(cues cheesy voice over) Previously....

Midoriko never hit the ground. He was there to catch her. Naruto would always be there to catch her. He had promised her that much, and so far it was the one way he hadn't failed her. Naruto checked her vitals. Midoriko was cold to the touch and starting to twitch in his arms. Naruto started to panic and held her close as if to stop her from convulsing. The blonde heard shouts calling for doctors, but there was nothing anyone could do. He had pushed her and thus pushed the seal. This was why he couldn't trust himself to be near her. He could kill her because of his selfish wants and needs. He scooped Midoriko up and headed for the hospital. Hopefully he would be in time. Hopefully he would get there before… before the unthinkable could happen.

And now...

Chapter 80: Getting the Word Out

They had shoved him out of the room. Tsunade bellowed, "You'll just be in the way. We'll let you know when it's safe to come in."

"But I want to be in there!" He shouted in the heat of the moment and almost sounded like he was whining.

Tsunade smiled at Sasuke to calm him down. "You need to get scrubbed down and put on a robe. We'll let you back in the room in a moment."

"SASUKE YOU ARROGANT ASSHOLE, GET IN HERE!" Sakura was in no mood to be told she had to wait for Sasuke.

Sasuke had gone pale and was actually scared of his wife. Tsunade chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much Uchiha, when we give her something for the pain she'll be fine."

"She's going to kill me, isn't she?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "If Naruto can survive Midoriko giving birth I'm sure you can survive Sakura."

"Midoriko can't crush rock to dust with her bare hands." Sasuke quipped sarcastically.

"Then I would suggest you keep your family jewels out of reach if you want have more children. More than one woman has reached for her husband and missed his hand. For most men, it is a temporary pain that will heal. For someone like Sakura, it could be quite devastating."

Sasuke's eye twitched in horror and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "You aren't helping."

Tsunade kept her smile. "There are a few ways I can actually torture you, young Uchiha. I am taking great satisfaction in this. Consider it pay back for the many years I had to suffer Naruto in my office demanding permission to search for you." She handed him a white robe. "The washroom is down the hall to the left. I wouldn't take to long, but then again this could take a while."

Shizune came running down the hall in a panic. "LADY TSUNADE!" Both Sasuke and Tsunade turned to Shizune. "Naruto just brought Midoriko in. She's seizing."

Tsunade's eyes went wide with shock. This was bad. This was very bad. Sakura was having problems and now Midoriko was in the hospital too. "Shizune, get Sasuke prepped and sedate Sakura… Heavily… And then bring me some of those same drugs I may need to sedate Naruto."

"Wait, why would Midoriko be seizing?" Sasuke had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. At first he had thought it had something to do with Sakura going into labor, but now that he knew Midoriko was in trouble, he didn't want to think of the possibilities.

Tsunade was thinking the same thing. "Sasuke, worry about Sakura and my granddaughter, let Naruto take care of Midoriko. I will let you know what is going on as soon as I can."

0 – 0 – 0

He had been in the waiting room before. It was nothing new. The same benches were there for the family members of those in the hospital. Naruto couldn't bring himself to sit down. He just kept pacing the hallway waiting for any news. He didn't care what kind of news it was, he just wanted to know what the hell was going on. Why had he pushed her? Why had he been so angry? Why couldn't he just swallow his pride and admit that he was jealous? Naruto stood up tall and tried to think of a good reason that vindicated him for being a jerk. He slumped onto one of the benches putting his head in his hands. "I'm such an idiot."

He should have realized something was wrong the minute the room started to get cold. He should have stopped her the minute she had uttered the first curse word. Midoriko didn't cuss. Myra on the other hand could be linguistically colorful when provoked. Now that he thought about it, Naruto should have figured out something was wrong with the first sarcastic remark. It was just another reminder how different Myra and Midoriko were.

His internal thoughts were shattered but the harsh slam of the door to Midoirko's room. Naruto didn't bother to look up at the furious blonde woman. He knew he was going to be in the hospital bed next to Midoriko any second with every bone in his body broken. Naruto chuckled internally. Poetic justice if you ask me.

"Go home Naruto. Get some rest. There isn't anymore you can do here." Tsunade sighed. She was angry with him, but being angry wasn't going to help anyone. He looked as if he had beaten himself up worse than anything she could do physically. So Tsunade let it go.

"Is she going to be okay?" Naruto kept his gaze on the floor.

"She's stable and she stopped convulsing. Midoriko is resting comfortably and probably will be able to go home in the morning. I want to keep her here just in case." The Hokage let out a breath. "Both the Memory Seal AND the Kill Seal were severely stressed. Another stress like this one and we won't need to find a way to remove the seals, because Midoriko will die and there won't be a need to worry about it. Do not provoke her like that again."

Naruto got up and started to skulk away. Tsunade watched him take a few steps before she sighed again. "Aren't you going to at least go in and tell her you'll be back?"

"I think I've provoked her enough for one night." He muttered darkly and kept walking.

"Naruto," She said sternly. He stopped, but he did not turn. "You are banned from the Mission Office until you deal with this. You are no good to me in this state of depression. You are hereby ordered to stand down from all missions save one. YOU are to begin training with Midoriko when she is feeling better." She was going to force him into spending time with Midoriko if it killed him. "And I would suggest you get your ass in that room. She's been asking for you. I need to get back to Sakura."

Naruto finally turned. He walked slowly at first, but then had to hold back from rushing in. He put his hand on the door and Tsunade held him back for one more thing. "Try not to excite her too much."

Naruto nodded but said nothing. He swallowed hard before he opened the door. The blonde entered as quietly as he could, just in case she was sleeping. The silver moon light beaming in the windows gave the normally white room a dark gray cast. The light of the crescent moon was the only illumination in the room. Midoriko was lying in the bed staring out the window at the starry evening. Her brown eyes were teary and there was a definite gloom than hung in the air.

Midoriko turned to the sounds of the door, seriously thinking it would be Lady Tsunade coming back in to say that Naruto had already gone home to relieve Moegi. She didn't expect to actually see Naruto. She hastily wiped away the tears she had been shedding. She couldn't look at him. She felt so ashamed for being the cause of all this. Midoriko looked away from him as she felt another round of tears start to well up behind her eyes.

Naruto took a few steps closer. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine." She said softly.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "So, you ah… want me to bring some clothes to go home in tomorrow?"

"That would be nice of you. A t-shirt and some shorts will do. It is supposed to be warm again tomorrow." She kept staring out the window.

He took a few more steps closer to her. He couldn't deny the pull she had on him. Midoriko was extremely unhappy and he was going to do everything he could just to see her smile again. "Midoriko, please look at me."

The woman in bed looked down at her hands first, as if waiting for permission to turn her gaze at Naruto. She searched her mind for the voice to give her an answer, some guidance, or some strength. But the voice was eerily silent. Midoriko took in a deep breath and whipped her tear stained face. She closed her eyes and turned to face Naruto.

She opened her eyes and let out the deep breath. He was worried. She could see it in his eyes. But was he worried about loosing her, or Myra? Tonight had brought so many things into perspective for Midoriko. The Voice in the back of her mind was the person she had been before the seals were cast. Myra was the woman Naruto was in love with and Midoriko, though her heart knew she loved him, couldn't be that person for Naruto.

Naruto knew that look. Midoriko had given up on something. Had she given up on him? Had she given up on life? "Don't give up on me please. I… I need you." He admitted to her.

"You don't need me." Tears started to fall and she turned away from him. "I'm not Myra."

Naruto sat on the bed next to her, turning her to face him. "Yes you are. I was stupid not to see it before and tonight just proves that you ARE Myra. That part of you that makes you Myra is just buried beneath the surface. It will come out when the time is right. It can't be forced. I understand that now. I wanted her back so much," he pause to force back his tears, "I couldn't see that you were right here all along."

Midoriko frowned. "But I'm not Myra."

"Yes you are. I'll prove it to you." He leaned in and kissed her lips ever so gently.

Midoriko was shocked at first. But then she felt a warm tingle flush her whole body. This was right. This was what she wanted. This was where she belonged.

Before he had really realized it, Naruto was trying to deepen the kiss and she was responding in kind. Reluctantly, he pulled back and put his hand on her cheek. Midoriko pulled back from the kiss, her eyes fluttered closed and she remembered something.

[FLASH BACK]

Naruto tensed up and looked away from her. "I can understand not wanting to be alone. But life is very complicated for a shinobi. I risk my life every day on missions that are extremely dangerous." He was trying to choose his words carefully. "A shinobi must be free of emotional attachments." He was trying to push back his tears.

Myra raised an eyebrow. There was laughter in her response. "You're kidding, right? Do you really believe that bullshit? Because I don't." Myra got out of the bed, her long black hair let loose around her face and down her back. She was wearing a white spaghetti strap flannel t-shirt that came to just above her navel and boxers with purple flames printed on them rolled down below her hips. Naruto chanced a look at her when her feet hit the floor. She stood up and walked towards him. Sweat started to poured off of him, if he could have climbed up the wall he would have.

Myra put her hands on his chest. The electricity of the touch was like a euphoric drug to both of them. She looked him in the eyes. Her tears were evident in her words, "If you really believe that bullshit; then tell me to leave and I will do so. But if I walk out that door, there is no turning back." Myra put her forehead against his chin.

Naruto had dug his fingers into the wood of the wall. It was everything he could do not to pick her up and toss her on the bed. Myra brushed her lips against his neck. Her breath made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Naruto swallowed again. "I don't want to risk loosing you. This is the only way I know how to protect you." His voice was a horse whisper.

Myra took a deep breath, her warm tears now dripping on his chest. "And what if I told you I don't care about the risks. What then? Are you still going to tell me to leave?" She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. She didn't want to believe he was being serious. Naruto looked away from her. He couldn't see her like this. The Fox howled in the recesses of his mind. It was a mournful sound that chilled Naruto to the bone. His heart was breaking and he was breaking hers along with it. She pushed away from him.

"FUCK YOU and your GOD DAMN shinobi BULLSHIT!" The tears flooded her face. She paced the room for a moment and wiped the tears from her face. Myra turned back to him, anger burning in her eyes. She was not going to give in that easily. She stomped up to Naruto, grabbed his head just behind his ears and pulled his head down to hers. Myra kissed him, sending as much of her passion as she could into the kiss.

Naruto let go of the door jam and wrapped his arms around her pulling her close to return the kiss. Myra broke the kiss first looking directly into his blue eyes then rested her head on his chest.

"Now that I know you're full of shit, tell me to leave." More tears dripped on to his chest.

[END FLASH BACK]

Midoriko opened her eyes and brought her fingers to touch her lips. It was the first kiss they had shared. There was so much behind that one kiss. So many emotions behind something so small and yet... She couldn't understand why he was trying to push Myra away. "You tried to tell me to leave. You tried to tell Myra this was a bad idea."

Naruto had to chuckle. "Yeah… I remember that. I thought it was the best thing to do at the time. You convinced me otherwise."

Midoriko looked confused. "If you knew all this was going to happen, then…"

The blonde pulled her hand away from her face. "I wouldn't change anything. I knew I loved you. You knew you loved me. WE were willing to fight to stay together." He put his hand on her cheek and whipped away her tears with his thumb. "I'm still willing to fight. But you have to want to fight too."

Midoriko reached up and pulled his hand away from her cheek but didn't let go. She laced her fingers with his. "I don't think I can do this alone anymore."

Naruto padded her hand and gave her the first genuine smile in a long time. "You won't have to. I'm not going anywhere and I will be right here where I should be."

Midoriko looked up at him. Her eyes were full of hope, but they were clouded by her doubts. "No more long missions?"

"No more long missions. I am going to stay right here until we get through this." He looked directly into her eyes and kept her gaze. It was the first time he actually looked longer than a few split seconds. Midoriko took a deep breath. He was looking at her, not through her like he was searching for something else. Naruto was looking at her and she felt as if he was seeing her for the first time. He pulled her into a tight embrace and placed a kiss on top of her head. "We'll get through this, together. I promise."

Midoriko wept on his shoulder and he stayed there just holding her. Despite the tears and the gray of the moonlit room, the room seemed brighter to Naruto. The blonde just held on to her and let her cry. After a few moments the tears stopped and the woman in his arms yawned. He didn't want to let her go just yet, but she was going to need clothes in the morning and he had to get back to Minato. He shifted to let her go.

"Stay." She whispered.

"Someone has to get back to the house and you aren't going anywhere."

She nodded and sat back in bed. "Little One needs you. I will be fine."

Naruto smiled at her and pushed a stray bit of fringe out of her eyes. "I'll stay till you're asleep and I will be here in the morning, Okay?" He never took his eyes off of hers.

There was a thin smile on Midoriko's lips as she lay back in bed and let sleep take her. Naruto stayed as he had promised. Her breathing had evened out and the hand that she had knitted with his had finally gone slack. The blonde stood and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger. He felt content for the first time in a long while. He stood, turning to walk out of the room.

0 – 0 – 0

Sasuke stood outside of Midoriko's room waiting for the blonde to come out of the room. Sakura was sleeping at the moment and he had taken the opportunity to slip out of the room. The contractions had slowed, and there wasn't anything they could do but wait. Sakura had wanted to be strong and not take the medication for the pain, saying that she could bare it. After she had broken the bones in Sasuke's hand the second time, he insisted that she take the medication.

Naruto came out of Midoriko's room with a frown on his face and was met with Sasuke's glare of disapproval. "Don't say it. I don't want to hear it." The blonde grumbled.

Tsunade had already told Sasuke all he needed to know. Naruto had screwed up and that was enough to set off Sasuke's over developed sense of family protection. But the Uchiha knew his blonde friend was beating himself up about the whole situation. "Not going to say a word. But I thought you would like to know that Sakura is in the hospital too."

Naruto let a smirk get passed his depressed mood. "Sayuki? Is she here yet?"

Sasuke rubbed his hand reflexively. "Not yet. We are waiting. Sakura's resting right now, but any minute I will have my hand broken…again."

Naruto gave the Uchiha a cheeky grin. "Hang in there. Once you get passed the pain and the idle threats, you'll have a baby in your arms. It's a pretty awesome experience." Naruto chuckled lightly, but Sasuke still looked a little nervous. There was a silent moment between them that Naruto broke with a strange idea. "Hey, Teme," Naruto made a hand sign and with a puff of smoke there was two of him. "I'm gonna go say hi to Sakura for a minute. I'll have him go home to grab Midoriko's clothes." Naruto thumbed to his clone. "Moegi needs an update." That brought up another thought to Naruto's head and he popped out another clone. "Someone should walk Moegi home before he brings clothes back" Naruto eyed his clones. The clones nodded and headed out the door. Naruto turned back to Sasuke.

"Hn. Sure, just come back and get me if something happens." Sasuke put his hands on the doors.

Naruto was about to run off for Sakura's room. "It feels good doesn't it?" Sasuke turned to Naruto with a questioning glance. "It feels good to have a family again doesn't it?" The blonde smiled fondly.

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. He did have a family again and it did feel good. "Hn. Yeah, it does." Naruto smirked and ran off down the corridor. Sasuke entered Midoriko's room as quietly as possible. He knew she was asleep and wasn't going to wake up for a while. At least this way she wouldn't start laughing at him.

He sat next to her and let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes. Maybe while she was asleep he could hear her. Maybe while she was asleep he could try and get through the barriers. He tried to call to her, but he got nothing but the mental equivalent of static. He sat up and opened his eyes again and found Midoriko sitting up in bed smiling at him. "You shouldn't be here. You should be with Sakura." She eyed him.

Sasuke decided that the spot on the floor was more interesting to look at. "She's asleep, like you should be." He was amazed at how easily he could talk to Midoriko, as long as she wasn't laughing at him. Sasuke figured if he didn't look at her seriously, she wouldn't start laughing. Wait, she was asleep. How did she know about Sakura? The Uchiha pondered.

"Tsunade told me Sakura went into labor." She said as if answering his mental questions. "Congratulations Daddy." She giggled. "So did Naruto put you on guard duty?"

"He wanted to see Sakura. I was here and he didn't want to leave you alone, so he asked." Sasuke shrugged. "I was worried about you too." Where the hell did that come from? He asked himself at little shocked at his loose tongue.

"And here I thought you didn't care." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Sasuke snapped his eyes up to her. "I do too care!" Now he was really shocked at himself. What the?

Myra allowed a light to sparkle in her eyes when she smirked knowingly. "I know you do. Egocentric Fucktard or not, you care more than you want anyone to realize. Now, go back to Sakura's room, she's going to need you in a minute."

Sasuke stared at Myra completely shocked and dumbfounded. "How?"

Myra smiled sadly and let out an equally sad sigh. "It doesn't matter, I couldn't do this again if I wanted to, so please don't try it again." As her chocolate orbs pleaded with his, they showed no sighed of moisture, however, the unshed tears were evident in her voice. Myra forced back the emotions and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Sound must be destroyed, specifically the labs. Take out the labs. Please, Sasuke… For the safety of your daughter and my son, destroy the labs. Lastly," she winced, obviously in pain, "when you see Itachi, forgive him and allow him to atone for his sins." The tears she had been holding back, weather for physical pain or emotional he did not know, finally burst from her eyes. "And tell Naruto I love him." She reached out and gave Sasuke a hard nudge on his shoulder.

Sasuke was jolted awake by Naruto shaking his shoulder. "Teme, wake up."

Sasuke blinked open his eyes and glared at the blonde. Naruto jumped back a little. "Um… Tusnade said the contractions are getting close."

Sasuke turned his shocked gaze from Naruto to the woman lying in bed. Midoriko was still asleep and hadn't moved. It HAD worked. He HAD gotten through to Myra. But what was the cost? "Sasuke, hurry!" Naruto tried to pull Sasuke out of the chair.

"No… Wait, just a moment." Sasuke stood up and got closer to Midoriko. He checked over her monitors and made sure she was still breathing. But there was an undeniable twitch beginning to start in Midoriko's wrist. "Is Tsunade with Sakura?"

"Yes, now go." Naruto didn't understand Sasuke's odd behavior. Not an hour ago he was saying he didn't want to miss anything, now Sasuke was hesitating.

Sasuke turned to the blonde with a worried expression Naruto had only seen once, and that was the day they had tried to tell Naruto that Myra was dead. "Naruto," His thought was cut off by the medical equipment starting to flash an ominous red and beep frantically.

Naruto's attention was jerked away from his friend to the woman now beginning to shake violently. Sasuke's fists tightened while Naruto ran to Midoriko's bedside to keep her from completely writhing off the bed. The blonde turned back to Sasuke. "GO! I got this."

Sasuke didn't know what to do. And just when panic was about to set in, a thought occurred to Sasuke. Myra had told him to go back to Sakura. Sakura needed him. Myra didn't, she had Naruto and Myra knew that. "I'll send Tsunade in here as soon as possible." Naruto nodded as he continued to hold Midoriko's quaking body. Sasuke dashed out of one room to the other as if the hounds of Hell were nipping at his heels. He needed to get Tsunade to Midoriko's room. He needed to talk with Tsunade and Naruto about what Myra had told him. Sasuke got close to his wife's room to hear Sakura's screams of pain. Itachi be DAMNED! Sound be DAMNED! His hand was going to ache for MONTHS! But his DAUGHTER was GOING to come first!

0 – 0 – 0

Madara stood in a pavilion high above the pit where he was going to test his creation. The girl had been training for months with her team in preparation for this. There was one last thing he wanted to see before he put his plan into action. The pit below him was at the center of one of the many prisons located deep beneath the earth's surface in Kabuto's territory. The denizens of the prisons were stray ninja caught snooping around, random failed experiments, or just the lost farmer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Nakamiko and her two male compatriots stood in the center of the pit waiting. The bars of the many prison cells slid open. "Those that can get passed the three in the center of the pit will go free." A voice over a loud speaker bellowed. It didn't take long for the pathetic creatures to start the decent on the three in the center of the pit.

"What do you think sister?" The taller of the boys asked.

Nakamiko turned a bored glare to the boy. She said nothing. She didn't have to. The shorter of the boys smacked the taller. "Keep your mouth shut Deuce. Nami-chan is thinking of a strategy."

Nakamiko's expression never changed. She unsheathed her duel swords and pointed in different directions. "Flank them, I will head strait up the middle."

The two boys nodded and flickered out of sight. The girl gripped her two swords tightly and lowered them to her sides, closing her eyes just before the first set of prisoners got to her. This was such an easy task for her. But the sooner she got it over with, the sooner she would be allowed to get down to the real business at hand, the ultimate destruction of her Master's enemies.

"For you Master." She whispered before she opened her eyes, gathering her chakra around her. The killing intent flowed from her in waves that brought the first few prisoners to their knees, stopping some in their tracks before her. A small smirk of delight flitted across her lips before she took her first steps closer to the prisoners.

Madara watched with a twisted smile of pleasure. She was exquisite. Her fluid movements were seamless. She was dancing for him and him alone. Nakamiko's swords were razor sharp edges that could cut through flesh and bone like butter. Blood splashed across the walls, body parts flew in different directions, the screams of the wounded and dying were music to his ears. He had to take notice that the boys, Deuce and Trace, were doing just as well, but they weren't nearly as pretty to watch. It took about twenty minutes for the Team to slaughter all the prisoners.

Nakamiko was whipping her blades on the shirt of some deceased prisoner when Deuce and Trace walked up behind her. "That was easy." Deuce said, ruffling some blood out of his shaggy black hair.

Trace grabbed Deuce by the arm causing Deuce to wince. "It obviously wasn't that easy if you got hurt."

Deuce pulled up his sleeve just above the "02" tattoo on his shoulder. There was a long scratch that ran across his shoulder. "It's nothing that won't heal in a few hours."

Nakamiko turned to face her brothers. "You let your guard down for a split second and that could have gotten you killed. Do not let it happen again." Just then a large animal jumped out of the shadows and pounced on Nakamiko. The boys were stunned to see their perfect sister be attacked with out her knowledge. The woman rolled with the animal for a few seconds before she bounced up in a standing position, her blades ready to take on what ever attacked her.

The boys rushed take a stance beside her, but she waved them off. They stopped at a dead halt staring at the thing that was circling her. Nakamiko was at the ready to attack the creature staring at her like something it wanted to eat. But there was intelligence behind the feral green eyes glowing in the darkness. It had waited to attack when their guard was down. And more impressive was that she couldn't sense the creature. It seemed like a normal animal. Something she would have passed over as part of the natural background. It growled as it circled her. It charged her and she was ready. There was a splash of blood and a feral howl of pain.

Madara stood in his pavilion most pleased by the teams display. They were ready. Soon, he thought to himself. Soon he would be able to put his plan into action. Soon, he would unleash his forces on the Land of Fire. Soon he would take control of the ninja world and then no one would be able to stop him.

0 - 0 - 0

Tune in next time for Chapter 81: The Unthinkable

Naruto stood away from Midoriko's bed side as Tsunade continue to pound on Midoriko's chest. The shrill sound of the monitors gave no sign of changing their eerie monotone note. "CLEAR!" Tsunade yelled as she pumped another electric burst of chakra through Midoriko's chest. The love of Naruto's life jerked as the electricity jolted her heart yet again. He could only stand there. He could only watch in horror. There was a pause in the activity as the medical crew waited. They waited in vain for the monitor to show something, ANYTHING, but nothing came.

"Please don't die." Naruto whispered. There was still nothing from the monitors. The monitor stayed blinking red lights, straight lines, and urgent alarm blaring in Naruto's ears.

Tsunade stepped back. "She's gone."

Naruto shook his head, tears erupting from his eyes. "No..."