Information for this chapter was taken from the Naruto Wikia page: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique and a few videos on youtube that showed the technique. Apologies in advance if it isn't right.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and my sincerest apologies for not being more timely with my updates! (Even this one is later than I would hoped.) gunsAndROSES2656, Dragon77, maxridelover, danabug (If I haven't skipped any of the first twenty-eight weeks, you really shouldn't expect me to skip any of the last ten.), Pixie07, yukino76, blue-indigo-girl, SweetHunniiBunnii, and AzucenaXshadows, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
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Warnings: Contains adult language, themes, and suggestions. It is not suitable for anyone below the age of 16 per FFN guidelines.
November twenty-sixth, the twenty-ninth week,
Sasuke was looking over a scroll when he felt the baby kick, again. With a sigh, he set the scroll down on the coffee table and with some amount of effort, moved to sit up. He reached for the sheet of paper next to a pile of scrolls with a pencil to add another line to the other two-dozen he'd drawn throughout the day. "What's the score?" Sakura asked. She was sitting in the chair next to the couch and was watching him with a smile on her face. The pregnant male glanced to her as he placed the piece of paper back down.
"Mostly active mid-morning and around dusk, some movement throughout the day and it's mostly when Naruto is nearby." He rattled off the information, bored enough to be a little annoyed. The pink haired woman rolled her eyes and set her medical book down in her lap.
"Specifically." Sakura stated with force.
"At the most active, ten kicks in half an hour. The very least, fifteen in two hours." Sasuke rattled the information off as he picked up the scroll again. "And when Naruto is being loud."
"Completely fine and normal." The pink haired woman smiled and flipped a page over in her book. "When is Naruto going to be out of the roster for perimeter duty?" She looked down at her medical book but wasn't reading it anymore.
"They couldn't switch him out until the end of the week." Sasuke grumbled. The pink haired woman raised an eyebrow but didn't seem all that surprised at the cause of the delay.
"Have you been having any physical problems?" She continued with the informal questioning and the Uchiha frowned at his scroll. When Sasuke didn't answer right away, the pink haired woman started to stare him down.
"I've been constipated." He mumbled. Sasuke glanced up to see her rolling her eyes and looked back to his scroll huffily.
"That's normal, make sure you're drinking enough water and getting enough exercise. I'll give you something to help with it if that doesn't solve the problem. Do you have heartburn or anything like that?" It was the Uchiha's turn to roll his eyes and he shook his head.
"No." He stated pointedly. The sound of the front door opening interrupted Sakura's questioning and they both looked to the entryway to see Kakashi and Yamato pulling off their shoes, flak jackets, and jackets that were beneath that.
"It's really getting cold out there." Yamato called out. "Let's hope Naruto doesn't freeze out there tonight."
"You're late." Sasuke pointed out testily. Sakura looked back to the Uchiha before watching Yamato and Kakashi settle into the room. Kakashi took one of the armrests of the couch as a seat while Yamato set himself down on the floor across the coffee table from the Uchiha.
"Relax Sasuke, it's not even dinner time yet." Kakashi said offhandedly.
"Late for what?" The pink haired woman asked.
"We're going over what Sasuke's found, he's got everything ready for tomorrow but the Hokage won't let him work on this by himself." Yamato explained with a smile. Sasuke glared at him before looking to Kakashi with the same expression.
"I thought Naruto wasn't getting out of perimeter duty until the end of the week?" The pink haired woman frowned. Sasuke tilted his head in acknowledgment.
"We're going to be using clones until he does." He murmured.
"He'll take gate duty if he's feeling tired or if he can't concentrate with us dispelling his clones." Yamato explained when it seemed that the pregnant male wasn't going to elaborate further.
"Where's Apricot?" Sakura asked. She closed the book in her lap and Yamato shrugged his shoulders.
"She's learning how to do math with Umino-san, do we need her?" The brown haired male asked. Sasuke readjusted himself in his seat and shook his head. Kakashi sighed loudly and spoke out loud for the dark haired male.
"The seal additions won't have any lasting effect on her." He explained. The Uchiha nodded at the correct reasoning and set the scroll he had been looking at down on the short table in front of him. Spreading it open, the pregnant male revealed only some of the neatly organized symbols that he'd written down.
"Do you want to stay for this?" Sasuke looked up to Sakura only to see that she was looking at the seal symbols with interest.
"I've got nowhere else to be, besides, it'll be interesting to see what you've found." The pink haired woman grinned and pointed to one of the symbols on the page. "Why this seal, I know it's already a part of both Apricot and Naruto's seals." Sasuke started to respond but stopped, his expression contorting into something akin to discomfort.
"It's used as a base for parts of their seals," The Uchiha place a hand on his side as he leaned forward to scratch another mark on the paper he was using to keep track of the baby's movements. With a short exhale of breath, Sasuke leaned back again and relaxed. "We know it works for the original seal so it should be compatible for strengthening it."
"What about the rest of them?" Kakashi gestured to the scroll. Sasuke turned his head to raise an eyebrow at the white haired male.
"These are all possible bases for his seal, this is just the first scroll." Sasuke smirked when he saw the jonin frown.
"Of how many?" Yamato asked. He and Sakura were immediately glancing to the pile of scrolls on the coffee table and the Uchiha's smirk widened when he pointed to them.
"Six." The pregnant male stated.
"Let's get started then." Yamato raised his arms to the coffee table and leaned forward to get a closer look at the scroll.
"Do you have copies of Naruto and Apricot's seals? It'd make it a lot easier to make sure the symbols will work with Naruto's seal." Sakura asked. The dark haired male rolled the scroll open a little more, pulling two sheets of paper with the individual seals on them.
"That one won't work." Kakashi spoke up. Everyone's attention was on him but the white haired male was still looking at the scroll.
"Which one?" Sasuke asked. Yamato looked back to the scroll, looking at the symbols to try and see what Kakashi had seen.
"That one," Kakashi repeated. He made an ambiguous gesture to the scroll. "Third row, second from the top." Sakura turned her head this time and Sasuke glanced at the scroll, quickly identifying the one he was talking about.
"Why? I don't see anything wrong with it." The pink haired woman tilted her head in confusion. Sasuke could remember the scroll he'd gotten the symbol from and the description of what it was capable of, it all looked like it would be compatible. What was he missing?
"It's too similar to Naruto's original base, it'd be useless." The white haired male pointed out. Sasuke didn't bother hiding his frown. What did Kakashi mean by that?
"He's right," Yamato lifted his head as he spoke. "It wouldn't hold any more chakra than what the original seal does now if we used it." Sasuke's eyes narrowed and Sakura looked to the older male.
"But why? How do you know?" Sakura persisted.
"Right here," Yamato pointed at the top of Naruto's seal. "We'd have to add the base of the additions to the base of the original but they'd mold together. That specific combination leaves everything based on the second symbol effectively useless."
"Scratch it off." Sasuke stated. He gave the symbol one last glance before looking away. Yamato reached for a pencil and hastily scratched through it.
"Creating a seal is easier than making improvements to one. It can get pretty complicated." The dark haired man explained. He looked up from the scroll with a smile but the Uchiha scoffed and shifted again on the couch.
"It's one less symbol and it saves us a few hundred combinations we'd have to try." Kakashi explained. "There's bound to be a few more that we won't be using." The Uchiha rolled his eyes and waved his hand at the scroll, motioning for them to continue.
November twenty-seventh, still the twenty-ninth week,
Waking up with Naruto in bed with him was something Sasuke missed in the past few weeks. He no longer woke up at the break of dawn, more recently; he was waking up closer to noon. So whenever he opened his eyes and found his husband next to him, the Uchiha took a few seconds to relish the feeling.
A few minutes later when he was actually awake, he noticed that the blonde was laying stomach down and face turned toward the Uchiha. Naruto's face was smudged with dirt and he'd stripped off his sweater and undershirt but had left his pants on. Shifting, the pregnant male moved closer to his husband and for a second thought about going back to sleep. Then, another idea wiggled its way into the dark haired male's mind.
They hadn't even tried to do it since the last time all those weeks ago and they were in the exact same situation, Naruto asleep and he was horny. Licking his lips in anticipation, Sasuke let his gaze linger for a few more seconds before he dragged himself to his side of the bed. Grabbing the lube, the dark haired male grunted softly as he rolled onto his side facing the blonde.
Naruto was still dead to the world when the Uchiha found a comfortable position and had set the lube down between them. He didn't even twitch when Sasuke raised his hand to pet his hair, it was already mussed, coarse with dried sweat but the Uchiha didn't mind. Trailing his fingers down the blonde's neck to his back, he traced the outlines of his shoulder blades and then down the ridges of his spinal column. When he reached the hem of the black pants, Sasuke set his hand on Naruto's hip and pushed him onto his side.
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"The baby's moving." Sasuke finally answered. The blonde's gaze dropped down to his swollen middle as he raised his hands, pressing them against his husband's pregnant belly. They sat in silence for the next few minutes, both of them feeling their baby move. Looking up again, Sasuke watched as the blonde's expression changed with every kick. Sasuke watched as the blonde's face went from surprised to awe and tried not to move too much as the baby readjusted.
"Come here." Naruto whispered. He looked up with a smile and leaned in, kissing his husband soundly on the mouth. The blonde tried to scoot closer but the pregnant male pressed a hand against a tan chest and pulled away.
"Need the bathroom." Sasuke explained. He rolled his body to the edge of the bed and moved to stand as his husband watched.
"I'm coming with you." The blonde called out suddenly. Turning his head, the Uchiha watched Naruto scoot to the edge of the bed, intent on following him. "Got to brush my teeth." Naruto explained with a smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he pushed himself off the bed and moved towards the bathroom, not expecting the sting of a hand swatting his ass.
Jumping in surprise, the Uchiha looked back to see Naruto grinning, not even bothering to back away if Sasuke were to hit him. Sasuke glared at the blonde before pointedly turning away. He expected the blonde to be put out by his refusal to be goaded but as he did his business, Naruto stepped into the bathroom, grinning. Frowning, the Uchiha ignored his husband as he emptied his bladder, refusing to meet the blue-eyed gaze as Naruto brushed his teeth. When he went to the sink to wash his hands, the dark haired male pinched Naruto's ass.
"Idiot." Sasuke growled. The blonde nearly choked on his toothbrush when he jumped. Washing his hands, Sasuke and continued to ignore his husband, trying not to grin.
"Ready?" Yamato asked. Even the largest training field in the compound was small and Sasuke surveyed the space, hoping it would be big enough. He was leaning against the wall, Naruto standing close to him, Yamato and Kakashi across from them. Apricot was sitting on top of the wall, looking down curiously as the blonde pulled off his shirt. Naruto nodded and raised his hands in the overly familiar symbols.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" The blonde called out. The entire training field was immediately covered in smoke and when it dissipated, exact copies of Naruto packed together remained. Sasuke glanced over the ones he could see, dressed in his signature orange cargo pants. Most of them crossed their arms over their chests, trying to ward off the cold as the original Naruto pulled his long sleeved shirt back on.
"That's the full hundred and fifty?" Kakashi asked. He looked across the crowded field with his visible eye as if he was trying to count them all.
"Yup." The real Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and nodded before yawning. He looked to Yamato with a smile as some of his clones leaned against one another, others starting to shove each other in the cramped space.
"Alright, let's get to it." Yamato clapped his hands together and stepped towards the crowd of clones. "I'm going to need you guys to form some semblance of a line or at least a way to organize you all." Sasuke sighed, pressing a hand to the side of his stomach and watched the clones continue to push at each other, some starting to shout at each other.
"What can I do?" Apricot asked. She started to shift when the Uchiha looked up, intent on jumping down but Kakashi raised his hand, motioning for her to stop.
"Nothing just yet, we'll have use for you once we've gotten symbols written on the clones." Kakashi dropped his hand and sat down. He placed himself next to the pile of scrolls Sasuke had brought with him and Yamato had added several pots of ink and paintbrushes. Yamato gave up trying to organize the clones and kneeled down, grabbing an inkpot, a brush and two of the scrolls.
"This is going to take a while isn't it?" Naruto asked. Sasuke glanced between his husband and the brown haired male, watching Yamato step a few feet away from Kakashi before sitting down and organizing everything in front of him.
"Take a nap. You look like you need it." The Uchiha prodded the blonde in the side as he pushed off the wall, taking the scrolls, paintbrush, and the inkpot that the white haired male held out for him. Naruto watched him come back to the wall and held out his hands when the pregnant male realized he couldn't sit down with his hands full.
"Are these all the symbols?" The blonde asked when Sasuke was sitting down and taking the items out of his hands. Once his hands were free, Naruto sat down next to his pregnant husband, leaning against his shoulder.
"Just the base symbols, this isn't even half of it." Kakashi pointedly glanced back to Sasuke. The Uchiha ignored the look, organizing the items in front of him. He felt the blonde's lips press against his temple, curved into a smile.
"Somebody was busy." Naruto murmured into Sasuke's ear. The Uchiha couldn't contain his eye roll at that and rolled the shoulder his husband was leaning against. Naruto hummed loudly before lowering his head to bury it in the crook of the pregnant male's neck and shoulder.
Sasuke looked up to see Kakashi was already working on one of the clones, painting a symbol onto his stomach as the clone tried not to squirm too much. Yamato was motioning for another to sit down in front of him while opening the first scroll with his other hand. With a quiet sigh, the Uchiha looked at the crowd of clones and watched as one of them jogged forward, sitting down in front of him with a smile. Opening the inkpot, the Uchiha dipped the paintbrush into it and leaned forward, opening up the first of his two scrolls.
"What are we going to do when people move into the compound?" The clone asked. Looking up, Sasuke found that the clone was looking at the real Naruto as he spoke but the soft snoring against his neck meant that his husband was asleep.
"Hopefully we'll have figured it out by then." He answered. "Come closer." Sasuke motioned for him to come closer and waited for him to settle before dipping the paintbrush into the ink.
"But what if we don't?" The clone pressed. Carefully, Sasuke began to paint on the first of the many symbols, barely even giving the clone a glance.
"We'll figure it out." The Uchiha repeated softly. He watched the blonde clone nod from the corner of his eye and then the Uchiha focused on the symbol. Some of the clones were talking among each other, just out of earshot but when he looked up to reapply the ink, the clones were grouping up, trying to keep warm in the chilly November weather.
"Apricot, come here and touch this clone." Kakashi called out. Apricot jumped down from her perch on top of the wall and carefully sidestepped Yamato and his clone as she stepped in front of the now standing clone. The Uchiha pulled his paintbrush away from the clone's stomach as he watched the redhead raise her hand, taking Naruto's clone hand into her own. For a brief second, nothing happened. Suddenly, the freshly drawn symbol was crumbling off and the clone was no longer in existence with a loud 'poof'.
"What does that mean?" The young girl cried out. Apricot's bright green eyes were wide as she tried to hold back her panic.
"It didn't work." Kakashi answered. Sasuke watched him cross out the symbol in the original scroll and then turn back to the heavy breathing girl. "Calm down. Does it look like that affected Naruto?" The white haired male asked. Sasuke watched the girl lean to the side so she could see the real Naruto, the one who was still fast asleep and leaning against him.
"How do you know that means it didn't work?" She asked. Her panic seemed to have subsided but she still looked warily at the crowd of clones behind her.
"It didn't hold up under Kyuubi's chakra, if it did, the clone would have shown physical signs of Kyuubi's chakra leaking." Sasuke answered.
"Here, try this one." Yamato called out softly. Sasuke made the clone lean sideways so he could see the redhead reach out to the clone getting up from in front of Yamato. When their hands met, the clone visibly jerked and a few seconds later the clone was exuding Kyuubi's chakra. Sasuke watched as Kyoko pulled her hand away quickly and Yamato dug a kunai into the clone's ankle. It disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the real Naruto lifted his head with a start.
"I'm guessing that one worked then?" He asked sleepily. Yamato didn't respond but circled the symbol in the scroll. Apricot looked to Kakashi and Yamato before sitting down between them and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm cold." Naruto mumbled. Pressing closer, the blonde tried to mold himself to the Uchiha's side.
"What do you want me to do about it?" The pregnant male asked. He pressed his paintbrush against the clone's stomach again. Finishing the seal, Sasuke set the brush down and looked it over. "Try it." The clone nodded and stood, careful not to smudge the paint on his stomach and stood over the young girl. She held up her hand and watched the clone jump before Kyuubi's chakra engulfed him. This time Kakashi hit the clone with a shuriken to his shoulder, the weapon falling to the ground in front of Apricot when the clone was nothing more than a dissipating cloud of smoke.
"Oh, I am definitely not going to get any sleep while you guys do this." Naruto groaned. "Wish you could use your fireball technique." Sasuke leaned forward to circle the symbol he'd copied and watched another clone walk up to take the other's place.
"A fireball jutsu? That'd certainly be helpful." Apricot called out. The Uchiha watched the clone sit down, and waited for him to settle so he could start to paint another symbol. There was another 'poof' sound as a clone dispelled and Sasuke could see Kakashi take his brush to the scroll again.
"You can teach her how to do it right, Sasuke?" Naruto sat up, nudging the pregnant male's side just enough to catch his attention. Sasuke glanced to him, focusing on the dark circles under his bright blue eyes. The blonde definitely needed to get some sleep after this.
"Why? She'd just set all of your clones on fire." He explained. Leaning forward, he gave his husband a kiss before returning his attention to the clone, knowing that his original blonde was smiling.
"Or us." Kakashi added. There was a gasp and a clone backed away from Apricot; the Uchiha could see the red glow of Kyuubi's chakra before it was dispelled. Yamato chuckled and the girl huffed indignantly.
"Can I at least try?" Apricot asked. Sasuke tried to finish painting the symbol but the clone leaned back, tilting his head with a bright grin. The dark circles under the clone's eyes were practically staring the Uchiha down and Sasuke could feel the guilt building in his chest.
"It'll help us pass the time." Naruto whispered into his ear. Blinking, the pregnant male glanced to the blonde next to him and sighed before giving in.
"Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger." Sasuke listed off the symbols as he motioned for the clone to straighten up. The blonde did, still grinning when the Uchiha started painting again.
"Wait, you went too fast." Apricot called out. The Uchiha bit his lower lip as he continued working, not wanting to get distracted by redhead. Whatever she was doing, it caught Kakashi's attention.
"Will one of you watch her? See that she doesn't aim at us." The white haired male called out to the crowd of clones. Finishing the symbol, the Uchiha set the paintbrush down and wiped his hands as the blonde got up and walked over to Kyoko. The girl held out her hand and watched as the clone jerked, Kyuubi's chakra emanating from him for a second before Yamato flung a kunai into his leg. Naruto twitched as the clone dispelled and Sasuke moved to circle the symbol. The girl tossed the kunai back to Yamato who caught it by the handle and the Uchiha glanced to Apricot as another clone walked past her to sit down in front of him.
"Snake, ram, boar, monkey-" She murmured. The redhead had turned to face the clones but Sasuke could see her elbows moving as she did the hand signs.
"No. Snake, ram, monkey, boar." The Uchiha corrected her. Apricot whipped her head around, craning her neck to try to look at him.
"Monkey, boar. Got it. What comes after that?" She asked. A clone tapped her on the shoulder and she held up her hand for him to grab. The clone grabbed it and a few seconds later it disappeared with a loud 'poof'.
"Horse and tiger." Sasuke answered. He glanced at the scroll as he dipped his brush in the ink and got ready to paint the next symbol. The redhead crawled away from her spot so she could have a clear line of sight of the Uchiha.
"Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse and tiger?" Apricot listed them off and Sasuke glanced up at her when she got it right.
"It's katon goukakyuu no jutsu. The chakra is converted to fire and expelled from the mouth." Sasuke explained. He returned his attention to the clone and started to draw his third symbol. The Uchiha could hear another clone gasp before hearing the sound of it being dispelled.
"That sounds painful." Apricot said after a moment.
"It is if you do it wrong." Sasuke responded. "You can use your hand to control it, like this." He raised his free hand in her direction, holding out his thumb and pointer finger before curling them into a partial circle.
"Okay. I can do that." Apricot nodded her head as she practiced the hand signs. Sasuke watched another clone step up next to the redhead who frowned as she held out her hand for him to take.
"How long do you think it'll take for her to get it?" Yamato called out. The clone's eyes widened as the symbol crumbled off his stomach and it disappeared like the ones before it.
"A week." Kakashi answered.
"I'll get it before then." Kyoko retorted testily. Sasuke glanced up from the circle like symbol he was drawing and watched the girl focus on making the six hand signs in order.
"I'm betting she'll have a flame by the end of the day." One of the blonde's clones called out. The Uchiha glanced to the clone in front of him who only shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
"If she can get a flame out of her mouth by today she'll have it mastered in a week." Sasuke said loud enough for everyone to hear. He finished the circular symbol and set the paintbrush down as Kyoko did the hand signs in quick succession.
"Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!" She yelled. The girl held up her hand the way the Uchiha had showed her but when she tried to blow out fire she didn't have enough air to exhale and ended up coughing through dark smoke that poured out from her mouth.
"Take a deep breath before you do it next time." Kakashi advised. The redheaded girl leaned forward and continued to expel the burnt chakra violently. Crawling onto all fours, Kyoko inhaled deeply and squeezed her eyes shut as a clone leaned over the girl.
"Thanks." Apricot answered with a hoarse voice. She raised her head, opened her eyes and held out her hand for the clone to take. The clone jerked his hand out of her grasp as soon as they touched; Kyuubi's red chakra began to emanate from him. Kakashi caught the clone in the head with a shuriken and it dropped to the ground before the smoke cleared but Sasuke could feel the original Naruto shift next to him.
"Did you have to hit me in the head?" Naruto asked. The Uchiha circled the symbol in the scroll he had used on the last clone and watched the redhead recover from inhaling the burning chakra.
"I'm practicing." Kakashi responded easily. Another clone walked around the green eyes girl and sat down in front of the dark haired male. He sat with his back straight and then turned his head to watched Apricot sit back up.
"Go on, try again." Yamato encouraged the girl. Kyoko looked over at the brown haired male, still coughing with every few breaths. Glancing down at the scroll again, the Uchiha heard the girl whisper the hand signs as she did them.
"Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger. Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!" Kyoko rasped.