Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.

I just thought I'd say that I know my story is very far from what would be in the manga but I follow the anime and don't read the manga at all. Though I've heard stories and know that Sasuke does not return after the death of his brother, so my story does not fit the plot of the manga. It still fits the plot of the anime so far so I don't think it would come under AU…or would it? I don't know I just felt like sharing that information because I'm in a rambling mood…on with the chapter;

Deep blue eyes raked over the mirror, or rather what was in it. Naruto couldn't keep the frown from etching into his beautiful caramel skin. 'What the heck is that?! I don't even eat that much! Then again…and I hate to admit it but…maybe it's all that strange stuff I've been eating. Sasuke said it was bad for me, I just…' Naruto sighed and made his way to the wardrobe. He had just taken a shower – alone. Sasuke was on a mission and wouldn't be back for at least a month. He had left early this morning and was probably still feeling bad for his behavior after the party; not that Naruto had forgotten it either; it still stung and it had been at least 7 hours since the incident; most of his injuries had healed after that but not this. To think sex could be so painful…

The blond always felt incredibly lonely when Sasuke wasn't at home. The house felt heavier and colder as he walked to the kitchen without his boyfriend. Though, the whole Uchiha district had a strange, creepy atmosphere about it. Naruto's face brightened; they had agreed last night that this would not be the case for much longer. They were going to renovate the whole place and then rent the homes. He hadn't bothered to ask Sasuke to sell any of them; he knew the answer would be a no – they were for his clan…when there was one again that is…

Naruto opened a cupboard and reached in to gather some food when he stalled. Sneaking a hand around his middle he groaned - Sasuke would hate him for his – before retracting the arm and walking away. He wasn't very hungry anyway and besides, Baa-chan liked it when he was early for training. It made her think he was more determined, he snorted, like anyone was half as determined as he was.

It didn't take long before he was walking down the quiet streets of Konoha. He had decided to take a longer route to the tower; Tsunade was usually late anyway and even Sakura didn't arrive as early as this. Naruto had woken up just as Sasuke was leaving and, annoyingly, hadn't been able to go back to sleep. He yawned and tugged on the bottom of Sasuke's shirt – it was red and very nice, one of the only shirts Sasuke had without an Uchiha symbol on. He never wore Sasuke's clothes when he was outside but lately he had felt more inclined to do so…they were slightly larger than his and didn't cling to him as his orange jumpsuit did.

His birthday would be soon and Sasuke would probably still be on the mission. He cursed internally; he hadn't realized that – it was only in three weeks - Well that was going to be something to look forward to; it would also be the celebration of the akuma takai and Naruto never enjoyed that.

He noticed a splotch of pink as he passed the entrance. 'I'd better go talk to Sakura.' She didn't come in as often as she used to; having a baby cuts back on your time and most ninja discontinue their career, opting for something more suitable to family life, but neither Sakura nor Lee had done that and both struggle to manage their timetable.

"Hey Sakura-chan…" He watched as she jumped slightly before turning around and smiling lazily. Since the birth of Kaname, she had mellowed slightly, though Naruto didn't think it would last. The baby looked much like her mother; pink hair and sparkling emerald green eyes, the shape of her eyes, however, were much more like her father's – thankfully she did not possess large, bushy eyebrows as well and for some reason it looked cute on her.

"Wow, Naruto…you're here early."

Naruto grinned and shrugged his shoulders in response. "I got up early when Sasuke left. Heh."

"Oh yes, that's right. Sasuke has a mission."

"Sadly." The blond laughed, causing his pink haired companion to giggle as well.

"I was about to go for breakfast…I didn't fancy anything in the house this morning but I really should have something. Do you want to come with me?" She asked sweetly but didn't miss the strange flash that entered her team-mate's eyes.

"I-uh…Actually, I already had breakfast," He sighed, "But I'll see you when you get back."

Sakura watched as her friend walked further into the building, knowing that something was wrong but unable to pinpoint what, she pushed it to the back of her mind before leaving.

"Hey Kakashi…" The voice said timidly from beneath his blankets.

"What is it, my little dolphin?" Kakashi cooed as Iruka tugged the blankets off of his head to look at his boyfriend. A glance at the clock on his lover's nightstand told him that it was already long past noon.

The brunette sighed, "I should leave now-"

"No! Don't go yet. You only got here last night." He interrupted, pulling the smaller male against his still-naked body.

Iruka blushed furiously, attempting to hide it by burying his face in the crevice of the silver haired ninja's neck. He couldn't help noticing – much to his dismay – that Kakashi stank of sex. He was probably in no better state but was determined to go now; he had over slept long enough and had made plans for himself; he was going to treat Naruto to ramen. They had been spending less and less time together and he wanted to go out more with his favorite hyperactive ninja. He had saved up money especially for this – he never knew exactly how much ramen the boy would eat.

"Kashi-kun, I promise I'll come back soon. Please?" He pulled away so that the Jounin could see his face and promptly pleaded with his most innocent look. He hated the face Kakashi pulled; one of disappointment and defeat. But he still smiled and kissed his boyfriends nose before climbing out of bed - ignoring the pout sent his way.

As he began cleaning himself off and readying himself for the day his thoughts turned to his ex-students. Most were growing up but he had worries about some of them. He couldn't help but dread the day that Hinata and Kiba's relationship would be exposed; they would likely be pushed apart and he wondered if they would survive the public ridicule.

And then there was Ino; he knew that she craved for the love that she saw her friends blessed with but she was looking in all the wrong places. She was auctioning herself to the highest bidder and then asking for respect. He had seen the woman a man more than once, but it was never the same man and she always had a sad glint in her eye; she knew what was going to happen. He felt extremely sorry for her but there was little he could do.

What bothered him the most was disease, he doubted she was fully protected each time she had sex with these strangers – because they were really just strangers – and worried immensely about her safety. He knew she was getting depressed but there was nothing he could do – this was something she needed to come to terms with on her own.

The same could be said for Naruto and Sasuke. They both needed to realize what they had and cherish it. More so for Sasuke than for his 'son'. Naruto had been acting strangely lately and Iruka was positive it was due to Sasuke and the friction between them. The blond seemed less hyper and a lot calmer, which wasn't a relatively bad thing – it just wasn't in his nature and it bothered Iruka.

He would never relate to the Uchiha; he understood the want for children. Iruka had a great deal of love for children and was slightly disappointed that he likely wouldn't have any of his own. But he knew that there would undoubtedly be kids in his future, there were plenty of orphaned children in Konoha and he couldn't understand the reason Sasuke had ruled out adoption.

Sure; the whole blood thing came into it but what about a surrogate? He knew Naruto would not be thrilled at the thought of Sasuke's baby growing inside another woman even if it didn't require sex. But the blond would get over it and he would love the baby too. Finding a willing woman would be the only difficulty to that route.

It was an annoyance that Sasuke refused to think of such things and instead chose the worst possible choice for himself – though it was something the dark haired teen had always done. Iruka sighed as he kissed his sulking – or sleeping, he wasn't very sure - boyfriend's temple and promptly left the apartment. He whistled to himself as he slowly approached the Hokage tower. The weather wasn't too nice; a gentle, cool breeze swept through the town and sent frequent shivers up his spine. Hugging the coat he was wearing closer to his body, he continued his walk.

He passed a group of children playing and stopped when he heard his name.

"Iruka-sensei!" one of the kids squealed in delight and ran to him; he quickly lowered himself to the ground and enveloped the girl in a tight hug. The winter was upon them and the younger children were enjoying a holiday. This meant the teachers work load was cut in half – something he was thankful for. The other children hastily pulled their friend away and ran back to the side of the street to continue playing; some acknowledging the man and others oblivious to everything but each other.

Being a teacher wasn't easy but it was – in his opinion – one of the most enjoyable jobs imaginable. He loved the repetition that so many others hated; teaching the same things over and over again. But he cherished his time with the younger generation. He often reminisced about previous students that he was reminded of in the classroom and even of himself as a child sometimes.

The Hokage tower looked as glorious as ever and Iruka sighed as he entered the large doors. It seemed relatively empty today and he failed to see Sakura as he passed the medics lounge. It wasn't really for medics though; everybody just went there when they took a brake. He smiled to himself before walking straight into the back of a certain orange clad teen. Just the boy he was looking for!

"Naruto! I'm sorry for running into you like that, I was wondering if you'd like to come have some ramen and chat?!" He asked excitedly. Naruto – who quickly got over his shock – grinned and replied immediately; amazed that his father figure was acting so happily, it was good to see him like this.

"I'd love to! Just wait there a sec and I'll go tell Tsunade." With that the blond took off down the corridor, leaving Iruka to smile and shake his head at the teenager's antics. Some things would never change.

He entered the medics lounge as he waited for the return of his previous student. He sat in one of the armchairs and watched as people went about their business. The couch he was on was situated directly in front of a tea dispenser and he couldn't help over-hearing the conversation a group of girls were having behind him.

"Sasuke seemed really nice you know. I can still tell he didn't want to be with me but I'm confident it will pass. I just need him to get comfortable around me and it'll work out. I know it." One of the girls said, she had a light voice, not unlike Hinata's. He raised an eyebrow at what the girls seemed to be speaking about.

"You're so lucky," another spoke, her voice shrill and laced with jealousy, Iruka had a very bad feeling.

"Well…yeh, it's nice to get to know someone who is usually protected heavily by a mask of indifference. I'm sure you'd be jumping for joy to go out to dinner with him." Iruka could hear the girl smiling and he scowled; 'what on earth?'

"Too right, Mijime! When are you next meeting him?" He then realized that there were three girls there, though he barely noticed through the questions going around in his head. Was Sasuke cheating on Naruto; looking for a bride before he'd even finished with the blond?

"Well he has been seeing me for some time now. He liked me better than the others I guess, but he's on a mission so I won't see him until…" her voice took on a cocky nature and the brunette couldn't bear to hear anything more. He stood and turned to demand answers when he heard Naruto's voice calling him.

"Iruka-sensei! Hurry up." He hesitated to leave or confront the girl in front of him. He could see why Sasuke would choose her. She had pale skin and dark brown hair – cut to her shoulders – and bangs floated around deep, dark eyes. She was perfect Uchiha-baby-dispenser material. He suddenly felt very sick as he made his way out of the room. He was greeted upon exit by a quiet but grinning Naruto. Iruka found himself wondering vaguely if the jinchuuriki knew that Sasuke was in a relationship with someone else.

"So, um…how have you been lately?" He asked casually, debating with himself whether or not he should bring that girl into the conversation. Mijime was her name; he'd heard her friend call her that.

"Oh, I've been good! What about you? Anything happened with Mr. Hatake that I should know about?" He snapped back, changing the topic hastily with a wink. Iruka blushed; catching the accusations. The last he had spoken with Naruto he and Kakashi hadn't been sleeping together.

"Well…we've become more serious…" He began, explaining all that he had been doing during the time they hadn't spoken. It seemed Naruto had a lot to share as well and had no problem with rambling on about all the events.

As they were nearing the Ramen stall though, Naruto became quiet. Iruka wasn't sure why. Perhaps the blond really had gone off the noodles like was rumored; though Iruka doubted it – the blond wasn't one to change habits. Which was what ramen had become.

They took their seats and Iruka ordered miso for both of them since Naruto seemed slightly dazed. The blond stared at the owner as he prepared the gorgeous, juicy, yummy, tasty, delectable food. Sneaking a hand around his belly he bit his lip and frowned. He was starving.

"Naruto?"

"hm?" He turned towards Iruka, seemingly unaware that he had yet to remove the tanned limb from around his stomach. This didn't go unnoticed by Iruka who watched him suspiciously.

"What's with the change of cloths?" He asked; something was seriously wrong here.

"Oh, uh, nothing really. I like wearing Sasuke's clothes. You know that…"

Iruka was not convinced. He'd known the boy long enough to realize when something being hidden from his fatherly eye. "Yeh…around the house."

"Well, today my jumpsuit was dirty."

"That's never stopped you before"

"I just felt like a change, ok? Can't you just drop it…please?"

Iruka sighed and was about to start an argument when their dished were placed in front of them. He watched curiously as Naruto eyed the food as if deciding if it was poison or gold. He seemed to settle on gold and quietly started to eat. Iruka made a start soon but stopped when he noticed that the boy next to him was already finished and was sitting soundlessly staring into space, a hand still on his tummy.

"Naruto do you want…?" He began but stopped when he saw that the plate was not finished – on the contrary, it was barely touched. He frowned and eyed the blond – who seemed to not have noticed that he'd spoke – darkly.

"Is there something wrong with the food Naruto?" He seemed to hear him this time and turned his head slowly towards the voice, a lazy look on his face.

"What?" He asked, causing Iruka to look at the bowl with a scowl.

"You have hardly touched you're food, what's wrong with it?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just not hungry."

"Really?"

Naruto hesitated…"ye…" But he was interrupted by a loud growling from his aching stomach. 'Damn it Kyuu…I know you did that on purpose.' But the fox didn't reply.

"You don't sound 'not hungry'" Iruka was getting aggravated. He was trying desperately to think of what could be wrong. He was running all Naruto's symptoms off in his head at top speed, trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe he did know Sasuke was cheating on him…

"I'm just not feeling well…" He said silently before leaving the shop abruptly. A distressed Iruka sat staring after him in a worried state. Iruka sat stunned as he paid the manager of the Ichiraku's and left towards Kakashi's flat. He needed to talk to someone about this; someone who might be able to think straighter when regarding the blond. He had immediately considered the Hokage but after reviewing the situation and her relationship with him, he thought she could probably think no better than himself. Kakashi – although he, too, was attached to the ball of sunshine – always thought straight.

The silver haired man yawned before crawling out of bed – intent on reaching to toilet before he passed out again. The previous night had left him extremely tired and although Iruka had gotten up around two hours ago, his other half had not been as active – so to speak – in last nights actions. He had just made his way into the small kitchenette, after relieving himself, to prepare some cereal – as if the man could be bothered cooking something – when he heard the buzzer go off.

Approaching his door he held the speaker before questioning who was at the door to his flat. He heard Iruka's voice and immediately opened the door, leaving his own for the man when he arrived. It took the Chuunin a few moments to climb the stairs but as soon as he entered the room he was ambushed by a large, firm chest firmly pressed against his back. He giggled slightly before leading the other man through the apartment and into the living room where Kakashi finally let him go to finish the breakfast.

"Are you just up?" Iruka questioned, noticing his boyfriend was still to dress in anything more than a pair of boxers. The man grunted a reply and Iruka smiled; he knew it!

"You got back quick…I thought you'd spend your day off doing something else." He responded.

Iruka frowned, "well, I needed to talk to you about a few things…" He noticed Kakashi turn towards him – a full bowl in his hands – and approach him on the couch, his eyebrows raised in interest.

"Do tell…"

"Its Naruto," He started, pausing on how to explain the situation. "Sasuke is cheating on him." He continued and watched for any signs of shock. None came.

"Aren't you concerned about this?!" He screamed, angered by his lovers lack of response.

"I'm not all that surprised. I suspected something anyway. Besides, this is going to break Naruto anyway and there is nothing we can do. I know I might sound harsh and unfeeling but trust me. I have noticed Sasuke sneaking out every now and then. I knew something was going on I just didn't want to admit it. But that isn't what you're here to talk about is it?"

Iruka stared dumfounded at the silver haired man's words but unable to start an argument whist he still had something important on his mind, he shook his head before letting Kakashi off the hook – swearing internally that he would let him know just what he thought about all this after other pressing matters were dealt with. Little did he know how long that would take.

"He's got all these strange things going on with him. Maybe I'm just being paranoid for him but…" he frowned "I don't want to take any chances."

"Yeh," Kakashi contemplated, "I've noticed a few things myself when we've trained together. Why don't you tell me everything you know and I'll see if I can add to it."

Iruka nodded. "Well…there was the sickness but that has stopped now, I think. And he had behaving strangely; worse than Ino at that time of the month. But that's passed too. Um…let's see, he's a little quieter now and seems calmer; it's very unlike him. And the change in his food I've heard about. He wouldn't eat the ramen I bought him today – said he was ill but I know it was something else. And then…well…um…oh gosh Kakashi! I was over-reacting wasn't I? It seems so silly now that I list everything." He chuckled nervously.

Kakashi shook his head, a deep frown on his face. Iruka could see that the man was thinking as he stared out of the window opposite the couch. The Chuunin knew something was wrong when Kakashi's eyes narrowed and he said distractedly 'he's been bloated too…hmm…' Iruka jumped at the opportunity to gather more information.

"What?!"

"I was just thinking. His stomach. It's strange but he's been hiding it lately, you know with Sasuke's shirts and stuff. I think he's gaining weight…" He trailed off, an unreadable expression etched on to his face as he contemplated telling Iruka his line of thoughts. He knew his lover would not pass such a thing off as impossible; he was a firm believer in miracles. And in a way Naruto was one big miracle.

He turned in his chair to face Iruka, a very serious expression on his face. The man addressed knew immediately that what was coming would be very difficult to handle.

Iruka watched as Kakashi took a deep breath to clear his mind before divulging the contents of his theory to Naruto's strange circumstances.

Iruka's eyes widened with each word coming from Kakashi's mouth.

…No way…

"Hokage-sama!" He heard a fairly flustered Iruka yell as the older man stumbled into the building. Naruto raised an eyebrow. What happened since the ramen shop? "HOKAGE-SAMA!!!!" it sounded really urgent. The blond was about to rush over to his father figure when a certain silver haired sensei of his stopped him; gently shaking his head whilst giving him a once over. 'The hell?!'

He watched as they continued through the building, utterly confused with all that had just ensued. He sighed before following Shizune…the woman was leading him to the basement – they had needed to show him more scrolls and he had never been down there so Tsunade had said he should go to get a feel of it.

Supposedly he would be making frequent trips here once Hokage, to be honest he couldn't see that ever happening; it was way too far a walk, he realized, as they continued down a long twisted staircase. It reminded him of a castle he and team seven had one been sent to infiltrate a few years ago. There were reports of strange noises and Naruto had been terrified…convinced that ghosts were haunting the place. There hadn't been ghosts but a bunch of children had been sneaking in and creating a lot of racket. Naruto had never lived that down though; since Sasuke and Sakura had both seen how scared he was. This was just like that and it was mildly creepy.

They reached a large round metal door at the end. It looked completely out of place in the old styled building. It had an elaborate locking system placed over it like the types found in some foreign safes. He found himself wondering how he would possibly manage to enter, though as he watched Shizune it seemed easier than it looked. She tapped a few odd places on the door before turning a large handle placed in the centre; what had the blond confused was that she continued to swing the bar round before stopping and swinging the other way and for some time she continued to do this until he heard a click and the door opened showing a dim lighted room.

There were candles on the walls to guide you around the place. Naruto was thankful because it was a huge room. It seemed to stretch on forever with large metal cases holding only scrolls as far as the eye could see. As he looked upwards he saw that not only did it seem to stretch for miles around him but also upwards; he couldn't even see the roof and all the shelves continued up. Naruto frowned – 'how the heck are you supposed to find something in here?'

He heard Kyuubi giggle as he followed Shizune; the woman obviously knew her way around. 'It isn't really so big.' Kyuubi's gruff voice echoed in his mind, he couldn't help thinking that the fox sounded worn out. Plus he wondered why the fox was in animal form – Kyuubi only did that when fighting – but paid it no mind as he continued their internal conversation.

'Well it sure looks big to me! Have you looked around? It must stretch out all below Konoha!'

'It's a jutsu. Very strong, since the scrolls held here contain some of the most dangerous forbidden techniques imaginable. I'm guessing you'll need to know all of them.'

'Why would I need forbidden jutsus?'

'You're about to find out…'

He watched as Shizune stopped at a certain case and reached up to pull down a single box. It was just an ordinary metal box, just like all the others around it. Naruto was quick to ask her what was inside. She had only said that he needed to wait for Tsunade to show him. Of course the blond hadn't been thrilled at the idea of waiting whilst they walked all the way back to her office but the woman stayed quiet so he huffed internally while following her like a lost puppy.

As they neared the Hokage's office, Shizune stopped dead in her tracks, turning quickly and shuffling both herself and the blond further away from the room. Naruto could hear the remnants of a dying conversation and wanted more than anything to burst in and find out what was going on – he was positive it involved Iruka and therefore involved him, he concluded. The man was his father figure after all. But it seemed he wasn't to find out since the door opened and both Kakashi and Iruka emerged from the room.

The brunette looked extremely decomposed and seemed to be having an overwhelming internal conflict as he stared into amazing cerulean eyes. Determination settled on his features and an overly confused blond found himself in the arms of is former teacher, not that he minded but he would really have liked to be told what the hell was going on. Just as he was about to question though, Kakashi had swept Iruka off his feet – literally - and left in a rush. Naruto sighed; was nothing simple any more?

The two entered the room to find Tsunade with her head face down on the table, empty sake bottled scattered around the desk.

"Tsunade-sama! You mustn't drink on the job like this." Shizune immediately scolded while Naruto looked on in humor – he always found it amusing when the Hokage got drunk. Though…it wouldn't do his training much good. He frowned at the thought before his attention was redirected to the box that Shizune was emptying on the floor. This was strange, he thought casually, usually when they trained, Tsunade would take him to one of the other rooms.

"Brat!" She snapped and pulled his attention once more to her. His bright blue eyes widened as he saw that her eyes were swollen and raw. She had been crying. He had only seen her cry on a few occasions and it always involved him. The two stared at each other for a moment before the blonde woman got annoyed…seemingly she had been speaking unbeknownst to the boy in front of her – he was now officially distracted…what was all the fuss about?

"I told you to come here! There is a strange mark on your neck!" She snapped and he raised an eyebrow but approached the desk. She beckoned him closer still until he was mere centimeters from his face. 'Surely she can see it from here?!' was his last thought before a sharp pain tingled through his neck. He immediately pulled back with a gasp; looking at Tsunade for an explanation but the woman seemed innocent. She had nothing in her hand and was fiddling with the cap of a sake bottle before she sighed and started lecturing him about the importance of forbidden jutsus. It seemed Kyuubi had been right.

"In order to become Hokage you must know all the forbidden jutsus. The reason – because I just know you're going to ask – is that there may come situations where it is necessary to…use such…techniques, in order to secure the villages survival." A mental image of Kyuubi flashed in his mind and he immediately understood. He didn't like it but it was understandable. Some things had to be done and although forbidden techniques were forbidden for a reason, they also served purpose when it came to survival.

Wordlessly he listened as she explained all the jutsus in detail and told him what he would need to do in order to master them. It wasn't expected that he would do it in less than five years but Tsunade was confident that he could pull such a thing off in less time. The boy was surprising when it came to such achievements.

Naruto listened closely and made sure he understood everything as well as he could – questioning when he needed to. And for a few blissful hours he felt like there was nothing else but him and his dream. The one he was finally reaching. His hunger was forgotten as well as his troubles with Sasuke and the strange occurrences he had witnessed today. He felt like there wasn't a care in the world and for just a few short hours he felt truly free.

Akuma takai means demon death and it is basically where they celebrate the events that occurred on 10/10 – Naruto's birthday. I was feeling extremely uncreative and couldn't come up with something better – sorry.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Xx..xX