in surprise and her mouth opened slightly to respond. But she couldn't find any words to say. Of course Naruto was nervous! He was about to meet his newborn son for the first time. Sakura could be a complete idiot sometimes.
"Fumiyo, sign the Release Form." Sakura finally found her words. Naruto's eyes widened and a large toothy grin spread across his face. Sakura smiled back and began to untie the bandages that restrained the shinobi to the chair. Fumiyo was a lot stronger than the kunoichi thought. She might have to pay closer attention to her once the reviews came into season.
"Eh? But Haruno-san, the Hokage—"
"She won't fire you, Fumiyo." Hell, Shissou might promote her on the spot for tying up Naruto. "Not when we're so understaffed these days. Besides, she'll take it out on me…and most likely Naruto as well." Sakura finally got the last bandage loosed, and Naruto stood up warily.
"O…okay, Haruno-san."
"Tell Kyou to do the same."
"H-Hai."
Sakura gently took Naruto's hand, and both began to walk towards Shizune's office. The kunoichi's heart was pounding so furiously, and she was sure Naruto's was in the same nerve-racking condition. Would Toru look any different, even though it had only been a couple of days? What about Naruto? How would he react to seeing his own flesh and blood?
And there they were, standing one foot in front of Shizune's office door. Sakura looked to her teammate and took a deep breath.
"Naruto, I've wanted to apologize for so long about not telling you anything…" The kunoichi bit her lip nervously, her eyes falling to the ground.
"Sakura-chan…"
"It's taken me so long to realize just how important you are in my life and to tell you that you have a family all of a sudden—" Suddenly the kunoichi felt a pair of warm but clumsy lips lock onto hers. The woman felt a shock of electricity shoot through her body, and almost naturally her free hand laced its fingers through Naruto's hair. It was almost too soon that the blond shinobi pulled away.
"Do you know how long I've waited to hear those words?" The Uzumaki was grinning devilishly and his breath was short, but his eyes were sharp with gravity. His free hand took hold of Sakura's other hand and wrapped her around him into a tight embrace. He said nothing else, but he held her close…and that was enough. Sakura burrowed her head into Naruto's chest, breathing in his warm and comforting scent. It instantly calmed her.
"Are you ready?" She felt his voice vibrate through his chest. Sakura lifted her head to look at him, her eyebrow cocked.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
The door to Shizune's office opened suddenly. "Oh! S-Sakura-chan! N-N-Naruto-kun!"
Sakura's eyes widened. "Hin-Hinata? What are you doing here?" She pulled away from Naruto, her face turning a bright flaming red from being caught in such an intimate position. But Sakura opted to keep her hold onto Naruto's hand.
"W-Well, I wanted to talk with the H-Hokage about my next mission. But Shizune-chan told me that she was attending to Sasuke-kun. And…t-that's when I noticed th-th-the baby." Hinata's pale eyes instantly looked to Naruto, and she smiled gently. "He looks just like you, N-Naruto-kun." Sakura could hear the man gulp, and his hand turned clammy. The pink haired woman squeezed his large hand slightly.
"Hinata? May we…?"
"Oh! O-of course!" Hinata instantly moved aside and Sakura could see it: a small crib lying atop Shizune's desk…Toru. Sakura could feel tears already welling up. She pulled gently on Naruto and led him into the office and towards their son. Sakura reached the crib first, and her green eyes widened at the sight of her baby peacefully sleeping. His blond hair was tousled, but his skin had a warm and healthy glow to it. The kunoichi could've sworn he had grown an inch or two since she last saw him. He looked absolutely beautiful.
"That's my…" Sakura nearly jumped at the sound of Naruto's voice. She was completely drawn in by her child. Sakura took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst. She didn't know how Naruto would react to seeing his son. The kunoichi turned around and lost her breath. The blond had a look of absolute wonder and amazement shining in his blue eyes. He stepped closer, and the pink haired woman watched as the shinobi carefully reached out to touch his newborn child for the very first time. And it was at that moment, Toru opened his eyes. Naruto gasped.
In all of his life, there had only been one thing Naruto Uzumaki had ever wanted from the bottom of his heart. Something so simple and commonplace that no one around him could really understand: he wanted a family to call his own. And though in the past years he had come to realize that his friends were indeed like a family, he had always had that thought in his head. And now there he stood, beside the most beautiful woman in the world, looking down at the most beautiful child he had ever seen. And the moment his son- his son- opened his eyes, Naruto knew that there was nothing that he would ever want again. He was perfect. He had those beautiful green eyes that the shinobi couldn't get enough of—and to top it off, his son looked just like him! Naruto's hand trembled above his child, Toru, and his blue eyes locked onto those big, beautiful green orbs.
"Naruto…" The shinobi turned to look at a matching pair of emerald eyes and smiled through his tears. Naruto didn't deserve this, such a perfect gift. Sakura-chan was in love with him! After all the years of wondering what the hell was going on in that woman's mind, he was finally granted a glimpse. And it was a complete oasis. Then to find out that he had been granted the only wish he had ever had…he couldn't help but cry. Finally…finally he had a family to call his own. Below him lay a child with their blood running through his veins. Naruto laughed, his body shaking with the release of tension, sadness, anger, all those emotions that had built up inside of him all of those years.
"Sakura…thank you." His words were shaky and what he thought pretty damn lame—but it was all his mind could muster at that moment. He wrapped his arms around Sakura and took a deep and satisfying breath. "Thank you."
"Naruto…" Her voice was soft and soothing as her arms gently wrapped around him.
A cough sounded from the door, and Sakura looked up to see Shizune and the Hokage. Sakura let go of Naruto gently, noticing that they had something to tell them. "Shissou?"
"Sasuke's awake. The potion worked, and I'm having some people sent out to collect more of the plants to make extra stock of the potion." Tsunade-shissou smiled. "How's the squirt?"
The kunoichi's smile widened. "He's doing great, Shissou." Sakura leaned over the crib and picked Toru up. The baby instantly smiled and pressed his warm hands against Sakura's face.
"And the father?"
Naruto's eyes were locked onto his son's so intently he didn't take any notice of the Hokage's words. Sakura answered in his place. "He's the usual psychotically happy Naruto." The blond shinobi looked up at her words and smiled a boyish grin. He was beside himself with happiness.
"Well then, I suppose you two will be happy to know that I'm granting you a one month vacation. I expect you to use it accordingly."
"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto shouted, and instantly the baby began to cry. Naruto clamped his hand over his mouth and had the look of a dejected puppy. Sakura instantly began to tend to Toru, rubbing her hand gently across his back and whispering softly to him.
"Maybe you can use the time to condition Toru to Naruto's outbursts." Tsunade-shissou walked over towards Sakura and placed a calm hand onto the baby, a smirk curling her mouth.
"Hey, Tsunade-baa-chan? I guess this really makes you a grandma, huh?" The smirk disappeared from the shissou's face and she pulled away from the now peaceful Toru.
"Go home now before you lose the chance to have any more kids."
It wasn't that far of a walk to Sakura's apartment, but the kunoichi felt like her body was weighed down with hundreds of pounds. Toru barely weighed eight, yet the pink haired woman's muscles were beginning to weaken.
"Sakura-chan, let's just go to my apartment! It's closer."
"Naruto, we already discussed this. Your apartment doesn't meet basic health standards, and I won't have Toru be subjected to something like that." Maybe she was having withdrawals from the potion? But Tama assured her that there weren't any side effects and that within three days she would be able to maintain her own chakra levels. She could just be fatigued from the previous events. That made sense- besides her symptoms weren't similar to those of a withdrawal. Her breathing was slightly off- that could be caused by fatigue. She would just get some rest the moment she put Toru down for a nap and everything would be fine. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to the medic-nin, so she carried on, occasionally barking at Naruto.
"Sakura-chan, why don't you let me carry Toru? You look really tired…" Naruto touched her shoulder gently, and Sakura smiled. What was the harm of him carrying Toru? He wasn't that incapable of taking care of another living being. Well, she hoped. Sakura nodded and carefully handed the Uzumaki their son and watched as a childlike smile covered his face. This was the first time Naruto held his son. The image was absolutely heaven to the kunoichi. They carried on walking, and Sakura was soon thankful she had handed Toru over to Naruto. Her body was screaming for some sleep.
"BILLBOARD BROW!!!!!" A pair of overzealous arms wrapped around Sakura and squeezed tightly.
"Ino-pig!" Sakura turned around to see a pair of pale blue eyes brimming with tears. "What's wrong?"
"Why the hell wouldn't you come and see me after arriving in Konoha? I heard you already saw Hinata! So why wouldn't you come to see me?!"
"I'm sorry, Naruto and I had to take Sasuke to the hospital and we had some things to do and we met Hinata in Shizune's office …" Sakura looked over to Naruto and Toru and almost laughed. Both boys had the same look of surprise on their face at the sight of Ino. Their eyes were wide and their mouths were opened in shock.
"So the idiot finally got to meet his spawn?"
"HEY! That's my son you're talking about!"
"Ah, Ino. Are you causing trouble again?" Shikamaru came sauntering towards the three and looked at his wife. Ino blushed furiously.
"Of course not! I was only being a concerned best friend and wondering why no one has come to see me!"
"Maybe because Naruto was a bit busy meeting his kid for the first time." Ino's mouth clamped shut at that. Shikamaru sighed and plopped his palm atop Ino's head. "You really are troublesome, aren't you?" Ino blushed and looked away. Shikamaru looked towards Naruto and smirked. "How's fatherhood?"
Naruto gave a thumbs-up and laughed. "Pretty damn sweet."
Sakura snapped instantly. "HEY! DON'T CUSS AROUND TORU, BAKA!" She slapped him upside his head and growled.
"Ah! Gomen nasai, Sakura-chan!!" Naruto looked down to Toru. "Forget what I just said, okay?" The little boy smiled back a gummy grin that looked all too reminiscent of his father's.
"You two really are quite the pair…" Shika laughed and took hold of Ino's hand. "Come on, we're late for our appointment as it is."
"Appointment?" Sakura looked between the two and saw the blush on Ino's face deepen. Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah. It seems to be that Ino might be pregnant."
"WHAT?!" Sakura's heart jumped and a smile cracked onto her face. "Ino-pig, that's so great!!!" Sakura's head was swirling with the news.
"Well, that's what I wanted to tell you when you came back…"
"Ino…" Sakura gave a hearty hug to her friend, though her arms were pretty weak. They needed to be on their way. "We'll talk later, okay?"
"Of course, billboard brow. I'm not the one to hold back any juicy details about the conception."
"Ino." Shika pulled on his wife's hand, and they were off. Sakura laughed lightly and turned to Naruto and Toru. Both were smiling at her happily.
"Let's go home," she said. She really needed to rest. Apparently Ino's news was really affecting her—her head just wouldn't stop buzzing. And her muscles were aching so much and her skin was now slick with sweat.
Something was wrong. Sakura went through her deep expanse of medical knowledge and went through her symptoms: weak and pained muscles, dizziness, shortness of breath, cold sweat—possibly a fever. She closed her eyes for a mere moment and sensed it. There was a foreign presence in her blood. Infection? No, even Kyou would've been able to sense a cold during the check-up. Where could she have picked the foreign contaminant up? Everything was sterilized in the hospital. Unless she received it when her wound was opened? But the only thing that could really have these symptoms and not have been detected would be…
Poison.
Sakura gasped. How could she have not known when Shouta brought out that weapon?! The kunoichi could feel her heartbeat quicken and her breath become jagged. She needed to get to the hospital now.
"Na…ruto…" Her voice was weak and fading fast. Her vision was becoming blurry and she knew that within mere moments she would lose consciousness. She saw the blond shinobi turn just in time to see her fall to ground. Everything went black, but one word remained in her mind.