DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. (Though the OCs are mine!)

Webs of Deception

Chapter Twenty-Three

Our Baby Angel

The various noises of the busy street buzzed through the raven's ears as he walked through the crowd of villagers. The sun beaming down above head while gentle breezes blew through once in while. Each step he took was unconsciously made as his mind was filled to the brim of thoughts from the night before.......


Sasuke didn't know how he made it out of the astral plane but the next thing he knew he was opening his eyes upon the real world. Where his vision showed the angle where he was before he left to the astral plane and the colors were as they should be, without that hard light. Though this hardly passed through his head as his eyes were intently focused on Naruto. His vision seeing a deeper shade of red as he continued to stare at the blond.

And before he could stop the impulse, he pounced on Naruto and pinned him roughly to the floor with a loud thud. Knocking over the candle and bowl in the middle and the one of the candles on the side over in the process. The painful groan from the blond didn't even register within his mind as he shouted, "WHO IS SHE?!! WHO'S UCHIHA ASUKA?!!" because she couldn't......it's impossible......she can't be his......

His grip on the blond's shoulders tighten at that train of thought. The corner of his eyes stinging with unshed tears. 'She just can't be.....'

Though he was suddenly yanked off of Naruto by sand that obviously belonged to a fuming red head. Who growled at the youngest Uchiha and sneered, "You fool! You could of seriously injured Naruto with abruptly ending the intense connection that was created." His sand tightening around the raven as his own anger rose higher.

Once the enraged Uchiha was subdued, Ruri immediately ran over to Naruto. Who was clutching his head and groaning out from the headache that rapidly formed within said head. She placed a hand on the blond's shoulder to ease his moving as her hand settled an inch above his forehead. That hand began to glow with a green light, easing the intense headache that the blond was enduring.

A sigh escaped his mouth at the pain lessoning and he opened his eyes to see that Ruri was the main thanks to it. "Does that feel better, Taichou?" she asked him once she saw that his eyes were open. She began to move her hand lower to check the rest of him as he nodded his head in a barely noticeable movement.

And as he pushed Ruri's reluctant hands away, he pushed himself up with his elbows. He looked forward and saw that Sasuke was captured within Gaara's sand. Glaring at him like he just killed his family. 'What the hell?' And as he rubbed his head, he asked, "What happened? What's going on?" Mainly indicating the position Sasuke was in and not the reason behind his mind splitting headache.

But before the more level-headed persons could say a word, Sasuke spat out, "Uchiha Asuka."

And Naruto could swear that he stopped breathing.

He stared up into Sasuke's sharingan adorned eyes with unimaginably wide eyes. Unadulterated fear pumping through his veins as his body shook violently. "H-H-How....." his mouth stuttered in saying.

But that word was completely ignored by the raven as he growled out each word, "Who. Is. She." Saying each word like he was internally struggling with himself to keep from attempting to escape the sand binds. And with the jutsu's that were running through his head at this very moment, where his mind wasn't really in the sanest place, he would destroy his whole living room and possibly the dining room and kitchen too. But he was seriously thinking of using them.

Naruto's mouth opened and closed, this action repeating like he was a gaping fish. But each time his mouth opened, no sound came out. The fear of telling him preventing him from speaking.

Tears welled up in Ruri's eyes at the difficulty she knew her Captain was going through. Because she personally witnessed what he went through when he lost Asuka-chan. It was heart-wrenching then and she didn't want him to go through something so painful again. Her worried filled eyes moved from Naruto to Gaara, wordlessly pleading with him to make this stop. But what came out of his mouth wasn't her idea--actually far from it--to make it stop.

"She's your daughter." he stated as calmly as he could.

Sasuke's slight struggling immediately stopped as his body froze. The sand the only thing keeping him standing as the impossible was verbally confirmed. 'No....he has to be wrong....it's not possible......The only person I had sex with was.......impossible......'

He looked up, not remembering that he lowered them, and looked into sapphire. Those sapphires letting out silent tears as the raven searched through their depths, searching for a confirmation to what the red head said was true. "Oh my god....." he breathed out when he found it. The corner of his eyes stinging with the realization of who exactly Asuka was.

Gaara glanced over at the distraught blond before settling his eyes on the Uchiha. "I'll let you go if you behave." he said and without expecting any kind of answer, he called his sand back, releasing the raven. He then gave Ruri a looked with a tilt of his head, silently telling her that the two needed some time alone. He turned toward the exit of the living room and walked that way, disappearing around the corner as he made his way to the dining room.

Ruri took a couple rounds of worried glancing at the both of them before standing to her feet and following the path of Gaara. But before she completely left the room, she glanced back one last time before heading to the dining room also.

Now Naruto and Sasuke were in the living room alone. Sasuke was standing exactly where the sand released him, his utter shock overshadowing the anger he was feeling a few minutes before. Naruto stared like a helpless child up at the raven, his feet unconsciously pushing him back until his back hit the wall. Then he pulled his legs up close to his chest and encircled his arms around them.

"H-How......" Sasuke began in a stutter but stopped himself to take a deep breath to calm down his emotions so he could speak properly. "How did.....this happen? Males can't get.....p-p-p......" he tried to say the next word but it just wouldn't let itself come out of his mouth. So to avoid from saying it, he went a different route. "Can't have kids......"

Naruto averted his crying eyes to the floor, not wanting to see his reaction once he was told everything. "Kyuubi....." saying the one name that caused all this. He sniffled and futilely wiped the tear stains from his cheeks. Only for more tears to fall and create new ones. "H-He made m-me able to h-have ki-kids. But I-I didn't know I could u-until I was already p-p-pregnant....."

"When.....?" the raven began as his body was trembling from the emotions he was trying to keep in check. "When did you find out?"

His hand tightened on his bent leg as the question rolled over in his mind. 'When....?' "When I first visited Yuugure......shortly after the chuunin exams." Saying the last part in a whisper.

Sasuke bit his lip brutally, 'After the chuunin exams......' Then he asked the question that he's asked himself so many times since he found out about Naruto. "Why didn't you tell me....." his voice sounding strained from the control he was putting behind it to keep it even.

"I was going to....." he had every intention to say more but a bitter chuckle interrupted him. That chuckle coming from the raven. "You were going to?! Why do I find that so hard to believe! No!" he suddenly yelled and lifted his hand up to stop Naruto when he was about to say something, "Let me guess! Maybe it's because I JUST FOUND OUT!!" His anger now outweighing the shock.

Naruto visibly flinched at his tone and backed himself closer to the wall like a scared animal. More tears flowing down his whiskered cheeks as he began lowly, "I couldn't risk sneaking back into Konoha." Which stopped Sasuke's angry pacing that he started after his outburst. "After the a-attack from Orochimaru, the s-s-security was ten times stronger t-than when I sneaked in for the chuunin exams. And when you defected, I found out to l-late. You were already in Orochimaru's hands by then."

"You could of figured out something to at least let me know that you were carrying my child! Wasn't Itachi with you!"

" 'Tachi!" exclaimed Naruto in disbelief that he would even suggest him. "And what would you have done to him by just seeing him! Even if he got to say anything, you probably wouldn't have even listened! And he was the only one around that I trusted at the time!"

"I would have been around, if you'd have let me!" That shut Naruto up with an audible click of his mouth. Sasuke ran an hand through his hair roughly, not needing to get into that now. This was about his daughter and what happen to her. "Then what happen?! Did you abort her--" That was wrong thing to unintentionally say because the next thing Sasuke knew, Naruto had pinned him to the floor with his hands encircled about his neck. Squeezing tightly to the point of cutting off his flow of air.

His hands automatically gripped the ones around his neck as he cracked his eyes open. And once he looked up, he noticed the blond's normally mostly sapphire eyes were completely blood red. But that's not what stopped him from pulling Naruto off of him, it was the broken kind of pain that was expressively showed on his features. So broken.......that it made his anger drizzle down to nothing.

A sob escaped the blond's mouth, "Don't...." he tried brokenly. The red haze in front of his vision slowly fading, showing what he was trying to do. His eyes widened at his actions as his hands loosened, letting Sasuke able to breath again. Naruto moved his hands away slowly, shocked at what he could of done to the raven below him.

Sasuke breathed in deeply to refill his lungs that were deprived oxygen. Though even with the blatant attempt on his life, he still didn't shove the blond off him. Nor did he say anything. All he did was watched the painful emotions pass through his now mostly sapphire orbs.

All of a sudden, Naruto began to speak like he wasn't speaking to anyone at all. While his eyes constantly remained on his traitorous hands. "She was fine...." he began with a sniffle, "I planned on staying in Yuugure until the baby was born. And she was doing fine. Very healthy....." There was a long pause before he began again. "I-I was seven months pregnant when it happened......when my first 'attack' occurred. A-A-And by the time R-Ruri-chan g-got her out......s-sh-she was a-a-already....." The next word was choke down by a sob. And he couldn't continue because more followed.

Tears brimmed heavily in Sasuke's eyes as his heart pounded painfully at seeing his blond in such a vulnerable way. Hearing his words and watching as he broke down finally made him realize something. That Naruto was just like any other mother mourning their lost child. He lifted his hand and tenderly brushed away the continuously falling tears from the blond's face. While his upper body lifted from the ground and embraced the blond in a tight hold. "Shhhh....."

Naruto's body stiffened at the affectionate hold and his breath hitched as he forced his sobs to hard intakes of breath that shook his body. "W-W-Wha-at a-are you d-doing? Your-your suppose t-to be ma-mad at m-me.....It's my f-fault....."

"No....it's not." he said gently as his hand stroked the other's bare back in soothing motions. Fighting against his own tears from falling.

Naruto began to struggle against the hold that the raven had on him. "No.....W-What's wrong with y-you?!" But the hold only tightened, not letting him go. Never letting him go again.

"You're n-not s-s-suppose to act t-this way!" he went on as he continued to struggle, "No, no, no, no.......You're s-suppose t-t-to h-hate me! W-W-Why......" His struggling turned more violent when he began to hit Sasuke's chest with closed fists. But those hits didn't hold any strength behind them and Sasuke didn't bother to try to stop him. "Why, why, why, why, why......" Naruto repeated as his attacks were blindly thrown.

The sobs that he quieted down grew in intensity until he suddenly stopped and screamed out his agony into Sasuke's chest. The latter, holding him close as he cried brokenly against him. He gently rocked the blond in his arms, hoping that his ministrations would calm him. "Shh-shh-shh....." But how do you calm a crying man when you're crying yourself.

Sasuke buried his face in the junction between Naruto's neck and shoulder. Letting his tears freely fall upon the bare skin as he lost himself in his own pain......


Sasuke stepped through his front door with papers in his hand, taking off his shoes once he stood in the alcove. He just came back from the Hokage's office, being summoned early in the morning to retrieve the papers currently held within his hand.

He stepped up and headed toward the dining room, taking a quick glance up the stairs as he passed them. Knowing that Naruto hasn't come down yet from his chakra signature still present in his room. He entered the dining room and saw Shikamaru--who he was beginning to believe was glued to that chair--and Ruri sitting at the table. Ruri was eating her breakfast while Shikamaru was--here's no surprise--looking through books and scrolls. There was no sign of Gaara or his chakra signature within or near the house.

When Ruri noticed the youngest Uchiha's entrance, she put down her chopsticks and was beginning to stand as she politely asked, "Would you like some breakfast?"

"No." he answered before she stood completely. She settled back down in her chair and Sasuke handed her one of papers within his hand to her. Saying, "Fill this out by the end of the day. It's for the chuunin exams."

She nodded her understanding but didn't say anything as Sasuke was already exiting the dining room before she had any chance to. He ascended the stairs and now stood in front of Naruto's closed bedroom door. Nervously staring at it for a long moment before he gripped the door handle and twisted, opening the door and stepping in without announcing himself.

Naruto was just coming out of the bathroom from taking a shower when Sasuke just walked right into his room without so much as a knock. He was just thankful that he was at least wearing sweatpants instead of naked like sometimes.

Sasuke stood stiffly after his eyes landed on the blond and what little he was wearing. But that wasn't the only thing that had him on edge, it was some sort of odd aura coming off the other male. And that's when he noticed the bare arm that's usually covered in a white bandage. His whole right arm was covered with two six-tailed foxes criss-crossing each other. Their eyes golden yellow and their fur as black as night. And if he didn't know any better, he'd swear those eyes were looking at him and that their bodies were moving ever so slightly. 'Creepy....'

Once Sasuke stepped into the room, Naruto averted his eyes to everything else beside the raven and fidgeted every other second. Quite embarrassed at his break down last night with a strong mixture of anxiousness of what Sasuke would think of him now.

'He's not trying to kill you yet.....so I'd take that as a good sign.'

'Oh now you decide to speak and not remain silent!' he spoke sarcastically to the fox. Indicating the night before, where the fox was as silent as a stone wall. Kyuubi responded with a nervous chuckle and, 'Weell.....I didn't want to get in the middle of it.' his deep voice a few octaves higher than normal.

But Naruto didn't take notice of this guilty sign and instead just said, 'Whatever....' as he was too preoccupied to why Sasuke hasn't said anything yet and was still standing where he was. He chanced a glance up at the raven and saw his sharingan activated. Those red eyes glaring directly at his arm. His right arm.....

He snapped his head to his arm and finally remembered that he hasn't bandaged it up yet. 'Shit....'

'Idiot.....'

Naruto ignored the fox and made an futile attempt to hide his arm behind his back. "Sorry....ummm....I didn't think anyone would....." he trailed off and quickly went over to his night table, grabbing the sealing bandage from it. He held one end of the bandage in his right hand and began to wrap his arm up.

As the blond moved across the room, Sasuke kept his eyes on those foxes. His senses telling him to be wary. He walked cautiously around the bed, stopped and stood at the end as he watched the blond wrap his arm up. "What are they?" he asked monotonously, his sharingan still activated and focused on the slowly disappearing behind white cloth, foxes.

Naruto diverted his attention from his task for a moment and then went back as he answered, "They're a summons."

An eyebrow rose questionably on the pale face of the raven's. "A summons?" Finding the strange aura being lessoned to almost gone when Naruto was almost done wrapping his arm.

The blond nodded as he finished wrapping the last bit at the top of his shoulder. "Yeah.....something I kind of regret doing." He picked at the white cloth absentmindedly as he fidgeted on the spot. Trying to work up the nerve to speak what was on his mind. After another long moment of just doing this, he abruptly admitted lowly, "I'm sorry about last night....I....." His words trailing off into uncomfortable silence as his nerve suddenly lost it's strength.

He nibbled on his bottom lip and closed his eyes at his coward-ness. And as he took a final deep breath, he forced his mouth to speak, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you 'bout her....." Fully regretting his frightened decision. "I should of told you.....you have ever right to know about her as I do." He lowered his hand that was on his arm to his other hand in front of him. Rubbing both of them jerkily together in hopes to preoccupy his shuttering self. And to keep his hand from rubbing the tattoo on his arm.

"I was scared.....terrified on what you would think of me......" A pause occurred as tears began to unwillingly build in his eyes. "I knew how much you wanted an heir......and no matter how much I tried to convince myself that I wanted you to hate me.....I really didn't......" He choked down a sob at what he was about to say. "......And it's my fault she's....d-dead....." A single tear falling at the admission. And then another followed and then another.

All through this, Sasuke remain silent and stared intently at the emotions crossing the blond's face that never once lifted to looked at him. And when he said the last sentence, his stoic expression cracked and his foot took an unconscious step forward. Closing the distance between him and the blond until he stood right in front of him. And as he wrapped his arms around the shorter male, he whispered close to his ear, "Idiot...."

Naruto stiffened when the other's strong arms envelope him. Not completely used to the physical contact of the raven. But he soon relaxed and leaned his forehead against his shoulder, breathing in the musky scent that only belonged to Sasuke. "I'm so sorry.....I didn't intentionally mean to hurt you.....I never wanted to hurt you......"

'I know....' he responded silently. And he did. He knew that it wasn't intentional but......even if it wasn't intentional and that he knew it wasn't, it still didn't stop the emotions that said otherwise. His hold around the blond tightened as his head tilted to the side to discreetly nuzzle his nose in the blond locks.

The owner of those locks took a few deeps breaths to calm himself down and with must reluctance pushed himself away from the raven. Already missing the other's warmth as he muttered a, "Sorry...." Rubbing the tear stains away from his whiskered cheeks while he gave a forced chuckle. "You must think I'm such a pathetic person." He began to turn to go get a shirt out of his dangerous pile of clothes, when he was abruptly stopped in the middle by a hand grabbing his left arm.

Impulsively, Sasuke pulled on Naruto's arm toward him as he leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to the tattoo of his daughter's name. "Once all this is over, I'm visiting our daughter in Yuugure." he said, like he was talking about the weather.

But to Naruto, it sounded much more than that. It meant that he accepted her as his own blood. His own daughter.....

The tears that haven't had time to completely calm began to brim his eyes once more. He nodded his head, "Hmn, I think that would make her very happy to finally see her daddy." his voice was strained as he said this from the force he was putting into it to stop the tremor that threatened to escape his throat.

Sasuke's heart swelled at being called 'daddy' but he didn't let it show on his features. Instead, he let go of Naruto's arm, which he's been loosely holding for the passed minute. Naruto took a few calming breaths and decided that it was best to change the subject. He could never keep his emotions in reasonable order when it came to his deceased daughter. "What are those?" he asked in an more than you should be interested tone. Indicating the papers within the other's hand.

This seemed to snap the raven back to why he was up here to begin with. He handed one of the two left of the pieces of paper within his hand to Naruto. Doing this as he said, "Fill it out before the end of the day. It's for the chuunin exams, which by the way start tomorrow."

"TOMORROW!!" exclaimed the blond in a volume that filled the whole house. "You can't be serious!"

"Do I look like the type to joke?" His eyebrow raised in a non-humor way.

Naruto slumped down on the edge of his bed and laid his head into his hands dejectedly. He groaned into said hands, "With everything that's been going on, it slipped my mind. Dammit....." He ran the same hands that were over his face, through his hair. "How am I suppose to deal with the exams and deal with the whole village of missing people. Oh!" he exclaimed as he lifted his head to look at Sasuke. "I never got to ask you. The villagers, were they there?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yes."

"Well, that's good. At least we know where they're at. Though now the problem is, getting them out. We can deal with who did it later." He placed the form on his bed before he moved forward to his pile of non-neat clothing and luckily found a pumpkin colored shit near the top. He quickly put the shirt on, diminishing the wonderful eye candy that Sasuke's been trying and failing to keep his eyes off of, before re-sitting on the bed and taking the form back into his hands. He rubbed the back of his head as he read over the form that he needed to fill out.

Sasuke stood where he stood for a long moment before silently moving toward and sitting on the bed, making sure that there was some distance between him and the blond. Not really trusting himself to be on the same bed with the other to begin with.

A sudden chuckle from his left caused his head to turn in that direction. "Hey teme, what are you going to make yourself look like?" Naruto asked, not realizing his slip up.

His heart skipped a beat at hearing his old nickname that only the blond had the courage to call him. He casually shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know. You?" Quite surprising himself that he was having a regular conversation with Naruto.

"Aha! That's a surprise!" And with a evil smirk that formed on the blond's features, which caused Sasuke to lift an eyebrow at it, he continued, "But I bet some of the villagers will be quite surprised." Ending with a full blown grin that had Sasuke barely noticeably shaking his head at the unknown scheme that he knew was behind his actions.

Silence once again settled between the two, but this time it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. That is, until Naruto's body began to tense with a nervousness that was beginning to radiate off of him. These waves flowing all the way over to Sasuke, who glanced over at the blond without moving his head. Wondering what's gotten into him all of sudden. But he decided not to question him until he wanted to speak of it. Whatever it was.

And he wasn't disappointed when Naruto asked with hesitation in his voice and his eyes glued to form in his hands, "Ne Sasuke, do you like living in Konoha?"

"Why?" Sasuke answered with his own question. Not planning on answering truthfully without having the blond's reason behind asking that kind of question.

Sighing dejectedly, Naruto whispered with lost courage, "No reason.....Forget I asked." He stood from the bed, thinking, 'He'd probably say no anyway....' And with a more cheerful albeit fake attitude, he said, "I'm gonna go get some breakfast. I'm starving!"

Once Naruto passed, Sasuke smiled a knowing smile. 'Dobe....' and he soon too left the room but instead of going down to the kitchen, he went to his room to fill out his own exam form.


Touches illuminated the darkness that filled the stoned room. The light fighting back the shadows that lingered in the corners and flickered off the wooden surface of the table and chairs positioned in the middle of the room. This table and chairs that could easily sit twenty people, sat over ten persons. Each one wearing pure white robes with a elaborate black and red snake eating it's tail on the back.

They all sat in quiet chatter until order was announced and the chatter quietened down to silent wait. The silence only interrupted by the shuffles of robes. Soon the person sitting at the head of the spoke, "Speak Joben." His lips being the only thing that was visible.

A man that sat on the left side of the table with his hood covering the top half of his face spoke, "Yes, well, it's been confirmed that Uchiha Sasuke was the one to enter the astral plane. Which, of course, he will pass on the information about the villagers to Kyuubi." A satisfied smirk visibly gracing the male's features at how predictable some people can be. "As for Nanabi and Hachibi, it seems they're being kept a closer eye on since Akuma got their hands on all our information, by Nanabi's team and Shukaku."

"Hmmm......good. Reizo."

This guy didn't respond as promptly as the other. "Uchiha, Takimaru, Oohiro and another named Hyuuga Neji have just stepped onto the ferry today. They should arrive in Yuugure in the next couple of days." Leaving it short and simple.

A barely noticeable nod came from the head man. "I want to be informed immediately once they step foot within Yuugure." A sadistic and twisted grin spreading across the man's lower face. "Once that happens, we can move on with the next step of our plan."