Chapter 16

"Sakura…the father of your baby is…" Tsunade paused as she scanned the sheet in front of her. Sakura could hear her heart pounding in her chest loudly.

Kakashi shifted his weight from the opposite leg. His calm exterior evaporated and now was covered with concern. Sakura held her breath to try to steady her heartbeat, which ended up speeding up with lack of oxygen.

"Will you tell us the name already?" Kakashi asked annoyance present in his voice.

Tsunade looked up from the results and exhaled.

"Well it doesn't look like we have anything to worry about. You'll be just fine Sakura. I never thought I could forgive Sasuke but…with the alternative I think I could kiss him."

Sakura and Kakashi's eyes widened in disbelief.

"So you're saying her child is Sasuke's?" Kakashi clarified.

Tsunade handed the paper over to Kakashi who took it quickly and scanned the results for himself.

"That's what I'm saying. To be honest I was afraid it would turn out to be Orochimaru's; if that was the case then we would have to do something to make sure that child never came into the world. Or at least do something to make sure that nothing horrible would happen to Sakura."

Sakura glanced at the paper in Kakashi's hands. When she saw the line that stated that Sasuke truly was the father, relief washed through her.

Kakashi glanced at her with his eye that was not covered by his headband.

"Is this what you wanted?"

Sakura nodded her head quickly, trying hard to hold back the tears of joy that wanted to cascade down her cheeks.

"Y-Yes, I didn't want it to be anyone else's. I just hope this is what Sasuke wants…"

Kakashi's eye never left her face.

"Sakura…Sasuke helped you escape didn't he?"

Sakura bit her lip as she looked down at her hands that rested in her lap. Kakashi took that as a yes.

"I'm afraid that he's using you Sakura, using you for his own sick pleasure."

"I don't think so Kakashi-Sensei! Before we did…things he was worried about hurting me. Even though he's scary most of the time sometimes he lets his old self come out. There's still so much good in him." Sakura expressed emotionally.

Kakashi studied her facial expression. Perhaps Sakura was right about Sasuke, and if she was he would become the happiest man alive.

Tsunade reached and took the results from Kakashi.

"Well now that we know who's the father it's time to make plans to protect you. No doubt Orochimaru will come looking for you once he discovers you are no longer in the base. My guess is he already knows that Sasuke is the father and therefore he will be looking for you in order to take your child away from you."

Kakashi's head snapped over to look into Tsunade's deep eyes.

"You think he wants Sakura's child?"

"Isn't it obvious? He wants to make sure he has a good host to last him for millions of years. So it's no surprise to me that he went through all this trouble to make sure something happened to Sakura."

Sakura looked out the window. Everything had started on that night she had decided to run away from the village in order to find Sasuke and bring him back. It seems that had backfired quite a bit.

"I can be on 24 hour watch."

"Kakashi you can't protect her all hours of the day. No, you will take shifts with the other Jonin that I will assign to this mission." Tsunade cut in.

Tsunade began to explain the plan that was forming in her head while Kakashi listened intently. His eye brows lowered at one point and Sakura wondered if Tsunade was suggesting something Kakashi apparently didn't agree with. Turning her attention back to the window she began to center her chakra and her newly acquired chakra. She could fill it swirling inside of her as it moved at her command.

'I need to get word to Sasuke somehow, and in a way that Orochimaru won't be able to trace…a way he won't be able to see.'

Her eyes fell closed as the chakra began to slowly leave her body. There was one way she would be able to send a message and hopefully Sasuke would be able to deceiver it and understand. If worse came to worse then she would take the chance and head back to the base that was if they were still there.

Tsunade stopped mid-sentence when she felt a big amount of chakra discharge. Turning around she looked at her student that currently had her eyes closed.

'What in tarnation is she doing? With that kind of chakra Orochimaru will be able to trace her.'

Taking a step towards her she was stopped by Kakashi's outstretched hand.

"Leave it."

She gave him a stern look and he shrugged his shoulders. She moved her head towards the door indicating they should talk outside. Kakashi followed her a few moments later with his hands in his pockets.

"Why did you stop me? With that amount of chakra she could—"

"Let her give word to the father of her child. He deserves to know that the baby she carries is his and not the monster he serves." Kakashi replied effortlessly.

Tsunade's mouth hardened as she thought about the statement. Kakashi looked into the room through the square window that was on the door. The young girl he had trained since she was 12 sat still, her eyes still closed. She was reaching out desperately to her teammate she thought she had lost a couple of years ago. One she had never given up on…one Naruto had never given up on.

"What are we going to do about Naruto?" Kakashi asked with his back still turned to the Hokage.

Tsunade sighed as she placed her hand on her forehead.

"I haven't fully determined what to do. I know we need to retrieve him but at this moment we have no leads and therefore no way of finding where Itachi took him. I don't feel comfortable with sending a scouting team out with Orochimaru on a rampage. We might have to wait for a couple more days before we are able to send one out."

"We wait a couple more days and its likely Naruto will be dead. You certain this is the only way?"

Kakashi speculated.

"What else am I supposed to do Kakashi? There is no way we can afford to go after him when there are no possible leads."

The door opening captured their attention. Sakura stood before them, leaning against the now closed door.

"If I got you the lead would you send someone after Naruto? He's in trouble because of me and I want to fix it. I need him to be here with me through this," she said motioning towards her belly.

"How would you be able to do that?" Tsunade asked critically.

Sakura looked off to the side for a moment, and then she allowed her eyes to turn to look at her Sensei.

"I've gained some new powers from Orochimaru and even if I'm not able to find him I know Sasuke can. If I can get to Sasuke and ask him to do this then I'm certain we can find Naruto and therefore help you in order to send a team after him."

"But will Sasuke really help you? For all he's concerned he only wants to get even with his brother, am I right?"

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"That may be true but if Sasuke truly does have feelings for Sakura then he just might be willing to do anything for her. I think we should let her try to get through to him and see what happens. Right now that's our lead and we need to follow through with it. If we don't then there really is no hope for getting Naruto back."

"We will get Naruto back. Lady Tsunade I can't go through this without him. Sasuke won't be able to be here and no offense but Naruto fills a gap that you guys can't. I just need him."

Tsunade folded her arms as she looked deeply into her pupil's eyes. She wasn't surprised to see the determination that had always been present during their training sessions. This was a girl that was determined to bring her friend back, now her lover it appeared.

"Even if I told you that you couldn't you'd go behind my back. I know how you and Naruto work. All right you can call for Sasuke; my only restriction is you can't leave the fire boundaries." Sakura jumped up and down while Tsunade cleared her throat, "however, Kakashi will be going with you. I don't want you doing this alone."

Sakura went rigid.

"I don't know if he's ready to see Kakashi-Sensei."

"Well he's going to have to see him. Kakashi! You will accompany Sakura in seeing and asking Sasuke for his help. If it turns south I want you to handle the situation you see best, I do not want her hurt, do you understand?"

Kakashi nodded his head once. Tsunade turned her attention back to her student.

"Sakura you cannot forget that you are pregnant, if Sasuke doesn't want the news then don't tell him. You need to be more careful now."

"I know Tsunade-Sama. I'll do my best and I promise he'll help us find Naruto."

"For Naruto's sake I hope you're right." With that she turned on her heels and walked away leaving Sakura and Kakashi watching after her.

"So…do you really think you can get a hold of Sasuke?"

Sakura sighed, "I really hope I can. He might not answer just because he doesn't want Orochimaru finding out about anything. I just hope he did what he said he was going to do."

"Which is?"

"Kill him."

"Orochimaru?"

"That's the one."

Kakashi was momentarily shocked.

"Uh…what makes you think Sasuke is ready to sever that bond?"

Sakura snickered, "Bond? You think Sasuke has a bond with him? Hardly, in fact he's been getting tired of all the bossing around Orochimaru does. He told me when he dropped me off that he was going to finish things. He's ready to be on his own now; he's strong Kakashi- Sensei, very strong."

Kakashi leaned his head against the wall.

"Well that's to be expected. He was strong before he left, I can only imagine how much he's grown."

Sakura clasped her hands together in front of her.

"He misses you Kakashi-Sensei."

His eye widened in awe.

"Sasuke?"

Sakura smiled fondly at him.

"Who else? You know Naruto and I love you so Sasuke is the only one that you didn't know about. Even if he doesn't say it I can see it. He's still the little boy we knew."

Kakashi chuckled as he watched her sweet expression that fluttered across her face.

"If you say so."

Sakura rested her hands on her hips.

"You remind me so much of Naruto!"

"It appears that this pregnancy has made you far more moody then you've ever been." Kakashi amused with a teasing glint in his eye.

Sakura huffed as she turned away from him. Her mind got away with her as it conjured an image of Sasuke. Darkness seemed to settle over her as she realized how much she missed him nagging at her and teasing her, or being just plain mean to her.

Kakashi sensed the change in Sakura's manner and it unsettled him.

"Sakura?"

Pasting on a smile to please her old Sensei she smiled sweetly at him, it never seemed to touch her eyes.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Kakashi stepped towards her as he placed his hands on her small shoulders.

"You are still only a teenager. Allow me to help you…how bout we head over to my place and you can try to send a message to Sasuke from there?"

Her eyes were hallowing as she answered him, "Yeah that'd be a great."

'We need to get her back to Sasuke. At this present moment she won't make it without him. Why she has grown so attached to him I don't think I'll ever understand. Although when he was in Team 7 I became very fond of him as well. So perhaps I do understand…'

Kakashi held out his arm. Sakura looked at him and then at his arm questionably.

"You're not going to walk there by yourself."

A real smile began to tug at the corners of her lips but it didn't go from Kakashi's notice when she forced the smile to subside.

Many stares followed them as they made their way down the street. Sakura kept her head down; the only time she looked up was when she was responding to something Kakashi was saying. Once they neared the building that his house was in Sakura's footsteps faltered.

"Are you sure you want me to do this in your house? You never know something might go terribly wrong…"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders

"I'd rather be with you while you did this then to have you alone and then something happen. If you do end up sending off rather scary vibes I'll make sure to put a stop to it before anything happens to my Make out Paradise series."

Sakura giggled as he opened the door.

"We couldn't have that happening could we?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No I'd be very upset if anything happened to them."

Sakura gazed around the simple living room that greeted her once she walked in. It was neat which is more than could be said for Naruto's house and there seemed to be more of a woman's touch.

"Hey Kakashi…did you meet someone while I was gone?"

"Hm?"

Sakura's bare feet made light noise as she walked into the kitchen where Kakashi was stirring something in a pot.

"It just seems to have more of a womanly touch then it used too."

"Oh that…well you could say that Tsunade has been giving me grief about how un-homey it looks. She was tired of always seeing it so she made Shizune come and fix it up a bit."

Sakura smiled at him. Kakashi could see the glimmer of mischief in her eyes.

"So are you and Shizune?"

Kakashi sighed as he shook his head.

"Sorry to disappoint you Sakura but no, she's just someone that Tsunade has made sure to send over when I'm not around to keep my place up. I guess she thinks that since I'm a great Ninja that my house should be great too. I don't understand it."

Sakura's gaze fell to the simple table that was in the middle of the kitchen.

"Kakashi? Has there ever been a girl that you cared for? Wanted to be with more than anyone or anything?"

He faltered in his movements as he turned to look at Sakura. Sakura could see the pain in his eye as she began to blush from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked such a personal question, you've always been one to keep those things private and here I am asking you and—"

"No it's okay," Kakashi cut her off, "There was someone…but they are no longer here."

Sakura wringed her hands together as she took a step closer to Kakashi.

"Did you want to marry her?"

"…yes…"

"Did she know that?"

"…no…"

Sakura sighed as she let her arms encircle him, bringing him closer to her.

"I'm sure she knows now though. I bet in her house in the sky she looks over you and can't help but smile. I'm sure she loved you back Kakashi- Sensei."

Kakashi awkwardly accepted his students embrace. After a few moments he pushed her lightly away from him so he could look down into her green eyes.

"Don't you want to try to contact Sasuke? Naruto doesn't have much time left."

Sakura bit her lip as she began to feel that uneasy feeling that started at the pit of her stomach. She jumped slightly when Kakashi pushed a strand of her long pink hair behind her ear.

"I feel like you aren't here. What's going on?"

"I guess I'm afraid Orochimaru might catch onto the signal like Lady Tsunade said. I can't have him finding out where I am, although I'm sure he already knows where I am by now…"

Kakashi leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his wide chest.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you Sakura. I'm not going to let another one of my students be taken away from me. I will give my life to protect you and that baby." He motioned towards her with his right hand.

Sakura began to chew the inside of her mouth. What if everything turned out being so wrong in the end? What if Orochimaru did find out and he came years later to claim her child as his own? What if Sasuke wasn't strong enough to get rid of him? There seemed to be too many variables to consider in this confusing equation.

"Sakura…if you're going to do this it has to be now. Wait much longer and I'm sure Akatsuki will already have Naruto killed."

'Naruto…I can't just leave him, forget about him. He's always been a constant figure in my life. He would never dream of leaving me…and yet I left him—but I'm back now! I'm not going to let him die.'

Sakura closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. The purple chakra that had been building up inside of her began to circulate throughout her whole being. She soon forgot everything that was happening around her; her only focus was on him.

'Sasuke please hear me…or feel me or whatever it is I'm doing to try to get you to listen. You need to go find Naruto…before it's too late. I know you say you don't want anything to do with him but I know you better. You're suffering just as much as Naruto…you've been struggling without him. Even if you aren't willing to admit it; you need him. Just like he needs you…I know it's a lot to ask but Tsunade is ready to give up on him. I can't let that happen, please Sasuke…please help me find him.'

Sakura continued to call out to him for several minutes. Sweat began to slide down the sides of her face. Kakashi gazed at her as all this occurred. Finally after ten minutes he moved from his leaning position and touched her shoulder. She jumped when he made contact with her.

"If Sasuke is going to help he will. Right now I think it's best if you got some sleep. You need to keep your health up now more than ever. This baby is going to take a lot out of you."

"How can I sleep Kakashi- Sensei? Naruto is out there by himself—he's probably hurt. I know about every scar he's gotten since he's come back from training with Pervy Sage…I need to be with him right now. He needs me…"

Kakashi's eye lowered slightly.

"You know about his feelings for you, don't you?"

She titled her head slightly to the left. Didn't Naruto think of her as a sister just as she thought of him as a brother? What more could he feel towards her?

"…loves you…"

Sakura's eyes widened as she tuned into the last part of Kakashi's sentence.

"Wait, what?"

Kakashi sighed through his mask.

"Naruto loves you Sakura. He loves you more than anything else in this world."

An invisible hand seemed to reach out and slap her hard across the face.

Naruto love her? Now that she thought back on it she could see that it was true. Her hair fell over her face, casting her face into shadow. Her hands clenched tightly at her sides she bit her lower lip.

"Naruto…he knew about my feelings for Sasuke. But how can I explain what happened between me and him when Naruto doesn't know what Sasuke's like? I don't want to see his sad smile because he knows…"

"…that there's no chance in changing your mind…Sakura he already knows. He's known since the first time he saw the look on your face when you realized it was so much more than just a little crush. And the moment you asked him to bring Sasuke back for you…I believe that's when it really sunk in for him."

Blood began to trickle down her chin from the pressure she put on it from her teeth. 'Naruto…why didn't you say something to me? Why didn't you talk to me about it…I may have…'

Sakura shook her head. What was she thinking? She's always been devoted to Sasuke; would knowing about Naruto really have changed that?

Memories between her Naruto flashed through her mind. One stood out above all others.

A pounding sounded at her front door. Sakura barely made any movements indicating that she heard the commotion going on downstairs. Her mother looked up the stairs in the direction of her daughter's room. She had been in there for days…ever since that Sasuke boy left.

Pulling the door opened she was surprised to see a blonde hair boy with wide blue eyes staring back at her.

"Is Sakura here? She didn't come to training with Kakashi- Sensei this morning. I was afraid that maybe she was sick or…"

"She's upstairs in her room. You're welcome to go up there if you like. But I'm going to prepare you. Sakura isn't the same at the moment…when you talk to her she might not respond."

Sakura's mother watched as the boy's expression became full of dread. She smiled sadly at him as she reached out and touched his cheek lightly. He was startled by the contact but quickly regained his composure.

"We all know you tried your hardest to bring him back. She doesn't blame you Naruto. Please don't look so down when you go up to see her."

"Mrs. Haruno…I'm hurting too. I—I wanted to bring him back for her but…I also wanted to bring him back for me…I didn't want to…" he clenched his hands tightly into fists. As he closed his eyes tightly she could clearly see the pain etched on his face.

She placed her hands gently on his small shoulders. 'This boy shouldn't have to deal with so much pain at this age.'

"Naruto…it isn't your fault. You have to believe that. Right now Sakura is going through a time when she feels like there was something more she could have done. You have done everything you can for him."

Naruto opened his eyes and looked up into the shinning green orbs. 'Her eyes are so much like Sakura's…'

"There's more I can do for him. I will become stronger in order to bring him back. I'm going to keep my promise and I'm going to save Sasuke."

Her mother couldn't help but giggle. "Yes I'm sure you will Naruto. We all have faith in you and your abilities. Now run up there before she jumps out the window because she knows you're here."

Naruto ran to the first stair and turned around and gave her the thumbs up.

"Don't worry Sakura will come out of this, believe it!" then he bolted up the rest of the stairs. Once he got to the door her knew she would be behind he sighed. Would Sakura ever get over Sasuke leaving? Or was she going to have this big black cloud hanging over her head for the rest of her life? He twisted the knob slowly and looked inside the room. The drapes were closed so no light could enter except through the small crack that wouldn't close all the way. The room was neat and tidy and there didn't seem to be anything on the floor that shouldn't have been there already. His eyes roamed the room and landed on the spoken girl he was looking for. She was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall; a small photo frame in her hands.

Naruto pushed the door wider to allow him to enter. He closed the door behind him and walked up to her. He sat down on the edge of her bed and looked out across the room to her bookshelf.

"You missed training this morning…"

He wasn't surprised when no answer came. He closed his eyes as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"Sakura…please talk to me. I know you're really upset that I wasn't able to bring him back home right away but I promise I'll bring him back."

"Naruto…you remember what I said to you in the hospital. The next time you go after him I'm coming with you. It's…just going to take me a while to catch up with you. But I will. Please don't blame yourself for not being able to bring him back…no one would have been able too."

Naruto turned his head so she was in his view. The girl he was madly in love with and here she was…worrying over his best friend. He gulped as he scooted so he was leaning against the wall next to her. His eyes fell down to the frame and he couldn't help the smile that escaped.

"I remember that day. You were so excited to be in a picture with Sasuke. You were saying something mean to me and I got upset. Sasuke smirked at me as if saying, "that's right you loser, the girl likes me better, your loss," I remember being so upset and vowing that one day I would punch him down and he'd finally admit how good I was. When Kakashi- Sensei put his hand on our heads like that…it felt like we were all a family. It…was a nice feeling."

When a wet drop landed on the frame he brought his blue eyes up to look at Sakura. Tears were cascading down her cheeks freely. Her grip on the frame tightened as a sob racked through her chest.

Guilt ran through Naruto as he realized he shouldn't have said anything. Sakura seemed to see the sad expression because she smiled at him.

"No don't worry; I'm glad you told me. It was hard for me to remember the day this picture was taken.

Now that you've said something I can remember exactly what happened." She smiled again to try to smooth the situation out.

Naruto looked at his knees for a moment without speaking. Then opening his mouth he spoke,

"Sakura…be honest with yourself, you want to cry and scream…you want to beat everything up in this world. You want to fall to the ground and just give up; you want to run the way that Sasuke went screaming his name, hoping he'll hear you."

Her hands began to tremble as Naruto's words hit her right on the mark. When Naruto didn't hear anything he turned to look at her again. Her green eyes were hidden by her pink bangs that she had let get longer since Sasuke left.

"It's okay to feel that way. Just…don't ever give up; Sasuke needs us to get stronger in order to get him back. He isn't going to just come back with us talking…I should know."

Sakura pushed her bangs to the side. "You went through so much to try to bring him back. He could have killed you."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah he could of but he didn't. That right there proves to me that some of what I said sunk in. I can't give up on him when I know there is still a part of him that wants to come back."

Sakura smiled as she saw the gleam of determination in Naruto's eyes.

"You love him right?"

The question came out of nowhere catching her off guard. Her eyes fell back down to the photo, her finger traced over the face that would forever be in her dreams.

"…yes…and I told him so."

Naruto's mouth fell open. "You told the teme that you loved him? When? How?"

Sakura continued to trace the picture.

"After we had Ramen…I had this feeling that something wasn't right. I turned around and ran towards the exit from the village. I waited…I couldn't shake this feeling that came over me. Then I saw him…he was coming towards me and he had his pack with him. Right away I knew he was going to leave. He told me that it was late and I should get some sleep. And then…that's when I started to let it all out. I asked him why he acted like he hated me…when he stopped he turned around and called me annoying…but…even though that hurt it made me want to reach out to him—to hold him to me. He started to walk again and that's when I let it all out. I screamed to him telling him that I loved him more than anything…and that I would help him get his revenge as long as he wouldn't leave me. I told him I was willing to go with him—and I would have Naruto, he only had to say yes."

Naruto was dumbfounded by all this new information. He had wanted to ask Sakura about his earlier but he felt it wasn't his place and now that he had asked it part of him wished he hadn't.

"He was a bastard to leave you. I'm sure he's…wherever he is wishing he had taken you up on your offer. Even though I would have hated it if you left I can see why you'd do it. And all I want for you is happiness. Between me and you I think he had something going for you too." Naruto grinned widely at her.

Sakura's eyes opened up in shock.

"You do?"

"Heck yes I do, believe it!"

A true smile sprang onto her face. She set the picture down on the bed and threw her arms around her best friend.

"Thank you Naruto!"

Naruto pulled her closer to him and held her close.

"Hey, whenever you need to cry about Sasuke you come to me…I'll be the shoulder you can cry on, you don't have to do it yourself."

Sakura hugged herself as tears began to fall down her face. She noticed Kakashi walk up to her from his shadow that was cast on the floor in front of her.

"I should have seen it back then…when he came to me that day I missed training. I talked about loving Sasuke and I didn't even notice the pain he must have went through. Why was I so blind?"

Kakashi sighed as he scratched his head.

"Sakura, you have to realize Naruto wouldn't want it any other way. He loves you yes but he wants you to be happy over everything else. He knows with having Sasuke gone has done to you. After that time he was always watching you, always worried that you would leave. When he went with Jiraiya he told me about his concerns. He never stopped thinking of you while he was gone. Believe me, when he finds out about you and Sasuke he'll be happy."

Sakura placed one of her hands on her stomach where she knew the baby was growing. She rubbed it softly while she thought about Naruto.

"I hope Sasuke gets back to me soon, or at least goes and finds him. I can't have this baby knowing that I lost my best friend and knowing I can't have my baby's father here with me."

Kakashi frowned.

"Oh so the rest of us are chopped liver?"

Sakura gasped as her eyes flung up to look at him.

"Of course not! I was just meaning…"

Kakashi smiled, his eye going into a happy line.

"Don't worry I was just lightening the mood. I understand how you feel. Now how bout we get a bed set up for you so you can rest and I'll figure out what to make for dinner?"

Sakura grinned at Kakashi as she watched him head into the small section that was his bedroom. Watching him rearrange his pillows for her made her smile even wider. Walking over to the window she looked out.

'Sasuke please find Naruto…he can help me raise your child. I need him Sasuke just as much as I need you. I hope when you find out about me and the baby you won't be upset. I also hope it will give you a reason to come home. To come home to me…and the family you have.'

And another chapter is finished! I hope everyone liked it! I had fun writing it even though not much happened in this chapter. Don't worry this was setting it up for the next chapter. Much more is going to happen now that I got this chapter out of the way. And yes Sasuke is the father of her baby!! Everyone can shout out in joy. I did debate on having it be Orochimaru's but in the end I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Please review for me! and a big thanks goes out to my beta reader Silver who got this chapter back to me in one day. You're awesome!