Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But daaaaamn, he's fine as hell!

I know, it's been FOREVER. I hope this chapter makes up for the lack of updates for the past few months. I'm doing better OCD and depression-wise, so there should be more updates now.

"K-Kyuubi's going into labor?" Sasuke asked, stunned. He'd never really paid attention to how long the fox had been pregnant... But now he realized he should've. If doctors didn't get to Kyuubi in time, he would most likely die of blood loss. Foxes were known for the extra amount of blood they shed while giving birth, which was something very important that the maid probably didn't know.

While Sasuke snapped out of his daze and yelled at the nurse to get help immediately, Naruto quickly pulled on his clothes and ran past his mate to find wherever Kyuubi and Itachi were. He could sense Sasuke's fear back there and he wasn't going to wait around for something bad to happen. Sniffing the air, he caught the scent of blood and leapt over a smaller spring, turning a corner where there was a large mangrove growing through the floorboards.

"A-ahh!" Kyuubi's pained voice filled the air, catching the blond's attention. He ran further and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Itachi hunched over his gasping mate, gripping his blood-covered hands. His cerulean eyes became wide in fear as he saw all of the blood smeared on the floor and all over their bodies.

Itachi turned to face the newcomer, blood in his hair and all down his jaw and neck. His eyes were full of loathing and worry, his fangs bared.

"He can't change!" he growled, scaring Naruto. "They're trying to tear through his stomach because he can't change! I'll kill them before they kill my mate!"

That was when Naruto realized that it was Kyuubi gripping onto Itachi's hands, not the other way around. He was trying to keep Itachi from harming the kits... and in doing that, he was killing himself. That realization hit the boy hard and tears sprang to his eyes, making them burn painfully.

"W-why can't he change...?" his voice cracked as he spoke.

"He's too weak!" Itachi's own eyes filled with tears he could no longer hold back. He refused to let the man he loved die. He tried to rip his hands away, but Kyuubi used all the strength he could to keep him in place so that his children could survive.

After a few moments, Kyuubi's howls and painful cries dulled down to pathetic whimpers and Itachi's tears slipped down his pale cheeks as he realized his lover was close to death. He could see the movement inside of the bulging stomach and silently wished that it could have been them dying instead of the person most precious to him.

Just a few seconds later, footsteps were heard and the professional doctors in the building were at Kyuubi's side, trying to help him. They pried his hands from Itachi's wrists and ordered the other pet to step away.

"His heart rate is extremely low and he's losing too much blood," one doctor said, grabbing a syringe that was full of blue fluid. "Inject him with Stato Vilo. The cubs should come out easily then."

Pushing the needle into the fox's chest, the doctor expelled the liquid and watched as Kyuubi's body convulsed one time before his chest heaved at a normal rate. The woman beside him lifted his arm and pushed her own syringe into the bend of his elbow where the vein was, quickly pulling it back before the man changed into his fox form, whining and wiggling around in agony.

"One cub is coming out, sensei," another woman that was placed by Kyuubi's legs stated and reached out to help with the birthing process. "Nagato-san, prepare a stretcher. As soon as the pet has given birth to all of his cubs, we'll need to take him in for surgery to stop the internal bleeding."

Itachi watched on, his heart pounding in his chest. Never in his life had he been so scared or even showed so much emotion... and as he noticed his younger brother's eyes on him as he approached from behind, he knew he was letting too much slip. Inhaling deeply, he let a calm expression slip across his face and relaxed his tense shoulders, watching the doctors help his lover survive and remove what he called 'burdens.'

Naruto turned when a hand was placed on his shoulder, his blue eyes meeting charcoal black ones. He smiled fainly and mouthed a 'he'll be okay' to Sasuke before looking on as each kit was born, their small, furless bodies wiggling around on the warm blanket that was lying on the ground for them. They looked so small to him as one of the male doctors sucked the liquid out of their tiny throats with an even smaller instrument, their cries breaking out instantly.

Not a moment later, two doctors blocked Naruto's view of the pets and spoke quickly to each other, their movements rough and sharp as they examined something the blond couldn't see. The woman sighed loudly and turned to her superior, cradling something in her blood-covered arms. The man beside her held a clipboard, ready to write down what she was about to say.

"Birth was successful. The fox will survive once he has undergone surgery and given iron injections. There were seven kits born, but unfortunately, one had inhaled too much liquid when trying to escape from its parent's womb and died from suffocation. Six remain and are in healthy condition."

Sasuke cringed, knowing the news of the single cub dying would hit Naruto like a brick and make him remember Seung's death. He glanced over and took note of the rage in his mate's beautiful eyes. He was sure that the boy's desire to kill Orochimaru was coursing through his veins at that moment. Sighing, the black leopard pulled Naruto against him.

"I know what it reminds you of, but calm down. Please."

"I'm calm," Naruto gritted his teeth.

Behind them, Jiraiya cleared his throat. They both turned on their heels, the anger slipping from the blond's eyes quickly enough. Sasuke bowed his head in respect to the man and pulled Naruto back with him so the senior pet could go through and get to where the doctors were.

"I'll deal with this matter. I want you two to take your cub and go home," was what the monkey said. "She's been very curious of the smell of blood coming from in here and I don't need her to see anything she doesn't need to, especially after being chained up by Orochimaru for so long. Kakashi and Lukki will be staying here with me, got it?"

Sasuke nodded and slowly led Naruto away from the crowd of people, out of the springs, and into the main hallway where Kyung-Soon was standing with one of the institute's teachers. The little girl smiled happily and ran to her parents, tugging on their much larger hands while quickly telling them about the new friends she'd made.

"That's nice," Naruto put on a smile, obviously still a little upset. But he was getting over it and only loved on his daughter as she spoke about lessons she'd learned. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but we have to leave now. Susu-mu and Papa have to take you home so that you can get all cleaned up and ready for bed."

Kyung-Soon pouted and her soft car ears flattened on her head.

"We have to leave already?" she whined.

"It's getting late," Sasuke commented. "When we get home, we'll make you some tuna that you can have before you take your bath, alright?"

That statement alone cheered the small cub right up and she nodded, grinning from ear to ear. She reminded Sasuke of his lover in so many ways that it was almost frightening. Enjoyable, but frightening.

"Papa," Kyung-Soon looked up at Naruto, her hand gripping his tightly. "How come I smelled blood earlier? It was really strong..." she scrunched up her nose and mewled. "It made my head hurt."

Sasuke cut in before Naruto could answer, squeezing the hand of his daughter's that he had in his own grasp.

"Someone just fell and cut their arm on the rocks in the springs. It's nothing to worry about."

In the back of his head, he was worrying about his brother and his mate. He hoped that they were doing alright...

--------

"Chin-mae... Chin-mae, darling... where are you?"

"Mom...?" Naruto stared into the looming darkness, seeing a shadow darker than the darkness itself standing in the distance. "Mom...? Is that you?" he ran forward, tears coming to his eyes. He was going to see his mother for the first time since he was a cub, and he would probably see the rest of his family too.

The figure stepped out from the shadows. It was definitely his mother, her arms spread wide open as her curly, blonde hair fell in thick swirls down to her waist. Her blue eyes were very welcoming, her lips parting to beckon him.

"Chin-mae, I've missed you..."

Naruto ran even faster and wrapped his arms around his loving mother when he reached her, his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't believe that she was actually there, right in his grasp. Her familiar scent was there, as well as her simmering warmth.

"Chin-mae..." she whispered, "why did you replace me with someone else?"

The blond's eyes widened and he pulled away, seeing Sasuke standing there with a hurt expression on his handsome face.

"Naruto... I'm your father, aren't I? Are you going to go back to your family once you see them again? Will you leave me behind?"

Naruto stepped back, watching the scenery change. His cerulean eyes fell on the small frame laying on the gravel road, rain pouring down around the both of them. Seung was laying there, eyes dull and his tail slowly fluttering on the ground. He was barely breathing.

"S-Seung...!" the older feline shook and fell to his knees, slowly reaching out to touch his son. He ran his fingers along the child's wet cheek. He was alive... Naruto was seeing him alive...!

Seung's body convulsed slightly and he tilted his head to the side slightly, eyes slowly closing and lips parting.

"Papa..." he breathed shallowly. "Papa... Are you going t-to leave me behind? Leave the memory of me here...? Leave me and S-Sofu here...?"

Naruto shut his eyes tightly and yanked his hands back, screaming out as loudly as possible. This couldn't have been real. It had to be a dream.

A dream.

Naruto sat up in bed, his throat starting to hurt as he found himself screaming the last syllable of his son's name. Sweat slipped down his temples, his blue eyes frantically searching the pitch black room for his son. He gripped the sheets around his waist and jumped when a hand wrapped around his wrist.

Turning to the left, he looked down and saw the faint outline of Kyung-Soon. Her eyes were full of tears, filled with the guilt of knowing she'd been the one to lead her brother to his death... She'd been the one to lead him into Orochimaru's grasp. She'd been so scared of dying... and the human man had told her that he wouldn't kill her if she lead her younger brother to him...

He'd said that... He'd said that he wouldn't kill her brother... That he'd just keep him to test him...

"Papa... Seung... was my brother, right...? I..." she looked down with so much guilt in her pretty eyes.

Naruto spoke to her while noticing that Sasuke was absent from the large bed, his spot ruffled from recent use. He was probably in the bathroom or downstairs getting something to drink. He was having a little trouble sleeping recently...

"I know what happened between the two of you the day he... passed on," the blond ran a large hand through his hand, sighing and breathing in deeply. He was slowly getting over the death of his youngest cub, but it still just ripped him up inside. He could remember exactly how Seung looked in the rain when he'd found him... "It's alright, Kyung-Soon. There's no need to feel guilty. You didn't know... Kiba and Sai told me."

The little girl smiled slightly and hugged her father, turning to look at the door when Sasuke entered, his shirt having been discarded somewhere in the room. He was breathing heavily, a glass of water in his hand. He hurried to his lover's side and lifted the male's tan face up, looking into gorgeous ocean-blue eyes.

"I heard you scream..." he left out the part of him hearing their deceased cub's name in said scream. "Are you alright? I got this for you. I'm sure your throat is sore," he smiled faintly, sitting right beside Naruto. "Kyung-Soon, Papa and I need to talk, so try to sleep while we go into the hallway, okay?"

The blonde nodded with a neat little bob of her head, then nuzzled her cheek against Naruto's arm before shifting and snuggling under the covers. As she felt the both of them get up and slowly exit the room, she peaked at them quickly before turning over and yawning.

Outside of the room, Naruto leaned against the far wall and sighed, taking a sip of the water that cooled his scratchy throat. He looked over at his mate and smiled, as if to reassure the extremely worried leopard. The last thing he wanted to do was worry Sasuke.

"You shouted his name," Sasuke stated bluntly.

Naruto chuckled, looking away.

"You don't think I know...? God, I made Kyung-Soon cry..." he swallowed thickly. "The nightmare... it just really scared me for some reason. It made me remember something that I shouldn't think about... but that I should think about at the same time. And it just made me realize an issue I have to resolve..."

"What issue?" Sasuke questioned.

"My parents..." Naruto looked at his mate. "I don't know what I'll do once I see them again. They'll want me to go back to Korea with them... but I have my new family here in Japan," he looked torn. "My nightmare played on my stress... and I feel as if I'm leaving everything behind if I go back to Korea. My love, my friends, my new family, my memories..."

"Naruto," the raven started, "if you really want to go back to Korea--"

"I don't! I want to stay here with you and--and everyone else..." Naruto quieted himself down, trying not to wake everyone up. "But my mother and father... What would they say if I told them I didn't want to go back to Korea with them...?"

Sasuke pulled Naruto in a hug and sighed against his flattened ears. He could tell that his lover was stressed out and scared, and he just wanted to tell him that he could really go back to Korea if he wanted, but... he wanted him to stay in his arms for the rest of their lives. It sounded too mushy to him in his mind, so he chose not to voice it aloud.

"You take whatever path you think is the best for you. If that path happens to be one that leaves me behind... so be it. I want you to be happy."

Naruto's eyes burned as he pulled back and looked up into the darker leopard's face.

"Sasuke... I would never leave you behind. I've wanted you for such a long time... I'm not going to let you go--" his words were put to an end when lips crashed against his, his tall body being pushed firmly against the peach-colored wall he was leaninng against. He kissed back with much gusto, his eyes slipping closed. Damn, he loved the feel of Sasuke's frame against his.

"Um... Ahem."

Both parties turned to stare at Lukki, the man dressed in black slacks and a red dress shirt. He was adjusting his black tie as he smirked at them, his usually tussled golden hair in a neat, combed fashion. To them, he looked ready for a night on the town.

Sasuke pulled away from his flushed mate, clearing his throat.

"Are you going out? If so, I'm assuming that my brother and Kyuubi are doing just fine."

Lukki nodded.

"They're both with Tsunade-sama right now, along with the kits. They're doing just fine!" he exclaimed happily. "And yes, I'm going out. Kakashi and I are... how do you say... going on a date?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke stared at him, stunned.

"A... A date...?" the repeated the man in unison.

"Yeeeep. A date," Lukki smirked. "We're going to a quaint little cafe in the downtown area," he waved to them before turning on his heel and heading toward the stairs. "I suggest you two get to bed. The next Showcase is in two days and you need to be rested up! Ciao, minna!"

Naruto stared at Kyuubi's master with a disturbed look on his face, his stress and worry having already melted away. His own master... and Lukki... going on a date together? Kakashi always looked like he could hardly even stomach the man, let alone possibly date him... Did he lose a bet? Was he blackmailed?

"Maybe... we should get some sleep," Sasuke chuckled, trying to forget about the information that he'd just been given. He didn't want to know anything about Kakashi's 'personal' life. "You look worn out and we have to have you in top shape for the Showcase."

Naruto nodded.

"I suppose so... I am tired and I'm sure Kyung-Soon isn't enjoying sleeping alone."

He let Sasuke lead him back into the bedroom; Lukki and Kakashi's date had been forgotten, the worry over family had been tossed aside for the time being, and their sudden lust for each other had been left in the hallway. They just smiled to each other and laid on each side of their female cub, holding each other's hand as they drifted off to sleep.

----------

"Paaaaaapaaaa," Kyung-Soon ran to her 'mother' in the garden, a little pink sundress on her scrawny frame. She played with the curls of her ponytail that was draped over her shoulder, a big pout on her face. "Papa, I can't find Nuna..."

Naruto frowned, looking up from the magazine he'd found lying in the kitchen.

"What do you mean you can't find him? And Kyung-Soon... it's not really nice of you to call Sai your older sister..." he chuckled. "Um, you two were playing hide-and-seek, weren't you? I guess he beat you this time."

Kyung-Soon puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms, harumphing in a very Sasuke-esque manner. Glancing around, she hoped to find Sai. She wasn't going to admit that if she didn't, she would cry. Sai was her "precious person", in her opinion, and she was worried he'd ran away from her!

"Nuuuna!" she called, running past the garden, trailing along the woods that connected the Hatake residence with the Aburame residence. She could barely see Kiba in his pet form running around the yard with Shino standing by their large porch. She slowed down her movement to watch them play frisbee, but then hurried her pace when she heard a shuffling sound close by. "Nuna! Is that you?"

Looking around, she spotted said feline snoozing behind a couple of fallen trees. His knees were bent and he was slouched over, but he looked so comfortable and content. Kyung-Soon's ears flattened against her head and she whimpered, wondering exactly how long Sai had been there. She felt horrible for making him wait so long...

Eyes opening quickly, Sai jumped up into a protective stance, but relaxed when he saw that the person standing in front of him was his his 'playmate'.

"I'm sorry..." Kyung-Soon apologized, bowing. "I didn't mean to make you wait so long."

Sai chuckled, stretching.

"You haven't even been with your parents that long and already you're mature enough to apologize. It's quite alright. I had a pleasant nap," he teased, causing the cub to blush.

Kyung-Soon ran forward and gripped onto the bottom of Sai's shirt, clinging to him. She nuzzled his stomach with her smiling face and mumbled a "sarang hamnida (1)" against the soft fabric. Since being rescued by Sai and Kiba, the little girl had taken a strong liking to the black tiger. She adored him like no other except for her papa.

Sai's lips twitched downward for a moment, but the frown disappeared from his face in an instant.

"Same here..."

1- I love you in Korean

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of KWSC :D