Chapter 34

Hikari awoke with a jerk and a gasp.

Something was very, very wrong.

"Itachi," she said as she shook the boy at her side. "Itachi wake up."

The slight waver in Hikari's voice instantly caught Itachi's attention and he sat up; his eyes wide and searching.

"What's wrong?" Itachi said as he continued to scan the room for what ever it was that was threatening his wife and child.

"I—I think there's something wrong with the baby." Hikari said with a whimper. "M-my stomach really hurts."

Alarm flashed through Itachi's eyes and he quickly flung himself from the futon. Upon reaching the heavy metal door of their cell he quickly slammed his fist on the surface and three dull thuds resonated around their prison.

The message delivered Itachi made his way back to the futon where he gently sat next to Hikari and rubbed her swollen belly in a circular motion.

"Itachi…"

"Shh." Itachi said. "Help is coming."

Hikari nodded and leaned against her husband as she anxiously waited for help to arrive.

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Ichigo waited with bated breath as she finally felt the presence of Hanabi and Akira enter the large common room. Good. That was everyone. And now it was time. The time that she would finally know.

She swallowed hard and Gaara gently grasped her hand in his.

"Are you ready?" He whispered softly against her ear.

"I've been ready for this for five years."

Gaara nodded and looked to Kyo for the signal. The sapphire haired man nodded, a solemn look in his eyes.

"Go ahead Gaara."

Every one in the room sucked in a breath as Gaara gently unwound the bandages from Ichigo's eyes.

Slowly, far too slowly, Ichigo opened her deep brown eyes, blinking gently to allow them time to adjust to the dim lighting of the room.

"Well?" Baki said. "Can you see or what?"

Ichigo frowned deeply as her eyes roamed the figures of her gathered friends.

"…Yes."

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Sweat trickled down the Nanako's brow but she steadily ignored it; focused completely on her task. She knew it was far too soon for the baby to be born. Why the poor girl was barely seven months along. Yes, she had delivered hundreds of children during her fifty-seven years as a mid-wife, but it was because of that she already knew that nothing could be done.

By the time the baby had made his way into the world, he was already dead.

Nanako sighed sadly and wrapped the limp child in a clean blanket after he was cleaned. The girl would be devastated, she knew. All mothers who lost a child were, but she felt a special pain for this girl. Locked away in a tower like the princess she nearly was, Haruno Hikari had nothing. The only ray of light she had was the presence of her husband and the pending birth of her child.

Now, that ray of light would be snuffed out and Konoha's last hope along with it.

Nanako tried to smile as she handed the shell of the child to his silent and stoic father. Itachi took the baby and cradled him gently, despite the fact that no breath came from his still lips.

"Thank-you." Itachi said. "I will tell her when she awakes."

"Would you like me to take him away?"

"No." Itachi's voice was firm. "I will keep him here. She has a right to see him."

"As you wish, Itachi-sama."

Slightly startled by the title Itachi looked up from the baby in his grasp just in time to see Nanako escorted from the prison cell. Once the door slammed closed Itachi closed his eye with a sigh and cradled the child closer. He may have no life, but, for now, Itachi would pretend that he still had a son.

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"I feel so old." Naruto complained. "Like an old man or something."

"Well you did just skip about ten years," Sakura said. "It will take a bit of time for you to get used to it."

"Sakura-chan," Hinata said softly. "You don't think that our bodies will be effected by this for a long time do you?"

Sakura frowned in thought. "Well," she said. "I can see two possible out comes. First, well will continue to age at a normal pace starting from now and steadily continuing until we are old, or two."

"Two?" Sasuke prompted.

"Two is slightly disturbing because I'm not sure how it will treat our bodies."

"Okay! So what is it?" Naruto said. "I wanna know!"

"By my second hypothesis we could possibly remain in these bodies, our forms unchanging, until we actually reach the age that we currently are."

"Meaning exactly what for us Sakura," Sasuke said, impatience creeping into his voice.

"Meaning we could be twenty-two for the next ten years with out changing a hair."

"Our hair won't grow!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed his scalp. "We won't go bald will we?!"

"No dobe," Sasuke said. "She means we will look this way for ten years or so. Your hair will still grow, idiot."

"What did you call me teme!"

"Dobe!"

"Teme!"

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun!" Sakura and Hinata said as one.

"Not in front of the children." Hinata said sternly.

"Yeah," Sakura said. "The last thing we need is them cursing before they're four."

"Sorry," both boy-err…men, said sheepishly.

"So now that you are so much older," Haku said. "What is your plan?"

Sakura chewed her lip lightly as she tugged gently on a strand of her pink hair.

"Well," she said. "We are going to have to find a place to hide first. It wouldn't do us any good to change our bodies if we get captured before we have a chance to get used to them."

"So what do you suggest?" Sasuke asked as he lifted the whimpering Midori into his arms.

Sakura didn't answer as her jaw dropped open in shock. "S-Sasuke-kun!" She said.

Sasuke frowned. "What?"

"You—Midori—!"

Sasuke's frown deepened, furrowing his brow. "What?"

"Hinata! Naruto! Quick, come look!"

Hinata and Naruto quickly did what Sakura said and came to stand at her side. No sooner had they taken a look, then both of their mouths dropped open as well.

"Well I'll be…" Naruto said.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata said. "You're brilliant!"

"What!" Sasuke's expression was hard and his voice sharp but not one of his friends paid him any mind.

"Naruto!" Sakura said. "Go pick up Shigure and Shinta!"

It wasn't until Sasuke saw Naruto holding the twins that he finally managed to have a clue about what was going on. As surprising as it was the twins looked surprisingly like Naruto. They both had blond hair, though it was a shade or two darker then Naruto's, and their eyes were a cloudy shade of blue that looked to have a tinge of gray mixed in.

"Oh!" Hinata gasped. "You would almost think that he was their father!"

"Exactly," Sakura said as she dug through her bag for her small mirror. "Look Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke complied and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Surprised he sent a short look down at Midori before returning his eyes to the glass.

"Hn."

Sakura smiled. "I'll take that as an agreement."

Just at that moment, Kaede woke from her sleep with a whimper and Sakura reached over and pulled her out of her sleeping basket.

"Good morning sweetie!" Sakura said as she happily pulled a bottle from the baby bag. "Are you ready to meet your new mommy?"

Kaede just gurgled and greedily began drinking from the bottle of warm milk.

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Yume panted hard as he let his head lean gently against the wall. His breathing was harsh but a grin rested proudly on his lips. He was almost done. Only six more feet and he would be able to reach the window.

And freedom.

He completely ignored the sound of the dinner door (a small door at the bottom of his cell door) as it opened and his plate was slid inside. For now he wasn't interested in eating. What he really needed was sleep. Then he would eat.

His grin widened. Yes, he then he would eat, and then he would begin on the last six feet.

Finally, after six long years, freedom was once again with in his grasp.

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Gaara was the first one to notice that something was wrong. His grin slowly faded as he realized that his friend didn't look exactly pleased by her declaration of sight.

"Ichigo." He said, his voice firm. "What's wrong? Can't you see?"

Ichigo's eyebrows crinkled in confusion as she nodded. "Yes…but…no too."

"I do not understand Ichigo," Gaara said. "You either see or you do not. There is no 'yes and no'."

Ichigo grit her teeth and glared strait into Gaara's sea green eyes.

"There is a 'yes and no'." She said with a hiss. "I can see, yes. But only colors."

Her shoulders drooped and she valiantly fought off the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

Confusion filled Gaara's face and he gently lifted Ichigo's chin so that she was looking at him once again.

"What do you mean 'Only colors'?"

"I can see your eyes." She said. "And I can see the shape of your body." Ichigo let out a half smile. "But other then that, the only thing I can see of you, is the color of your aura. And the surroundings? Well, they are as black as…blindness."

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Hikari groaned as she pulled herself back from the blackness of sleep. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was the mid-wife (Nanoki?) telling her to push one last time, but after that she…

Her eyes suddenly flew open.

What about her baby? Was he alright? Was anything wrong? Why couldn't she hear him crying?

"I-Itachi?" Hikari managed to croak out. "W-where…?"

Itachi gently moved to his wife's side, a small frown on his face.

"Hikari."

Hikari's lip trembled at the tone of his voice.

"Itachi." Her voice wavered. "Where is my baby?"

Itachi sighed and helped her sit up in their shared futon.

"I'm sorry." Was all he said as he passed the breathless infant into his mother's trembling arms.

"No…" she whispered brokenly. "No, no, no…" Tears spilled from her wide green eyes and she held the child close as a completely shattered wail broke past her lips.

Itachi quickly wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders as she continued to wail and sob as she gently rocked her lifeless child. He pulled her close and rested her face in the crook of his neck as he slowly rocked her from side to side.

He opened his mouth to speak but his eyes suddenly widened and he pushed Hikari back.

Hikari had felt it too and her despair had come to an abrupt stop in the face of her utter shock.

Despite the absence of Hikari's cries, no silence filled their cell. Instead the young couple heard the sound of an annoyed whimper and, as one, their heads shot down to Hikari's arms where their infant son opened his deep black eyes with a grunt.

End Chapter 34

Kaliea: Did I surprise you? Hah! I did, didn't I! I'll bet none of you expected that! (My brother excluded cause I already told him about it) So tell me what you think! Did I do well? Or do you totally hate it? Either way that's all for now. Till next time, ja ne!

Review Answers:

Tears like Crystals: I'm glad you liked it. I loved making Tenten be 'naughty' like the others. She just doesn't get enough chances to be a kid in my fic.

Emy-chan-tan-fan: More then pie? Wow, I'm flattered!

IX-ForgottenAngel-XI: Yeah, I wanted all of the special chaps to be much lighter to sort of balance out all of the almost-angst I've been writing.

Dragon Man 180: Yeah I know, but I didn't have much time to write and I wanted to get it up as soon as possible. Also I figured that since it was just a filler I could possibly use the other half as a later filler if I need one.

Danny-171984: Yeah, things were a lot easier on them all before Orotomato showed up.

Shinobi Darkbeak: Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.

Kaliea: Thanks again for your review and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Ja ne!