When he woke, she was next to him sleeping soundly. Out of fear for his life, he would never tell her, but she slightly snored. Also words that would never pass his lips were how he found it incredibly charming. His daughter was curled up between them and starting to stir. The infant had grown so much compared to her first days of life that she always amazed him. She had his expressive blue eyes and she would mimic her parent's facial expressions. He would always laugh when her mother's scowl appeared on her tiny face. Lifting the pajama clad baby away from the protective arms of her mother, he headed to the kitchen with her. With one strong arm holding the girl to him, the other hand prepared his breakfast of cold cereal and milk.
Sakura awoke feeling something was off. Since her pregnancy her and Naruto had been dealing with different sleeping patterns so finding the bed without his sleeping form was normal but to be without Takara was new. She flung herself toward her bedroom door and a heart beat later found herself in the kitchen. There her husband was having a one sided serious conversation with his daughter on the merits of a sugary breakfast cereal versus the nasty bran flakes her mother dared to call food. Sakura's first reaction was to roll her eyes at his attack on her choice of nutrition. Grabbing her box of so called flakes of card board, she sat across from the duo to eat with them, something she hadn't gotten to do in awhile. Eying the sugary confection he called eatable, she purred her bowl of sensible food and continued to listen to the father of her child belittle her health food.
"I have a question for you," he announced.
Not realizing he was talking to her and not the child he was staring at she continued to chew her food and look blankly at nothing in particular.
"Sakura, honey," he called slightly amused.
She shook her head and looked at him, a sheepish smile spread over her lips, "sorry, thought you were still talking to Takara. If your question is how can I eat this stuff, you do it like this," she teased as she shoveled a spoonful into her mouth, some of the milk dribbling down her chin as she tried not to laugh at the look on his face. She wiped the runaway milk with the back of her hand and a small giggle sounded from her.
"That's not the question, but I'm not sure I want to ask you now," he commented looking a little discussed.
"Why?" she asked, mouth still full of food.
He shook his head, she could be so childish just like him when she wanted to. It made him happy she could be so carefree around him but she shouldn't talk with all that saw dust disguised as food in her mouth.
"Well, I was going to ask you to escort me to a social gathering for a bunch of big wigs in the Land of Fire, but I'm thinking Takara might be a better option as this point," he chided while looking away from her at something interesting on the wall. A light shade of pink touched his whiskered cheek he was nervously gliding his index finger over.
An amused grin spread across the rose haired woman's face, her mouth now clear of food, "are you asking me out on a date?"
"Yes, kind of, its going to be really boring but if you're there it won't be so bad," he confessed, still looking at the wall.
"You are an odd duck," she bluntly stated, leaning on her elbows propped up on the table over her breakfast staring at him.
Surprised by her strange choice of words he looked at her to question, "how so?"
"You had no problem popping the question but now your getting all shy on me from asking me out for our first date," she explained.
Rubbing his chin he thought about it, since she'd come home he never officially asked her on a date. He had just claimed her before anyone else could get to her. Maybe that was what had him acting like a teenager again.
"I guess, when you put it that way, I am doing things a little out of order with you, but we've never been normal," he looked down at what their love had created and smiled at her, "but I wouldn't change a thing. I know how deep my love runs for you, you should know too by how many times its been tested," he stated as he turned to look at her with his piercing blue eyes.
A sad smile pulled at her lips, it was true, his love was so vast she didn't even know what to compare it to that could possibly do it justice. It didn't matter that their get together wasn't storybook perfect, that it was sloppy, and sometimes weird. It was a lot of fun and full of love and adventure.
"Well if the offer is still on the table, I would love to be your date," she mused, her jade green eyes watched as relief washed over the blond across the table.
"Good, you've got a couple weeks to figure out a babysitter and buy a dress and whatever else it is you girls do before a date," he smiled as he stood and handed the child back to her mother.
Sakura had assumed she'd be carting the baby around the party, not leaving her with someone. She figured she would ask Tomo and Jun for advice on the matter. She learned from them that some of the most well trained and dangerous women of the Leaf were nannies for high ranking officials. They wore normal clothes and looked like regular civilian nannies. Special classes on child care and dealing with weaponry while holding an infant were all small aspects of their training. The Uchihas had three nannies for their herd but Sakura had only met one. One took the night shift and the other was more like a personal tutor for the children who wished to follow the path of ninja. So far, Jun's oldest, Daichi, was turning out much like his uncle and was already a very skilled academy student. Tomo's twins, Akimi and Akina, were also showing promise as ninja themselves though they were not as advanced as their oldest brother. He also had two years age advantage on them.
The wife of the Hokage would have never guessed that the nanny she had met was dangerous. She had been so caring for the children and even with Jun and Tomo. She was soft spoken and gentle, not like all the other loud demanding female ninja Sakura knew. The ANBU mother had confessed she didn't know if she could take her on in a head to head battle.
Sakura had to do some digging at the Hokage's tower to find out more about them. They were a well guarded secret so people who thought to kidnap children of nobles wouldn't fear the nanny. Sakura knew she had at least two ANBU tailing her at all times but they were no help with the baby. It would be nice to have a second pair of hands to hold the baby and kill anyone who tried to steal her most valuable treasure. When she put in a request for one from the Hokage, he was surprised when he came across the document. He had figured she wasn't ready for active duty and that was the only reason he hadn't suggest one sooner. Putting the paper on a back pile he would talk to her before he approved her request.
Deciding to be devious he made a shadow clone and left him to deal with his assistants so he could go home a bit early. He found his wife in the kitchen with Takara strapped to her back making dinner.
"How are my favorite ladies?" he asked as he kissed his wife's head and then his daughters.
"We've had a good day today. She played with the Uchiha herd, well, she watched them play, mostly. Tomo's twin girls sure have taken a liking to our little girl," she answered as she stirred her vegetables frying in a pan.
"As long as the boys don't," grumbled the overprotective father taking Takara from the pack and giving her a serious look that she mimicked. He laughed and placed her in her high chair with a few toys.
"All those boys are too young to think about a wife yet even if their father thinks they need to be married already," Sakura laughed dishing up a plate for her husband and herself.
Sitting down to the table with him twice in one day was pretty rare and she started thinking something had to be up with him.
"So you're ready to go back to active duty?" he asked before stuffing some veggies in his mouth.
She looked at him like he was out of his gourd. She was no where near ready to leave Takara for the amount of time most missions required. At most she was ready to take up her part time shifts at the hospital but even that was pushing it for her.
"Do you need me for a mission?" she inquired, the back of her mind she was calculating how to get out of it.
"No, I just assumed you were ready since you put in for a ninja nanny," he replied like it was no big deal but he was debating with himself if he should tell her she was on the list for possible ANBU operatives.
"Oh, that, no I just thought it would be nice to have another set of eyes around here looking out for Takara and when I am ready to join the ninja world again she'll already have a bond with the nanny. I will start with something small before I jump back in," she finally answered.
"That's fine, by the way, Sasuke put you on the list for this years ANBU candidates but I am going to decline your name with a few others," he stated rather quickly.
"What?" she growled.
"That's fine," he answered trying to avoid the other subject, which if he had kept his mouth shut he could have.
"No, what about ANBU? Why are you declining me?" she questioned with a glare.
"You said you weren't ready," he tried to use her words against her.
"ANBU is different!" she yelled.
"How?" he yelled back upsetting Takara, "Oh mommy can yell and I can't?" he asked the girl as he picked her up.
"I want to be on Hokage protection duty. Then I'm always in the village and near you," she explained when her daughter had quieted down.
"You don't need to be on ANBU to protect me, you've proven that over and over. Besides do you really want to be Sasuke's subordinate?" he snorted.
"I will listen to him as well as he listens to you, in one ear out the other," she quipped.
Now her husband was annoyed with the conversation and pretty much down with it.
"I've already made my decision, you will not be on ANBU at this point in time," he proclaimed in his Hokage tone.
In his office it would have been fine. He could dictate to her there but in their home at the dinner table all it served was to piss her off. The look on her face told him as much but he was not going to back track now. His mind was made up and she would not intimidate him. She got to her feet and left the table, afraid of what she would do or say to him in that moment.
"I'm right about this, Sakura, you'll see," he sighed, really he was lucky she didn't smash the table.
She wondered the streets of the village trying to calm down but nothing she did took the edge off her anger at him. In truth she wasn't ready to join ANBU either but it was the principle of it all, now that he took the choice from her. She made her way home only to make sure Takara was fed and put to bed. She was still awake and waiting for her mother. Sakura got her taken care of and in her crib. On her way to her own bedroom her husband tried to block her way. His strong arms reached for her but she wasn't ready to deal with him yet so she pushed them away.
"Sakura," he called, the hurt obvious in his voice.
"Don't touch me," she snapped and continued to their room.
He summoned Nine who was on duty to him and ordered her to watch his daughter, it looked like his wife needed to let off some steam. He headed after her and found she was savagely throwing clothes that had been sitting on the bed in the dresser drawers cursing the never ending mountains of laundry to the depths of hell. He tried to confine her again in a hug but her savagery was unleashed on him instead of the helpless garments. Getting a good grip on her he sent them to his training grounds. She flung herself away from him and an angry glare rested on him he'd only seen her use on enemies.
"We can't leave Takara alone," she snarled and headed for the village.
He stopped her with a hand on her upper arm, "Nine is with her," he explained only to get his hand ripped away by her free arm.
"I told you not to touch me," she warned darkly.
He didn't understand why but something about the situation excited him. She was dangerous untamed fury, all directed at him. He didn't have to comprehend why she was so mad at the moment, he just wanted to be apart of the fireworks he was sure were coming. Moving quick and putting his life on the line, he grabbed her shoulders and kissed her hard on the mouth. She refused to let her body give in like it wanted to. A quick upper cut knocked the wind from his lungs, he released her as he coughed trying to recapture the air forced unexpectedly from them.
She continued her walk to the village but she only made it a few steps before he had her caged against him sucking on her neck and a hand holding her hip, the other one on her breast. Excitement pooled in her stomach but her brain sent her chakra to her elbow and she jabbed him in his side. It forced him back a step, her dress was too constricting to allow full freedom of movement, so she couldn't kick him the way she had wanted to put more distance between them. A kunai appeared in his hand slashing a long slit in the fabric from behind. A frustrated sigh sounded from the woman who fetched her own blade strapped to her inner thigh and made an equal tear in the front of the now movable dress.
With him still behind her she sprang into air spinning, she was ready to hit him with a flying kick but he grabbed her thigh and slammed her into the earth, knocking the wind from her lungs as revenge. Once the dust settled and she was breathing again, his lips sought hers, locking them together. She had no room to get in a decent punch, so she stuck her middle finger behind her thumb and flicked his chest, sending him soaring away from her only to have gravity send him crashing to the unforgiving ground.
"Damn that Granny move," he growled getting to his feet.
A triumphant grin spread over her face as she watched him rub his breast plate in pain. The look on his face told her as clear as any boastful words that he was far from giving up. She couldn't figure out why this man just couldn't let her be mad at him for awhile. Normal couples had fights all the time. All she wanted was to be left alone and be angry for a bit. She would be over it by morning if he had left it alone but he had to stick his nose where it didn't belong and push her buttons.
"You may be the Hokage but that doesn't mean you get to treat me different than other ninja," she vented some of her anger getting into a fighting stance.
"I told you because you're my wife. I didn't have to say anything to you but I didn't want Sasuke to slip up and tell you and then have you mad at me for not telling you were on the list. I'm not telling the others who I chose to decline that they were considered. So yes I do get to treat you different," he yelled back, attacking her with a few punches.
She blocked and weaved as best she could. Her muscles were already protesting this kind of abuse, they were no longer trained to endure it. Her lungs were working over time trying to keep them supplied with the oxygen they demanded. A hand signal later and she had two Naruto clones holding her arms, locking her in place.
"Stop acting like a spoiled child," he scolded lightly as his rough fingers grazed her cheek moving passed her ear grabbing her hair and pulling her into a heated kiss. For a second she forgot what the hell she was fighting him for but the last words out of his mouth echoed in her brain. Sending her chakra down to her legs she kicked one of the shadow clones in the balls. Once that hand was free she punched the other one in the gut both vanishing in a puff of smoke.
"Spoiled child?" she knocked him to his knees and captured his face, "if anyone is the spoiled child its you. You're perfectly happy keeping me locked away in that tower as your own personal toy and not letting me out to play. I want to get back out in the world a little bit and you are the one throwing a tantrum. Declaring to me what I can and can't do, who the hell do you think you're talking to in the first place?" she questioned, looking like a harpy instead of his loving wife.
Muscled arms came out and took her legs out from under her, knocking her on her back. He perched himself over her staring down into her shocked face.
"My tantrum is no worse than yours. Shoving me around just because you didn't get your way. What do you think I am?" he growled down at her.
"My idiot of a husband," she snarled as she tried to hit him only to be pinned down.
Mixed emotions flitted about her head, she just wanted to be mad for a bit and not deal with him but he didn't know how to give a woman some space. Her mouth got caught up in another demanding kiss. This time she didn't protest or strike him, instead she freed her hands and pulled him closer to deepen it, slipping her tongue through his perfect lips. His fought back, seeking entrance to her fat trap. She pulled back allowing him in. Her moist muscle rubbed the underside of his as it explored her mouth.
He had a point, a small one, he didn't have to tell her that she was on the list or that he was declining her. But what he didn't realize was that it felt like he didn't think she was good enough for him. She was just as talented and well trained as most of the members of the elite ANBU and even the head thought she was worthy but her husband, her love, her Hokage didn't. She could think of five ways to kill him now if she had needed to, seven ways to incapacitate him for questioning and ten to disable him in battle. How was she not good enough to protect him? She broke the kiss and shoved both hands to his pectorals, sliding up and out of his grasp she stood proud and firm.
There was nothing she hated more than not being seen by someone. She wanted his acknowledgement.
"I am a damn good ninja and I will not be over looked," her pride yelled.
Now he was beginning to see why she was lashing out. It had nothing to do with being childish, she was afraid of being passed over, undervalued, not given a chance to prove herself. He got to his feet and stared her down.
"You idiot, stop thinking I doubt your abilities. Yes, I don't want you on ANBU because I want you home with Takara and when you're ready I want you to be a sensei to pass on the will of fire that I see burning bright in you to the next generation of ninja. You're not being over looked. I just can't think of anyone better to protect the daughter of the Hokage of the Hidden in the Leaf then the woman who brought her into this world. I have enemies, you have enemies, and the way they can hurt us the deepest is to take what we made and destroy it. I am selfish when it comes to you. I love you too much to let you waste your talents in ANBU. So you want to be mad at me for that, fine, but you better be mad for the right reasons not the ones you created in your head," he roared, his Hokage voice sounding in there a few times.
Her resolve dripped away with each word he spoke. Her knees gave way at the end and she was on the ground again. Feeling like a bitch for ever doubting him, she didn't think words would do justice to how she had treated him.
Only two words could possibly help her as she mumbled them, "I'm sorry."
He moved to her and scooped her up bridal style. Holding her close without the fear of her lashing out was a different kind of bliss from the excitement of her overreaction. He started to head home with the defeated ninja in his arms.
"You know, even I don't want to fight you when you're serious," he stated.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better," she muttered into his chest.
A chuckle sounded from him, "no, you scare me and if I didn't heal as fast as I do, I would do anything to keep from pissing you off. But you really make it exciting so I get caught up in it sometimes and don't use my head."
"You know how to use this thing on your shoulders?" she teased as her graceful fingers latched onto his face and pulled him into a kiss.
"Nah, its just for looks," he joked as he set her on her feet and engulfed her in another mouth embrace. He flashed them back home without a second thought.
