"Just Carrying it For a Friend" Chapter 6

Sasuke sat in front of Naruto and his parents after his shift ended. They had come together to talk about Karin's return to Konoha.

"And you said she has a kid?" Minato shook his head. "How can that be? Do you know if that's why she left without saying anything to us?"

"Yeah." Sasuke sighed. "He was giving Sakura a hard time this morning, so she called us in. We threatened the boy with juvie and he started blabbing everything we needed to know."

"Surely it's not our Karin," Naruto spoke up. "I mean, there's gotta be a lot of Karin Uzumakis out there, right?"

"Naruto, you know very well that it's her." Kushina rolled her eyes. She was annoyed by all of this. After hearing how horrible the child was, her only guess was that Karin had come back because she couldn't handle him anymore and she was probably going to dump him on them like her sister had done with Karin before she took off.

"And what about his father? Did he mention anything about him?"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other knowingly. They were the only other two besides Karin that knew about what happened at the lake house.

"Boys?" Kushina eyed them. "You know something, don't you?"

Sasuke sighed. "The father is out of the picture, but..."

"But?"

The Uchiha swallowed hard. "You remember how we all went to the lake the night of graduation and you told us to not do anything stupid?"

"No..." Minato looked lost, but Kushina was sharper than her husband.

"What exactly happened out there that night? I know your grandmother had called me infuriated over the mess you left the place in."

"Lots of alcohol happened," Naruto admitted, looking down.

Kushina focussed her stare on Sasuke at this point. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded. "I uh... I did some things I wasn't too proud of that night. One of those was sleeping with Karin down at the docks."

Both Minato and Kushina's eyes widened at his admission.

"It was my first and only time I've been with her." Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "You know how much she annoyed me."

"So you slept with her?" Kushina shook her head. "Damn it Sasuke. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't. We were out there to celebrate, and we were hormone driven teenagers."

"Well, if the boy is around ten, the time frame seems about right," Minato stated after a few moments of awkward silence. "You saw him, so what do you think? Did he look anything like you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "It was only briefly. He had her hair and his eyes were dark. That was the only thing I was really able to tell about him."

"Did you at least ask Sakura to run a DNA test or something?" Kushina asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "I didn't think there was a reason to. If Karin wanted to me to know I was his father, you know that she would have come after me a long time ago."

Kushina tapped her finger on her chin as she thought about the whole situation. "I know my niece. She's more about a good time and getting all the money she can."

"And Sasuke's family is loaded," Naruto stated.

"Let's just stay wary about this." Kushina sighed. "I don't like that she's back as much as anyone else does, but she's still family."

Minato patted her back. "I know what you mean, dear."

"You can't be serious!" Naruto exclaimed. "She used us her whole life, and you're going to let that continue?!"

"Naruto, it's not the boy's fault that he was dealt the wrong cards in life." Minato met his blue eyes with his son's. "That's why we helped Karin like we did. It wasn't her fault that her mother thought that she had better things to do than to raise her. Now that the cycle has repeated itself, we need to help the boy break it before it can happen again."

Naruto looked down, somewhat understanding what his father meant.

"But Sasuke, if he is yours..." Kushina sighed. "What are you planning on doing about it?"

Sasuke blinked a few times, caught off guard by her question. What was he going to do if that kid was his?

Sakura said she'd stand by him whatever he decided, and the longer he was with her, the more his mind was made up that she was it for him.

But if he decided to be part of the kid's life, that meant that Karin would probably have to be part of it, too. He'd encounter her more than he'd like, and that meant that Sakura would too.

Karin and Sakura would meet.

Sasuke groaned and put his head in his hands. He really wanted to go back in time and punch his younger self in the face.

Meanwhile, Sakura was at Sai and Ino's apartment. They had invited her over to talk about "something very important" as Ino put it.

They had just finished dinner and were now sitting in the couple's living room. Sakura was in a very good mood. She had eaten well, and she was now resting without the worry of returning to work for the next couple of days. Life was good.

"So, what would you think about moving in with us?"

Sakura's eyes shot open.

"Way to talk her up to it," Ino grumbled, smacking her husband on the back of the head. He was never one to beat around the bush.

"Why would I want to do that?" Sakura asked. "I have my own place, and it's within walking distance of the hospital. Do you know how hard it is to find something like that?"

Sai gave Ino a look as if his point was made. Ino puffed out her cheeks.

"Look, is this about me breast feeding?" Sakura sighed. "I promised you that I'd pump if I was able to produce. Ino, there's no guarantee that I'd be able to breastfeed anyway. Besides, I'm 28. I'd rather live on my own at this point."

"And I get that, Forehead." Ino groaned. "It's just, Sai and I have found a place and we're closing on it in a few days. I'm just worried about not living as close to you as all. I want to be there if something happens."

"Ino, you're still within driving distance of the hospital."

"What about your recovery after you give birth? Did you think about that?"

"I'm healthy and everything is going normally. Unless it's emergent, I won't have a cesarian. I'll be up and walking within an hour. I'll be fine."

The two women kept their eyes locked, having a silent argument with each other. Finally, Ino broke away and sighed.

"At least just think about it. You're not gonna live in your apartment forever, and it'd just be doing us both a huge favor to have you live with us for the first year at least."

Sakura giggled. "I value my sleep, thank you."

Ino continued to pout for the rest of Sakura's stay. Sasuke came later on to take her back to her apartment so that they could talk.

"Hey," Sakura greeted as she got into his car. She leaned over his console and kissed him.

"How was dinner?"

"Awkward," Sakura shrugged. "You? What did Kushina and Minato have to say about your situation?"

Sasuke let out a long sigh. "They had no clue about graduation night, so when Naruto and I told them, I was scolded. I expect nothing less because they're like another set of parents for me. They said Karin hasn't contacted them, but they seem to think that if she really is back in town, she's here to abandon the kid."

Sakura frowned. "Why would she do that?"

"It's all she knows," Sasuke answered. "Her mom did it to her, and now there's a strong possibility that she's going to do it to her son."

"What if he's yours?"

Sasuke shook his head. "That seems to be the question of the night. I'm not sure what I can do."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. She knew that it must be a hard situation to be in. At the end of the day, Sakura was giving the kid inside her to Ino and Sai. To suddenly be a parent and have a ten-year-old child dropped in your lap was something else entirely.

She reached out and took his resting hand that was on the console. "Sasuke, I think that you should start with contacting her and asking her directly if he's yours. You have the right to know that much."

"I know that. It's just... What do I do then? Do I just give her money and let him continue to live in her irresponsible home, or do I ask for joint custody?" He sighed and ran his thumb over her hand as their fingers intertwined. "What do you think I should do?"

"Well... I think that if he's yours, he should have the right to be able to know his father. You should have the right to know your son, and your family deserves the right to enjoy him as well. Even though he is an ill-mannered brat." She grumbled out the last sentence. "I still can't believe he implied that I'm fat!"

Sasuke chuckled. "You're not. It's all baby."

"Thank you!" She huffed. "I mean the nerve of him! I'm not old, either! Just, the mouth on him was so irritating."

"His mother is worse," Sasuke frowned.

" I can only imagine." Sakura sighed.

The car slowed to a stop as Sasuke put it in park. They had gotten to her apartment.

"Do you want to stay tonight?" Sakura asked.

"I would, but I have to work again in the morning. I'll bring food by for lunch tomorrow, though."

Sakura grinned and leaned in for a kiss. "You're too good for me, you know that?"

"On the contrary, you are too good for me." He smirked. "I don't know any other woman that would be okay with this situation, and you're just going along with it like it's nothing."

"Sasuke, you were eighteen when you slept with her. Mistakes happen. It's what makes you human." She kissed him again. "Besides, I'm not perfect either."

"So, you have a kid no one knows about?"

Sakura laughed. "No, it's nothing that big. But the longer we're together and the more serious it gets, you'll see what I mean. I have demons in my past that I had to work through to get where I am today. Just think of this as an opportunity to grow and learn."

Sasuke gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"You guess?" Sakura smirked back. "Oh Uchiha, when will you learn that I am always right?"

He scoffed and shook his head. "Haruno, what am I going to do with you?"

"That's your decision." Sakura giggled and opened her door. She turned around before shutting it. "I love you no matter what you decide, okay? Don't forget that."

She quickly shut the car door and practically ran inside her apartment.

Sasuke stayed in his car, staring at the door she had escaped behind. That was the first time she had ever said she loved him outright.

She loved him.

She loved him.

Sasuke was about to get in bed after having a shower when his phone rang.

His eyebrows furrowed at the unknown number on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Sasuke, it's been a while."

Sasuke swallowed hard, his good mood ruined by those five words. "Karin."