Vixen
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. For anyone interested, I went back and altered the Honeymoon Scene. It is now significantly longer and changes start about halfway through. These changes don't significantly alter the plot. So if you don't go back to reread that part, you won't be lost. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Naruko talking to Kyuubi in bold.
Kyuubi talking to Naruko in bold italics.
Chapter 12
By the time their Honeymoon was finished, Sasuke was rather confident that they had made love in every single spot in their Suite. Not to mention, they had also made good use of the hot springs on more than one occasion.
To say the least, they were extremely physically compatible. If nothing else, the Uchiha now felt confident that his wife was more than satisfied with his performance in that particular area. Which was good because he felt like he could sleep for a week straight now.
"Naruko, what are you doing?" Sasuke asks.
"I'm going to sleep in your lap, like I did last time." His wife informs him as stretches out in the carriage seat and proceeds to use his lap as a bed and pillow at the same time.
He had been thoroughly enraptured by his blonde vixen. So enraptured that he had poured every ounce of energy he had into getting to her much more intimately than he ever had before. Now, he was one tired Uchiha.
A tired Uchiha with a beautiful woman who wanted to sleep in his lap. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. Sasuke hadn't minded when she did so last time, but he hadn't been half asleep on their way to their Honeymoon.
"You're going to be the death of me." He says with a sigh as he looks down at her with tired eyes.
"Mmm. I hope not. I kinda like not sleeping alone, anymore." She says with a cute yawn.
How was he supposed to tell her no, when she was yawning like that? All adorable and everything. Oh for Godsakes, he had just used the word adorable. There went all of his masculine pride.
"Me too. I guess I'll suck it up. I'll try to sleep while I am sitting up and if not, well I can always sleep when we get home." The raven haired man replies with a yawn of his own.
"Thanks, bastard." The blue eyed beauty tells him as she closes her eyes and proceeds to fall fast asleep in her lover's arms.
She's definitely going to be the death of me, Sasuke thinks to himself as he runs his fingers through her golden tresses. Part of him didn't care though. What a way to go.
On the other hand, he really did need some sleep. Oh well. He'd just have to try to sleep sitting up, he supposed. It would certainly be a new sleeping position for him, but maybe Sasuke could make do.
"After all, Uchihas can do anything." He mutters to himself and with that, he closes his own eyes.
The carriage was rocking back and forth gently as it continued to lead them home. There was something very soothing about the slight rocky motion. That and he was completely exhausted. Maybe, that's why he actually managed to fall asleep while sitting up.
Neither of them would have rested as easily, if they knew what was going on in the Sound. Orochimaru smiles as he looks at he various clones. He was up to five of them now that were fully operational and others would follow in short order.
"Tell me everything." He orders Kabuto.
The Sannin didn't feel that it was necessary to elaborate about what he meant. To him, it was the most obvious thing in the world. He wanted to know all about the clones.
"As I said before, they have zero self-awareness. Though they possess all of Sasuke's fighting abilities and are programmed to follow your orders to the letter." The medic says.
Orochimaru feels himself smirk. That sounded perfect. Soon enough, he would take over the Leaf and now he had practically an army worth of Vessels that he could use.
He had essentially achieved immortality as long as more Clones could be produced in time for his body transfers. That shouldn't be a problem now though.
"Excellent. Do we know when Naruko and Sasuke will be arriving back in the Leaf?" He inquires.
In order to make a true clone, a genetic sample was needed. Thankfully, Orochimaru no longer needed a genetic sample from the original Sasuke anymore. A sample from any of the clones should do. That would make things, much easier.
"They should be returning shortly." The silver haired man informs him and Orochimaru nods in approval.
Excellent. The sooner the happy couple was back, the sooner they could truly begin. The true test of the clones would be whether or not, they could fool Naruko.
Sasuke's wife would know him almost better than anyone. If the clones could convince her that they were the real Sasuke, then it would be a simple matter to fool everyone else.
"It's all going according to plan then. Thank you, Kabuto. Without your hard work, it's unlikely that any of this would have been possible." He praises his most loyal servant.
"As always, it is my pleasure. I live to serve you, Lord Orochimaru. You truly saved my life. You rescued me from a life of obscurity and gave me a greater purpose. This is truly the least that I can do." The bespectacled man replies.
Sasuke was now the son-in-law to the Hokage. That meant that he was in a position of influence. He could easily enter into Minato's Office and take whatever they liked.
Like important documents. Important documents such as information about the Leaf's economy, evacuation sites, the personal files of all the ninjas, and a treasure trove of other useful information. Everything was falling into place perfectly and Orochimaru couldn't be happier.
"I'm glad to hear that. It is so hard to find loyal friends these days." Orochimaru says.
Now, they just had to see if the clone could fool Naruko. If it could, then they would be one step closer to taking over the Leaf Village. This was going to work.
It had to. The Leaf would be forced to recognize that he was right all along. Knowledge was the ultimate power. If one had to resort to less than sanitary means to gain it, that meant nothing. The ends justified the means.
"I understand completely." Kabuto assures him.
"Very well. It's time to send out the first clone. Have him mask his presence until he's certain that Sasuke and Naruko have arrived back in the village." He says.
Kabuto nods as he heads off. Orochimaru smirks in response. He knew that the other man would do exactly as he was instructed to do.
The Sannin glances into one of the tanks with the clones in it. It was so real. He doubted even the man's own mother would be able to tell the difference.
"And unlike shadow clones, these ones won't dissipate on impact. They are just as durable as the original." He says with a smirk.
Of course, he had those minions who brought the sample killed. In the unlikely event that they were able to put two and two together, Orochimaru didn't want them to warn the Leaf. After all, there could be good money in defecting and he simply wasn't going to allow anyone to betray him.
"I wonder how many of these we can produce?" He ponders out loud.
The potential was almost unlimited. An Army of Sharingan Warriors sounded positively divine for his plans. For what good was immortality, without a kingdom to rule?
Well perhaps Kingdom was stretching it a bit. The Leaf was only one village, but Orochimaru wouldn't stop there. He had plans to expand. Eventually, he would take over the Five Nations. From there, it wouldn't take very long to take over the rest of the world.
"The Five Nations are the great center of power. Once they fall, the rest will all fall into place easily." He whispers to himself as he looks at the Moon.
The Moon was beautiful and unlike the Sun, it was always changing. That was the beauty of it really. It could evolve. Much like the Moon, Orochimaru planned on evolving as well and he would make sure that the rest of the world would follow suit.
The next day, Naruko and Sasuke arrive back in the Leaf. Naruko woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed as soon as driver called out to them that they had arrived. Sasuke not so much.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" The blonde asks in concern.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just have a kink in my neck from falling asleep that way." Sasuke says as he wakes up and stretches, once they were out of the carriage.
This was going to be highly annoying. He really needed to get this kink out of his neck. Ah! Ah! Damn it!
"Ouch. That looks painful. Here, let me see it." Naruko says, after paying the driver.
The driver thanks her and quickly heads off as the young woman begins her newest task. Dealing with her husband's stiff neck. She supposed in a way that it was only fitting that she should be the one to do it. It was kinda her fault that he was in pain in the first place.
"Yes, you should see it. It's all your fault." He grumbles.
"Don't be so grumpy. I'll take good care of you when we get home. I can be your sexy nurse if you like." She informs him as she begins kneading his neck.
She smirks when she hears Sasuke groan in pleasure. She was now intimately familiar with that sound. After the Uchiha man made that sound, he was putty in her hands.
It was nice to know these things about him. They were a real married couple now. Though she was still a little anxious about the fact that they might never have chosen each other, if their marriage hadn't been arranged.
"I fail to see why that concerns you? You're Mated now. Why do the circumstances of how you got that way, matter?" Kurama asks.
"Yeah. Maybe, you're right. I mean it's pretty obvious that he wants me around. He's definitely attracted to me. Sasuke cares about me. Maybe, it doesn't really matter how we got together." She says, sounding slightly less than convinced.
She couldn't help, but blush as she remembers how much Sasuke had proven he definitely wanted her around. They were really going to need to clean that Honeymoon Suite from top to bottom.
Sasuke had been rather thorough in his attentions. Naruko had to give him that much. Maybe, it was an Uchiha thing. That or it was just a Sasuke thing. The blonde wasn't entirely sure.
"Mmm you alright? You stopped?" Sasuke says.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I guess you just wore me out a little bit too." Naruko teases him with a smile.
Yeah. He had definitely done that. Thank God, that she had always been energetic. The blonde definitely didn't want to miss any of the attention that Sasuke had been more than willing to lavish on her. Over and over again.
Really, his stamina was impressive. That was certainly saying something because he was a ninja. Ninjas were supposed to have great stamina, but the Uchiha took it to a completely different level.
"It's about time. I never thought that I'd actually see you get tired. That helps a bit for now. We should probably go and see our families. If we don't go and find them, they'll find us." Sasuke warns her.
Naruko nods in agreement. The Namikazes-Uzumakis and Uchihas were certainly close knit families. If they didn't hurry, their families would track them down and that would just get embarrassing.
"You're right. So do you wanna check on my family first or yours first?" Naruko asks.
"Let's go with mine first. You know how energetic your mother is. You certainly take after her in personality." Sasuke observes.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Naruko demands, suddenly feeling the need to defend her mother from potential accusations!
Sasuke snorts in amusement. Naruko was Naruko. It looked like even if she was exhausted, she would still find the energy to fight with him about something as silly as an innocent comment.
"Just that you're both very boisterous. Very energetic. Passionate. It's not a bad thing. It's just who you are." He says as he offers her his hand and the two Flicker off together.
Back in the Uchiha Estate, the two families were sitting down to have a meal together. Apparently, the women (and Shisui) had spent most of the day cooking because they were all under the impression that Naruko and Sasuke would be back sometime today.
"What happens, if they don't show up until tomorrow?" Minato asks in amusement.
"Well we'll eat what we can and store the rest for later. We can always heat it up." Mikoto points out.
Minato nods. It was probably best to agree with her. The women were rather insistent about this homecoming party. They were so insistent, that it was starting to become a little frightening.
"Sounds good." Fugaku says as he reaches for some more wine.
"Here you go, my love. Apple juice for you. I know that you can't have wine. Not in your condition." Itachi tells Izumi as he kisses her cheek.
"Thanks." Izumi replies as she takes the drink and sips it.
Minato chuckles. The woman looked a little put out by the fact that she couldn't drink with them, but at least she was being sensible. He had had a Devil of a time with Kushina when she was expecting.
"So Itachi, how long do you think that it will be before you're an uncle?" Shisui inquires good-naturedly.
"I don't know. He is my foolish brother. It could take him some time to fully understand what it means to be a husband. He means well. It's just that he's well foolish." Itachi answers.
"I resent that. I'm not foolish." Sasuke grumbles as he Flickers into the living room with his wife in tow.
Naruko giggles. It was always funny to see Sasuke and Itachi bicker. Most of the time, they were such proud and stoic men. Well at least outside their Clan.
In private, Sasuke was anything but stoic. Considering that Izumi was expecting, Itachi must have been the same way. Speaking of that, oh no. Shisui had brought up the Kid Talk again!
"Yes, you are incredibly foolish. There is no use denying that fact. It is just something that is the truth. You can no more deny that than the Sun will rise and set every day." Itachi says as he walks over to Sasuke and pokes his forehead.
"I still really don't get the forehead thing." Naruko mutters to Kyuubi.
"I don't either. It's an Uchiha thing. Be happy that's the oddest thing about your Mate's family. Speaking of family, you are going to have to address Shisui's question at some point and you cannot continue to dodge Sasuke's question forever." The Nine Tails warns her.
Naruko mentally winces. That was right. Shisui had asked Itachi how soon the other man expected to be an uncle and Sasuke had asked her about children. To be fair, she had opened her big, fat mouth first. Still she now stuck between a rock and a hard place.
She cared about Sasuke and he was a fantastic lover. If he was even a tenth as attentive to their child (or children) as he was with her, he'd make the world's greatest dad, but she was still unsure.
"I know, but I don't know how to answer it." She replies truthfully.
Maybe, Kurama was right. Maybe, it really didn't matter how they got together. Still the question lingered in the back of her mind, what if their marriage hadn't been arranged?
They probably would have never gotten together. Sasuke might already be married to someone else. Someone else could have been in that carriage with him. Someone else could have been on that glorious Honeymoon with him and it wouldn't have bugged her because she never would have known what she was missing out on.
"Itachi!" Sasuke growls at him.
"Itachi, don't embarrass your brother in front of his wife." Fugaku scolds him lightly and Sasuke smirks smugly in response.
His wife. She was his wife. Of course, she was jealous of the thought of another woman in her place, but what bothered her is that it wouldn't have bugged her only a few months ago.
Sasuke had just been the boy that she fought with in the Academy. Sure, she had wanted to taken him down a peg (or a hundred), but that was just a childish impulse. One that she would have outgrown…eventually.
"Alright. Alright. That was in poor form. I'm sorry, Sasuke." Itachi says.
"That's better. It warms my heart to see you boys getting along." Aiya says as she brings in a pie.
Naruko wouldn't have even batted an eyelash, once his engagement was announced to this hypothetical woman. She might have made a few jokes about it, but it wouldn't have made her feel this way. Like she wanted to Rasengan some woman who didn't even exist!
"It's fine. I know you were just being annoying. Like you usually are." Sasuke retorts with a smirk.
"Sasuke!" Mikoto chastises him.
That smirk that made her get butterfly in her stomach now. It had never done that before. Then again, they had been young. So that was only natural.
"Yes, mother. I know. I know. I'm sorry as well, Itachi. I accept your apology." He mutters.
She could easily be in Mikoto's position one day. It could be her trying to reign in their sons (or their daughters). Naruko bites her lower lip as she considers what that would be like.
Their children would be adorable. With Sasuke's good looks and her own, where could they possibly go wrong? She just really hoped that they weren't as stuck up as he had been as a kid or as mischievous as she had been. If that was the case, they would both have their hands full.
"That's better." Mikoto says approvingly.
She should probably ask Mikoto for tips. Odds are that she was going to eventually have Sasuke's kids. They were intimate with more frequency that was probably healthy, but she just couldn't say no.
It felt too good to say no. Sooner or later, they'd get caught up in the moment and forget the Jutsu. Wait. The Jutsu!
"I think I'll have some of the apple juice. I never really liked wine that much." Naruko says.
They hadn't used the Jutsu. For all she knew, she could be pregnant right now. It was probably better safe than sorry.
While she wasn't necessarily looking to become a mother this soon, Naruko wouldn't do anything to harm her child. Well their child. So for now, she'd just have the apple juice. At least until she knew for sure.
"Alright. Here you are." Izumi says as she hands the blonde something to drink with a knowing smile.
Damn it. Naruko could only hope that Izumi wouldn't say anything. The last thing that she wanted to do was to get anyone's hopes up. That would just be cruel.
"Thanks." She says as she sips it.
"That wasn't very subtle, brat. Now, your Mate is going to realizes that it's a possibility and is likely going to ask you about it as soon as the two of you leave." Kurama warns her.
Naruko gulps and gulps even more when she sees her mother looking at her. Uh oh. Maybe, Kushina had already put two and two together. In that case, she was completely doomed.
There was no way, that they weren't going to say something. Hopefully, they'd at least talk to her before they drug Sasuke into it. They really needed to talk and figure this all out. She just didn't have any idea what she was going to say to him.
"I'm so glad to see you home, safe and sound. I know that I shouldn't have worried, but I couldn't help it. That's just what mothers do." Kushina says and Mikoto nods in agreement.
"Oh that was subtle." Naruko grumbles to Kurama.
Occasionally, there were perks to having another living being inside your head. One of them was that you could rant. Naruko frequently took advantage of this benefit.
"She just wants to be a grandmother. I imagine that Sasuke's mother will be just as eager to hear the good news. That's not to mention that Sasuke has living grandparents. Grandparents who likely want to be great grandparents. Those are the ones that you really have to watch out for." The Nine Tails warns her.
Great. Now she had to worry about Sasuke's grandparents. Aiya and Kenji seemed like nice people though. Maybe, it would be okay.
"Thanks for this. We really appreciate it. It was a long journey though and I'm not going to lie, sleeping in the carriage wasn't comfortable. So I think it might be best, if we just headed home early." Sasuke says.
Naruko had never wanted to kiss Sasuke more than at that moment. That was saying something because he was as damn good kisser and she really wanted to kiss him on a regular basis. Wait. What was she talking about?
Oh right. Going home. Going home with Sasuke. Damn it. That meant that he would likely want to discuss her choice of beverage. Forget the kissing. Now, she wanted to hide from him.
"Of course. Goodnight." Minato says and there was a chorus of such farewells, before Naruko and Sasuke were finally allowed to leave.
It didn't take them long to Flicker back to their home. That normally would have been a good thing, but not in this circumstance. Naruko knew what was coming and it likely wasn't going to be pretty.
"So do you really not like wine or was there another reason that you wanted the juice?" Sasuke asks.
"Sasuke, it's way too early to ask about stuff like that." Naruko says nervously.
"We didn't use the Jutsu. It might not be. You never did answer my question. Naruko, you're my wife. We should be able to talk about things like this." He tells her as he caresses her cheek.
Well that was true.. They should. Alright. Maybe, it was time to lay all her cards out on the table. It seemed like the least she could do. She had said, "I do," after all.
"You're right. I'm just not really sure where to begin." She mumbles.
"Wherever you like." Sasuke says encouragingly.