Disclaimer: All Naruto characters are the copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. That's all. :) No copying of my story is allowed. That's stealing if anyone copies my story into his/her own story. Write your own story without taking others' works! (angry glare)
Wow! That was quite a warm reception I received for Chapter 1 of "WIT II" with so many reviews, story alerts, and favs! I'm quite honored many think this is going to become a great story. I'll do my best to not let any of you down. :)
And big thanks to everyone who had helped me find websites to help me with the names of not only the child, but also a couple of OCs. They are introduced in this chapter. :)
Story rating: T (PG-13)(for minor sexual themes)
Written: November 2008 - present
Summary: Shion visits Konoha to request Naruto to 'help' her again, but not without changes and consequences. Spoilers. NaruShion, NaruSaku, Naru?.
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Whatever It Takes II
Chapter 2 – Meeting You Again Plus One
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)
The sky was clear and blue with a few puffy clouds blowing with the air current, and the sun's rays shone warmth down onto the forest below, where the birds were chirping and singing as they went about their business as well as everything else in nature. Humans were no exception to the cycle of life as the world continued to revolve around them.
One group of humans, made up of 2 adults and 3 teenagers, were jumping through the trees with ease. It was easy to tell that these five were shinobi, given only this kind of people could so simply use the trees as a roadway to get to their destinations faster and quicker than mere walking could accomplished. Yet not far from their goal, they dropped out of the branches to land on the open road, and only then they began walking the rest of the way toward the place they called home.
"Ah, it's good to be home!" happily cried out a blond, blue-eyed, whisker-faced, young man as he spotted the huge main gates of Konoha in the distance.
"I say," a feminine voice said, making the teenage boy trained his sights to his right onto his pink-haired, kunoichi teammate, who grinned back at him. "It's great to have these long-duration missions occasionally to get out of the village, but they do make most miss home if they go on far more than a month."
"That is true, Sakura," an adult male voice replied from behind the pair. Both teenagers glanced at their silver-haired leader, whose right eye crinkled up into amusement while he was holding up an Icha Icha book in one hand. "Yet just wait until you're a jounin, thus sometimes you'll end up on missions that last as long as six months at least."
The blond boy snorted a laugh as his head swiveled back to face the road. "That's nothing compared to my training trip I had with Ero-sennin, Kakashi-sensei."
"Were you paid to go on that training trip with Jiraiya-sama, Naruto?" another teenage boy asked to the blond's right.
"Sai does have point, Naruto," prompted the second adult in the group, who walked besides Kakashi's left side. Everyone could tell his voice was amused and firm at the same time. "You and Jiraiya-sama weren't given any missions during that trip, so it makes me wonder how you two managed to get by without some income to pay for food, hotels, etc."
Uzumaki Naruto, Chuunin shinobi of Konoha, groaned at the memories. "We didn't stay at any village for long, Yamato-taichou. We mostly slept and ate camping out so not to attract unwanted attention whenever Ero-sennin began teaching me new techniques and stuff. He made me at times go fishing and scouring for food, like we're out in the middle of the wilderness."
Sakura blinked at this news. "He did?" Seeing her friend nodded, her green eyes blinked again. "Wow. I didn't know that. Tsuande-shishou had told me that Jiraiya made a lot of money off those perverted books he had written, thus she had figured he would pay for food, hotel, and other travel expenses."
"That's what I'd thought!" nearly screamed out the 16-year-old boy, his face scrunched up as he raised a hand with twitching fingers like he wanted to strangle someone. "Ero-sennin was a cheap-stake at times, stating his money was to be use for the spy network. However, I did found him occasionally drunk in the arms of call girls at bars and other places." His hand lowered as his face turned to a warm one while shaking his head at the memories of his late sannin sensei. "Ah, Ero-sennin. He was a pervert like no other."
As Naruto recalled everything that has happened ever since he had returned from his training trip, he admitted to himself that he had come a long way since then. The Akatsuki War had been intense and had cost many lives, especially when Pein attacked Konoha. He had grown tremendously during that war, yet not without a personal cost with the death of Jiraiya and as well as facing Sasuke, who had joined the Akatsuki. His best friend truly have turned traitor when the Uchiha vowed to destroy Konoha for Danzo and the elder council members' connection with the Uchiha Massacre. No matter how much he and Sakura had tried to reach him, Sasuke would not listen. In the end, Naruto had fought against him for the safety of the village and won by ending Sasuke's life. It had not been a great time for the blond at all, not after all the work he and Sakura went through to try to get Sasuke to return to Konoha peacefully.
Seeing the somewhat sad expression on Naruto's face, Sakura immediately knew what her teammate was thinking about. Reaching out, she placed a comforting right hand on his left shoulder and gave a warm, soothing grin as those sapphire eyes locked with her emerald ones. No words were necessary as their eyes spoke for them, and after a couple minutes, the young man returned her grin with one of his own prior to her letting go of his shoulder and him setting his gaze on the road in front of them again.
Sighing as she continued to watch her friend, Sakura wondered if the wound from Sasuke's death would ever be healed, not only for Naruto but for herself as well. She had been shocked, along with Naruto, upon hearing of Sasuke joining the Akatsuki, and once it was clear their former teammate was hell bent to destroy Konoha, they had no choice but to fight him to the end. Her heart had been shattered when she saw her blond comrade took the life of his best friend, but she knew it was nothing compared to the guilt Naruto was going through. In the end, she had never blamed Naruto for what needed to be done to protect Konoha, but Sakura knew deep down he would always blame himself, even if she told him hundreds of times that she has forgiven him.
Yet since that eventful day, Naruto has moved on the best he could, and the pinkette couldn't help but feel proud of his accomplishments. They had all worked together to end the war with Oto quickly soon after the Akatsuki were destroyed. The massive rebuilding of Konoha was a huge undertaking that required shinobi to complete many missions to bring in much needed revenue for the construction, thus Naruto and Team 7 had done their part to work hard to do loads of missions as possible. When the Chuunin Exam had arrived, Naruto participated, and it came to no surprise that he passed with flying colors that the promotion was immediately followed by a celebration with all of Naruto's friends and comrades participating.
Indeed, Naruto had have come a long way.
Sighing again, but this time with pride at the blond, Team 7's medic thought of the other wars Konoha has fought in the past year. They may have been brief, but they were no less important than the Akatsuki War had been - the war against the Air Shinobi and the Mouryou War. Both wars have cost lives, but in the end, Konoha has prevailed over those who wanted to harm others in the world, especially the innocent.
Prideful grin turning into a thoughtful frown, Sakura's mind thought of Priestess Shion once her memories focused on the Mouryou War. She was so busy with missions, rebuilding Konoha, and other things in life, that she almost forgotten about the Head Priestess of Demon Country. Doing simple mental calculations, her eyes went wide on the indication on how much time has passed since she last saw the priestess. "Given she didn't ask Naruto to return so soon after we left Demon Country, it was clear then she must have became pregnant. Then this means she has given birth…"
"Naruto?" the still-thoughtful kunoichi began.
Konoha's Jinchuuriki once more fixed his eyes on his teammate as Team 7 approached their village's huge main gates. "Yeah, Sakura-chan?"
"Do you remember Priestess Shion from Demon Country, right?" asked the pinkette.
A confusing grin came to the young man's face. "Of course, I remember Shion. You know she and I have been keeping in touch by letters."
"What guy wouldn't remember about their first lover?" Kakashi teasingly spoke out, causing Naruto and Sakura to roll their eyes, Yamato to snicker, and Sai to amusedly grin. Ever since his student lost his virginity to the beautiful Demon Country priestess, the silver-haired jounin just loved to rib the teenager occasionally regarding his 'first time'. It was too much fun watching Naruto became irritated with a blushing face.
Knowing better than to reply to his jounin-sensei's teasing remark, Naruto ignored him and focused again on Sakura and her question. "What about Shion, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura pressed on. "When was the last time you received a letter from her?"
Confused to why she wanted to know, the blond chuunin thought about it for a moment before answering. "I knew the last one was before we went on this long mission."
Silence came when everyone in the group thought Naruto was going to elaborate, but he didn't, prompting the team's medic to ask for more. "What did the letter say?"
Naruto shrugged. "She's doing well and the baby is doing okay inside of her. Why did you asked?"
Blinking in bafflement that he has not figured it out, Sakura stopped walking, making everyone else did so too right at the threshold of the main gates, where the two chuunin gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, sat watch at the small gatehouse as they noticed Team 7's appearance. "Naruto are you kidding me?" the pinkette nearly shouted. "Do you realize we've been away from Konoha for little more than two months since that last letter?"
Now Naruto was really confused. "Yeah, I know that, Sakura-chan," he replied before placing his hands behind his head. "The Fire Daimyo sure took us everywhere he went, that for sure." His lips formed a frown. "I still don't like the idea of being used for public relations like that though."
This time it was Sakura's turn to frown with a sigh. "We know that, Naruto, we know that."
Sometime after Naruto had been promoted to Chuunin, the Fire Daimyo wanted the Fire Country's newest hero to join the 12 Guardians. The young man was reluctant, for he wanted to stay in Konoha to be there for his people. Tsunade had offered an alternative of having Team 7 for two months be temporary guardians on top of the daimyo's already 12 Guardians. This way the daimyo could have his wish and, at the same time, provided great publicity for Konoha. Naruto didn't like the notion of being used like a display trophy, but he relented after Tsunade 'persuaded' the blond boy that it was for the good of the village. Team 7 ever since occasionally have to deal with Naruto's complaints regarding their mission as they traveled the Fire Country and other places with the Fire Daimyo.
Ignoring Inner Sakura to slap Naruto silly, Sakura placed her hands on her hips and gave her best lecturer expression that she usually bestowed on her naïve, long-time friend. "Naruto, have you forgotten what I taught you months ago regarding pregnancy for women, so you can better understand what Shion was going through? As a medic, I know the average pregnancy normally lasts roughly 9 months or so. It has been more than 11 months, since you last seen Shion. Do the math and it is obvious that she must have given birth to your child roughly 2 months ago, after you received your last letter from her and the start of our mission."
At first, the blond couldn't understand what his teammate was talking about, until her words slowly and surely began to make sense in his head. His mouth slowly gapped open as his eyes went wide. "Are you saying…Shion already had given birth by now?"
"Yes, Naruto, that is exactly what I'm saying," Sakura sighed out of mild frustration that it has taken him some time to get the message. With the exception of shinobi combat, Naruto was so clueless at times that she wouldn't be surprise if it required a small cabinet of people to help him run the government if he became Hokage one day.
After a minute of the rest of Team 7 and the gate guards watching the shocked Jinchuuriki, they were caught unawares as Naruto suddenly grabbed his hair and shouted so loudly that they wondered if they would become deaf. "AAAAAAH! SHION HAS ALREADY GIVEN BIRTH! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO, SAKURA-CHAN! I HAVE TO GET TO THE POST OFFICE!" The next thing they all saw was a cloud of dust left in the wake of high speeding teenage boy heading toward the Konoha Post Office, making everyone blinked at what they just saw.
"Wow," Kotetsu said after a minute of silence as he stood up from his seat and gazed at the general direction Naruto had went. "I have not ever seen anyone run so fast as Gai or Lee."
Still in his chair, Izumo shrugged. "I don't blame him. We've seen plenty of guys act like that upon hearing their first child was being born."
Kotetsu chuckled. "Yeah, but how many of those guys were 16 years old?" After another chuckle, the spiky raven-haired chuunin shook his head. "Sixteen years old and already a father. I don't know whether to envy or pity him."
Izumo raised an eyebrow at his long-time comrade and friend. "When was the last time you have a girlfriend?"
Dark eyes narrowed down at the seated man. "Do you have to remind me that, Izumo?"
A devious smirk shaped on Izumo's face. "Least Naruto is ahead of you in the game, Kotetsu." All he received in reply was a small growl and bigger glare from his standing friend.
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Kakashi chuckled. It was going to be interesting to know whether Naruto's child was a girl or a boy, for after all, he remembered that request Priestess Shion asked of Tsunade if she gave birth to a boy and not a girl. "Come on. Let's report-in to the Hokage, and let Naruto sort out his mail."
Yamato snorted a laugh at the emphasis as he followed his senpai. Sai came next with an amused grin. Shaking her head, Sakura took up the rear as she trailed the three men with a muttered "Baka," obviously referring to the hysterical boy of a teammate of hers.
As Izumo and Kotetsu watched Team 7 strolled away toward the Hokage Tower, both started to snicker once the three shinobi and one kunoichi were out of hearing range.
"Should we have told them about the special guest, who has arrived a few days ago?" a smirking Kotetsu asked.
Izumo, his expression matching that of his friend, shook his head. "Nah, they'll find out eventually, especially Naruto."
Both chuunin snickered loudly, wondering how long it would be until things would get very interesting in Konoha.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Once dumping onto the kitchen table the load of mail he picked up from the Konoha Post Office, which he'd told them to hold his mail while he was away for the past two months, Naruto shifted through the letters for the one from Shion. Most people today used regular letter paper and envelopes to write letters, but the Demon Country's head priestess wrote her letters on scrolls, which were rarely seen through the regular mail compare to how the shinobi villages' governments communicate through messenger hawks and other birds. Yet the whisker-faced boy couldn't find any scroll with the Demon Country Priestess's main seal in the pile. Mostly junk, a few bills, and variety of regular letters, which he would burn later given he knew they were from fan-girls.
"It's not here!" Naruto mentally exclaimed before an idea came to his head. "Could Baachan be holding it?"
Taking many steps to toss his backpack and Toad Summoning scroll into this bedroon, the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki prepared to shunshin to the Hokage Tower as he had done from the Post Office to his apartment. He had been quite firmed months ago that Kakashi teach him the Shunshin Jutsu, since he wanted to use the teleportation technique to get to his destinations within Konoha faster. The boy thought if he could easily master Kage Bushin, Shunshin should be a breeze. Regardless of his expectations, it had taken him several days, but in the end, he had mastered it much to his delight and Tsuande's pain, given he sometimes shunshin into her office unannounced.
With his backpack and scroll gone, Naruto disappeared from his apartment in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear just outside the Hokage's office in the hallway. Without even knocking, the blond swept into the room like a hurricane. "Baachan!" he shouted out, startling the room's occupants of Tsuande, Shizune, and Team 7.
"Damn it, gaki!" the Godaime roared as she stood up from her chair, glaring daggers at the approaching chuunin. "Do you ever knock?! Your team was in the middle of briefing me about your mission with the Fire Daimyo!"
"Yeah, Naruto!" Sakura yelled out, echoing her sannin sensei. "Will you ever learn?!" Then again, she knew this was Naruto. He has matured much in the past year, but he still acted like a little boy at times.
Looking like the women's words didn't affect him, the blonde Jinchuuriki came right up to the front of the Hokage's desk, locked his eyes with his leader's, and blurted out a question that caught everyone unsuspectingly. "Baachan, did you receive a letter from Shion after I left two months ago?!"
Tsunade blinked at her chuunin subordinate, before she looked at Shizune, who also was confused to what he was referring. Based on what he asked, both women have a good guess to what the boy was getting at. Wanting to confirm her suspicions, the long-haired, blonde woman trained her eyes back on Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Naruto?"
Letting out a slightly annoyed sigh, Tsuande's pink-haired apprentice started to explain. "Prior before leaving on the mission to guard the Fire Daimyo, Naruto's last letter from Shion stated she was still pregnant with their child, according to what Naruto told us as we just arrived at main gates today. Yet given 11 months has passed since Naruto was with Shion, it's clear that Shion must have given birth 2 months ago after we started the mission. When I told him of this, he ran right away to the post office to pick up his mail."
Sakura trained her green eyes on her friend. "There was no letter from Shion at all, Naruto?" she asked out of puzzlement. It made no sense that the priestess would not inform her child's father of the birth.
"None!" Naruto replied, clearly upset. "Why she did not write to me?!"
Now understanding the young man's dilemma, Tsunade nodded and held a sympathetic face, even though she was giggling inside on knowing precisely why Shion didn't write a letter. A side glace to her assistant showed that Shizune too held a sympathetic expression but her dark eyes were twinkling. Both women knew this was going to be fun.
"Well," the female Hokage began, gaining everyone's attention, "now that I know what you're asking of me, Naruto, I'm sorry to say that I have not receive any letters from Priestess Shion."
"What!" Naruto cried out immediately before schooling his features into a determine one. "Then I request permission to take leave so I can go visit Shion. I want to see my child, Baachan."
An incredulous expression came to the room's lone teenage kunoichi's face. "We just came back from our mission, Naruto, and now you wanted to immediately set out to Demon Country? I know you want to see your child, but you can wait a few days to rest and catch up with our friends."
Tsuande pointed momentarily at her student in agreement. "Sakura is right, Naruto. Request denied."
"What?! This is not fair!" the Kyuubi host shouted out, quite upset now. "After two months on a long mission going all over the place with the Fire Daimyo, I have some leave coming to me, and I want to take it to go to the Demon Country!"
"Well, you're not going, Naruto, and that's final," the Slug Sannin stated with some heat to get her point across. Her face returned to a soft, considerate one. "Surely you can wait awhile before heading out, right?"
Naruto crossed his arms, his face scrunched in a stubborn pout. They all knew he was one of the most stubbornness shinobi in all of Konoha. He could be reasonable at times, but once he has his mind set on doing something, it was a bit hard at times to convince him to do otherwise. Yet everyone was relieved to see his pout soften a little, knowing he couldn't do anything anyway. "I guess," he admitted, nearly whispering with eyes looking at the floor.
"Good," Tsuande chirped with a grin. "A few days ago, a special guest has arrived here at Konoha, and the person wants to meet Team 7, specifically you, Naruto."
"Eh?" blue eyes shot upward to focus again on Konoha's first female Hokage, while the reactions from the rest of Team 7 were a mix of curiosity, surprise, and slight irritation. "We just came back from our mission with the Fire Daimyo, Baachan, and now we're going to be guarding another high, fancy person?"
Tsuande gave a chiding smirk. "I didn't say anything you'll be guarding our guest, Naruto. I said our guest wants to meet you."
Rubbing the back of his head with his right hand, the blonde chuunin produced a bashful, small grin. "Well, ever since the Chuunin Exams, it seems everyone wants to hire Team 7 just to meet me. Can you blame me?"
Sakura chimed in. "Naruto is right, Shishou. It's getting annoying to have so many people coming to Konoha to hire shinobi help but asking for Team 7. Surely, they can understand that there are many other talented teams here and not just Team 7."
Raising a palm up temporary to halt any more comments from her student, Tsunade nodded in concurrence. "It's why I do not allow clients to tell me what team they want. If Team 7 is available and suited for the job, I will comply with the request. If not, the client has the option to go elsewhere if they can not accept another team. Thank, Kami, there has not been a single client who has refused the team I gave them, since they'd wanted Konoha's help anyway."
After seeing Team 7 and Shizune nodded in understanding, the Godaime grinned and pointed toward the two adults of the team before her. "Kakashi, Yamato, you can give me a full report in two days." Both jounins gave a single nod that they understood, before their leader gestured to the entire team except Naruto. "You can leave your backpacks here. I want to introduce you to our guest now," she stated prior to going around the desk to head toward the exit.
"Why can't we go later, Shishou?" Sakura asked what the rest of the team wondered as they all followed the last sannin out of the office after they dropped their backpacks.
A sly grin formed on the Godiame's face. "She requested to see Naruto as soon as Team 7 came home."
"Eh?" Naruto and Sakura immediately reacted together. Both were now even more curious to whom this guest was, now that they knew it was a woman.
Sai looked passive as usual from the outside, but inside he was just as curious. The clues, he had gathered so far, didn't reveal much of this woman who has an interest in Naruto.
Bringing up the rear of the group as they left the Hokage Tower, the two jounin men of Team 7, compared to their young charges, have a good idea of the identity of this woman.
"Are you thinking the same person as me, Kakashi-senpai?" Yamato whispered as he leaned toward his superior.
The Copy Nin gave a single head nod in confirmation. "Yeah, Tsuande-sama has no real reason to deny Naruto his request to go to Demon Country, plus that slight look she gave Shizune sure says she knows something regarding Shion." His right eye crinkled into a crescent grin. "This is going to be fun." Yamato softly chuckled in agreement.
Several minutes passed, and it was apparent to Team 7 that they were heading toward the village's center and a particular 8-stories hotel known for catering to the high class but not so fancy. It has luxury suites on the top most floors with modest rooms on the rest. During peek times, liked during the Chuunin exams, the hotel could able to accommodate high-class officials, like kages, daimyos, etc., as well as regular civilians and shinobi. The central location was ideal to provide guests with good walking distance to main village sites – the Hokage Monument, Hokage Tower, Chuunin exam stadium, shopping district, etc. It was not a cheap, everyday, travel hotel, which was for certain to anyone who has been inside.
Walking inside and passed the lobby, where a few people and hotel workers bowed in respect toward the Hokage, the group veered left and led down a hallway by their leader to an elevator situated next to the staircase at the end of the hallway. There they rode up to the top floor and exited into another hallway, which ran the length of the building. It was easy to see that at the halfway mark of the carpeted hallway stood two sets of polished, wooden double doors, each set across the hall from each other. Tsuande guided them to the one on the right and knocked on one sturdy door.
A few moments went by until the door opened to reveal a young man with brownish-black hair. At first glance, he appeared to be in his mid 20's. His brown eyes went wide for a moment upon recognizing Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, this is a pleasant surprise. Please come on in." He stood aside to let the bosom kunoichi and the rest inside, and once they passed, he closed the door.
It came to no surprise that the suite was fitting for a high-class person, for after all, Tsuande, Shizune, and all on Team 7 have been in royal palaces, castles, and other places of daimyos, kings, queens, etc., to tell. The central room was huge with a circle of cushioned chairs and couches in front, a polished oak dining table for eight in the middle with a crystal chandelier overhead, and a few more cushioned chairs and a single couch at the rear of the room, all facing windows and a balcony, showing a spectacular view of the Hokage Monument. A plush rug covered the floor while a few paintings adorned the walls, which have polished oak moldings on top and bottom. Three oak doors were on both sides of the room, and it was easy to tell they led to the bedrooms and bathrooms. Overall, the suite screamed 'luxury.'
As the young man, who wore a uniform that seemed familiar to Naruto and Sakura but not to Kakashi, walked around the group to face them as they stood on a small foyer one step higher than the overall room, a young woman, with strawberry-blonde hair, came out of the far-right door and approached them. "Hokage-sama," she began as she drew near, "what brings you by?"
"I'm here to introduce you to some people," the Godaime smiled at the woman and the man, who stepped down to stand besides the woman. "May I introduce you to Team 7," she gestured to the five-man team. Both the man and woman slightly gasped at the news as the blonde Hokage started the introductions, indicating each team member. "Yamato," who grinned with a head bow. "Hatake Kakashi, leader of Team 7," and the jounin gave a nod with a simple "Hello." "Sai," who followed Yamato's greeting. "Haruno Sakura," and the pinkette grinned with a "Hello." "And last, Uzumaki Naruto," and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki grinned and said his hello with a small hand wave.
"You're Uzumaki Naruto?" the strawberry-blonde woman gazed at Naruto.
"Yeah, I am," Naruto confirmed with a single nod. Inside his head however, he was moaning. "Oh, great, another hero worshipper." He knew his 13-year-old self wouldn't mind the attention, for after all, he had dreamed of getting such attention his whole life. Now however, he wished he didn't have such hero status, for it was getting tiresome after a while. He longed for the days of normalcy of waking up and doing whatever he needed to do without someone practically worshipping the ground where he stood. Least most of Konoha's villagers and shinobi didn't hero-worship him compared to most outsiders. Well… Not counting Konoha's Uzumaki Naruto Fangirls Club that was.
"Team 7," Tsunade continued, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts, "may I introduce you to Yamada Shinobu," she gestured to the man, who grinned and bowed at the waist, "and Narita Miyako," who did the same thing as Shinobu. "They're from Demon Country."
Both Naruto and Sakura went wide-eyed as they spoke together as one. "Demon Country?!"
Kakashi nodded. "Ah, I thought I recognize that uniform," he said while pointing at Shinobu. "That's the uniform of Priestess Shion's palace guards."
Shinobu grinned at the silver-haired jounin. "You're correct, Hatake-san. I'm Shion-sama's personal guard. I was assigned the position a week after Taruho-senpai's funeral, and in his honor of fulfilling his role, I'll do my best to protect Shion-sama with everything I have."
Now that they knew, Naruto and Sakura could see that their jounin-sensei was right. Shinobu's uniform was exactly liked Taruho's with the exception that Shinobu was not wearing the hat.
"I'm Shion-sama's personal assistant," Miyako spoke, gaining everyone's attention. "I'm also a medic and her mid-wife, who helped delivered her baby two months ago."
Looking at her, Team 7 could see that Miyako was likely in her early to mid 20's with her shoulder-blade length, strawberry-blonde hair tied in a ponytail with the bangs loose and free to curtain her face. She wore a long-sleeved, short-skirted, light-green yukata over black slacks with black slipper shoes on her feet. A simple black slash was belted around her waist to complete the outfit. Overall, she appeared quite pretty with a healthy feminine figure and light make-up on her face.
"Wait a minute," Sakura blurted out in revelation, her eyes on the pair before her. "If Shion's personal guard and assistant are here, then that means Shion —"
"Miyako?" a female voice interrupted the pink-haired medic-nin as it called out from behind the far-right door. "Do we have guests?"
Blue eyes went wide upon recognizing the voice. "That's Shion!" Naruto nearly shouted, before he brushed past Shinobu and Miyako and headed toward the rear-right door. After 11 months, he still remembered her voice well.
Yet the blond Chuunin was quickly stopped by Miyako as she rushed to stand in front of him with palms faced up in a halting motion. "You stay here," she ordered with an assuring grin, leaving him at the area between the dining and rear sections as she went to the rear-right room. It was clear she did not want him to enter the room where Shion was, thus it baffled him to as why. Yet he knew better to complain, knowing it was perhaps something private.
After Miyako entered the room, a few shuffles were heard, and a few minutes later, the door opened again to let a blonde priestess leave as she held a blanket-wrapped infant in her arms. Yet a few steps out the door with her assistant behind her, Shion stopped, her light-purplish eyes locked on the blond young man and those expressive sky-blue eyes of his, and after 11 months since they last seen each other, time stood still once more as each took in one another.
It has been a long time since she last seen him, and Shion concluded that the photos, he had sent to her along with his letters, just did not do the real person justice, as she warmly grinned while examining him from head to toe. He was obvious a few inches taller, and his hair was a bit longer and wild-like as some hanged over his village headband. His shinobi attire was not much different than a year ago. Instead of orange pants, Naruto wore black, and his jacket was still the same black/orange one he wore. The only addition were the green, chuunin vest he wore openly over the jacket, which were all underneath a red trench coat with short sleeves and black flames along the hem.
Yet for the Demon Country priestess, she could see that Naruto was still the same caring person he was before. It was told all in those sapphire eyes looking at her, and she couldn't help but be glad he has not changed that aspect of his personality, for it was what made him be him.
Naruto smiled warmly at the first woman he loved as she stood there in a regular, peach yukata with white socks and zori sandals on her feet. Despite that she was one year older than him; he could tell that he was now taller than her by an inch or two, even though she has grown a bit as well. Shion's light-blonde hair was still the same length, but now it was in a braid. He even noticed that she started to use make-up, noting the light-pink lip-gloss. Overall, she was a woman of beauty, and it was great to see her in-person again.
Finally coming out of his spell-induced state, Naruto realized his team was now behind him with Tsuande, Shizune, and Shinobu facing him and Shion to the left. He took in the warm smirk on Baachan's face and Shizune containing from giggling, thus he knew he was looking like a love-sick fool a few moments ago.
With slight blushing cheeks, Naruto nervously chuckled and met Shion's eyes once more. "It has been a long time since we last seen each other, Shion. It's good to see you again."
"Like wise, Naruto-kun," Shion warmly greeted in return.
Blue eyes focused from the priestess's face to what she was holding. The Hokage-wannabe blinked in slight awe, knowing what this child was. "Shion… Is this our…" he trailed off, completely a lost for words now. He glanced at Tsuande, who gave a warm, reassuring grin and nod to confirm his guess, before again eying the child in Shion's arms.
Sakura, who took a few steps to stand just behind her blond teammate to his right, gazed at the infant and immediately detected the blue blanket. She mentally frowned, knowing what that blanket meant. "Oh, no! You've got to be kidding me!"
Seeing that he was speechless, Shion smiled and took several steps before she was standing just in front of him. She briefly and fondly looked at her child before again eying the child's father. "This is your son, Naruto-kun." The blonde girl grinned and nodded, when he had raised his eyes to look at hers prior to returning to look at the baby boy. "His name is Uzumaki Haruki."
"Uzumaki?" asked Naruto curiously at his son's mother.
"Hai," Shion replied with a confirming grin. "I want him to have his father's family name." Her expression turned into a mild, worrisome one. "Is this okay with you, Naruto-kun?"
"Of course, it is!" he quickly exclaimed with a chuckle. "Just I thought you would have given him your family name." Looking more closely at his son, Naruto realized the little tyke have the same blue eyes as his with straight blond hair a darker shade than Shion's.
Looking at the little baby, Sakura grinned warmly, thinking Haruki was cute. Yet when she raised her head to look at the infant's father, her grin faltered. "Does Naruto know the significance of Shion having a boy? He either forgotten or does know, just he's not showing it. Knowing him, I bet it's the former."
At the same moment, Kakashi's thoughts were on similar lines as his former-student. Yet he came up with a way to bring up the issue without asking out bluntly and rudely. "Shion-sama…" he started, and after he gained everyone's attention, he pressed onward. "Did you come all the way to Konoha just to introduce Naruto to his son, or is there more to your visit than just this?"
Tsunade and Shizune did their best not to chuckle, for they knew what Kakashi was really asking. Yamato smirked, Sai grinned, and Shinobu and Miyako softly snickered with closed months. Sakura however seemed to frown some more.
As for Shion, she mentally smirked and chuckled, for she immediately knew what exactly the famous Copy Ninja was asking. Outside, she nodded once with a calm grin. "No, I didn't come all this way just to surprise Naruto-kun, Hatake-san." Her light-violet eyes locked onto Naruto's blues. "I'm here to ask Naruto to keep his promise to me."
"Eh?" Naruto right away responded in bafflement. "What promise are you…" His words wandered off as his mind remembered what he was told 11 months ago by Tsunade.
"Neji gave me this scroll which is a letter from Shion to me. It verified what Neji reported regarding Shion choosing Naruto to father her child. Yet it also contains a request... a request for Naruto to return in eleven months time if Shion's child is found to be a boy and not a girl. She needs to have a daughter to pass on her powers."
"Oh…" Konoha's Jinchuuriki softly said, as his cheeks blushed pink. "That promise." He nervously chuckled and scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "You want me to 'help' pass on your powers to the next priestess, right, Shion?"
Shion's light-violet eyes lit up with mirth while her mouth grinned in triumph. "Hai, Naruto-kun. That is the promise you gave me. You did say, 'I'll do whatever it takes.'"
Hearing the snickers from Tsunade, Kakashi, Yamato, and Shinobu and seeing Shizune and Miyako giggled with a hand over their mouths, Naruto sweatdropped as he again uneasily chuckled with his cheeks turning redder.
Sakura, however, was the only one in the entire group not enjoying the scene. Her emerald eyes narrowed on the blonde priestess, who was not aware of the pinkette's ire. "'HELP' MY ASS!" Inner Sakura voiced loudly. "SHE CAN'T WAIT TO GET INTO NARUTO'S PANTS AGAIN! PUT A CHASTITY BELT ON HIM! SHA!"
Mentally, Tsuande's teenage apprentice rolled her eyes despite being amused at the same time. It was odd though to imagine Naruto wearing a chastity belt, especially since he was not a virgin. Yet the young woman inwardly groaned that Shion would definitely soon be bedding her teammate again after 11 months since the last time.
"Naruto, you baka," Sakura mentally scowled. "As I said 11 months ago, that nindo of yours sometimes get you in trouble."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
End of Chapter 2
A/Ns:
1) I'd decided to wait until after Chapter 427 of the manga was released before starting to write up this chapter. I'd wanted to know the fate of Kakashi, whether he lives or dies. It seems he will live, if the manga hinted as such. I hope.
So after much thought, I'd decided, as you read in this chapter, not to let Kakashi die. I can't see Naruto loosing another sensei after the death of Jiraiya, and I hope Kishimoto will not make it a curse in killing off another beloved character if the current plotline seems to be an indication. Yet sadly, I kept to canon that Jiraiya died. Sorry, my fellow Jiraiya fans, but he has to die in order for Naruto to grow up somewhat in my fic. :(
2) I do not want to hear anyone bitch about me killing off Sasuke. As of now in the manga, Sasuke is a Grade A bastard. He finally got his revenge against Itachi but found out about the truth, and now he wants to destroy Konoha? In such a situation, if Naruto can't talk the guy out of revenge, then there is only one thing to do, kill him. It's either him or the village, and if Naruto wants to protect Konoha, he knows he has to kill Sasuke if the guy can't be reasonable.
As for Sakura, well, yeah, she too will be hurt if she has to choose between Sasuke and Konoha's safety. She has come far from the fan-girl she was upon graduating from the Academy, thus why I think she will not ever blame Naruto for doing what he need to do to protect Konoha.
3) To give a better picture of the hotel Shion is staying at, it's like the Marriott. I've been in a Marriott hotel, and it's quite a nice hotel. I can tell it can cater to the high-class, but it has good modest rooms for the average person. It's not one of those travel hotels that one sees off major highways, for the Marriott chain are in the center of business areas, etc. Given the high-class guests that arrive in Konoha during the Chuunin exams and other occasions, such luxury hotels would definitely be in the village. I can't see the Fire Daimyo staying in a cheap everyday hotel, right? ;)
4) The following are the definitions of the names I'd chosen for Shion's two servants and the baby…
Shinobu – endurance (I thought it would be a fitting name for Shion's personal guard.)
Miyako – beautiful March child (Guess what month Miyako was born in. ;p)
Haruki – radiance sun (I thought given he has blond hair with blue eyes, this name would be fitting for the tyke. :) )
Don't ask why I chosen the family names for Shinobu and Miyako. I'd just randomly chosen them from a list. That's all. No meanings behind choosing the names what so ever.
Speaking of names, I'm quite aware that in Japan, the family name is mentioned first then the person's personal name. Yet this fic has been written with thoughts in mind that it would be read mostly by people in countries where the personal name is mentioned first then the family name. I grew up this way, so I'm going to write it this way.
Besides, I really can't see it is hard for most people to figure out the names once they read how any Naruto character's name has been written. If one reads in a fic the family name is mentioned first (Uzumaki Naruto), then the person will know to expect this for all names in the fic. If one reads the first name first (Naruto Uzumaki), then one should expect this for all names in the fic. I have no problem adjusting myself easily this way. :)
(Added on 12/29/08: Okay, I changed my mind regarding the arrangement of the names. I went back to change the names to show the family name first and personal name last. Some great fics, like "Team 8," have the Japanese way, so after much thought, I'd decided to do it this way.)
5) Since I don't know it will be possible for me to get out the next chapter before the holidays, I want to wish everyone a joyous holiday season and Happy New Year! I'll see you all in 2009! Dattebayo! (grin)