This is an eventual SasukexSakura. Rated M for descriptions of violence and language. Very little graphic sexual content.
The story is accurate up to chapter 238 of the manga and contains spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, never will.
The best Sakura could do now was waddle. Her swollen belly got in the way of almost everything, from simple tasks, such as grocery shopping, and harder ones, such as bending over. Two of which she was trying to accomplish at this moment. As her grocery list fell to the ground, Sakura groaned. Now there was more work to do! She had to pick up the groceries, cash in some checks, pick up some medical journals from the bookstore, cook dinner, take a shower, get to bed, AND now she had to pick up the grocery list! On top of that, her feet hurt due to the extra weight.
She wasn't sure if it was because she was hormonal or not, but she wanted to cry.
As she sniffed back the stinging tears, she stroked her smooth, rotund belly. "Don't feel sad," she whispered, as if the boy could understand her. "Mommy's fine."
As she leaned over, bending her knees slightly, to pick up the grocery list, she heard snickering from behind her. Once her thumb, index, and middle finger closed around the piece of paper and she had straightened her back, she looked behind her. Three girls she didn't know, presumably kunoichi due to their shuriken packs, and wearing a lot of makeup, were covering their mouths and talking animatedly in hushed whispers. When the trio noticed her scrutiny, they giggled once more.
"Sorry," one said, waving her hand at Sakura. "Did you need me to get that?" That was all it took for them to burst out laughing again.
Sakura pursed her lips and creased the list in half.
"I would think that was obvious," she stated flatly. Pushing her shopping cart along, she paid the girls no more heed. Passing along the outer edges of the grocery store, she picked up some organic orange juice, broccoli, yogurt, mixed beans, and bananas. She picked some vitamin C as well. Just in case. She quickly paid for her items, trying to ignore all the haughty stares in the store. It was hard, though. Abuse also occurred at the very outside of the store.
Sakura was no longer seen as Tsunade's finest pupil. All people saw now was the whore who got pregnant with Uchiha Sasuke's child at fifteen years old.
One boy, probably no older than her, swaggered up to her with a cocky grin. His friends behind him had the same malicious grin. "Hey, babe. I hear you're the one Sasuke knocked up. Huh, thought you'd be prettier."
Sakura tried to walk past him, but he forced himself in her way, causing her to stumble backwards a bit.
"What's wrong? I'm just trying to have some civil conversation." Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, can I feel your stomach? Your boobs are fine, too, though they are pretty small." The boys burst into laughter.
The pink-haired girl's eyes flew open at the feeling of a hand grasping her breast. It caused sears of pain to go flashing through it. Didn't these stupid idiots know that at thirty-two weeks, breasts would be ultra-sensitive? He squeezed.
"Please," she begged.
"What? Harder?" he chuckled. There was literally a roar of laughter filling the space, filling Sakura's ears. "How many times did you ask that of the Uchiha?"
"You're hurting me," she whimpered, feeling her breast hurting more and more. Ordinarily, she would just ram her fist into the guy's face, but considering her delicate condition, she decided it was not a wise idea. The guy just brought up another hand and was about to squeeze until...
A large hand slapped his away roughly, causing him to cry out in shock. A deep, feminine voice spoke up quietly, monotonously.
"Didn't you hear her? You're hurting her." The boy staggered away, indignant.
"Fuck off, bitch! Stay out of our business!" he spat angrily, a vein bulging in his neck.
"Only if you stay out of hers."
Sakura turned to notice her rescuer. The girl looked only slightly older than her, but infinitely more ragged and mature. Her dark, curly-wavy locks-Sakura couldn't decide- cascaded down to just above her hamstrings. Looking again, Sakura decided that her hair was definitely curly. Dirt and dried liquid were patted to her face, sticky. Little particles hung in her hair, but it wasn't too greasy.
The boy snarled and nearly foamed at the mouth, and before Sakura knew it, they had gotten into a fight. The lady moved just a few inches to dodge a punch the boy had thrown and instead of striking back, caught him by the hair. His friends debated on going to help him, but a sharp, dangerous look filled the girl's eyes. Throwing him backward, he crashed into the chests of his friends with a yelp, and all of them backed into a ready-to-fight position.
Instead of continuing, the girl took Sakura's bags of merchandise and started hauling it away but not before grabbing her arm tightly, pulling the medic along with her. Sakura opened her mouth to protest but found none could form.
It was because she was sobbing.
Tears streaked down her face, mucus drifted down from her nose, and her breaths were coming out in shallow gasps.
She had been so frightened.
Once out of the general vicinity and areas surrounding the grocery store, the savior returned her newly acquired possessions to her.
"Here you go," she said, not frowning or smiling. Her face was just...blank. Her arm was extended out toward Sakura.
"Thank you," Sakura sniffled, wiping her dripping nose with the back of her hand, not caring how gross it seemed. Then again, she couldn't tell if the girl thought it was beyond gross or not. The girl was covered in grime and blood anyway.
"It was no problem," the girl shrugged. Sakura took her items and shook her head.
"No really. Thank you," Sakura said sincerely. "It's been a long time since..." she trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought. "Never mind." Noticing the woman had started walking off, she called out to her. "What's your name?"
The women stopped in her tracks and turned ever so slightly back to face Sakura.
"It doesn't matter anymore," she answered softly, continuing her seemingly significant trek.
Sakura was left there with the groceries and swollen feet.
OOO
Just as Sakura was in the process of preparing herself to sit by the fire and cast off her slippers so her aching feet would get some rest, someone knocked. Moaning, she braced her hands on her knees and hauled herself up. Mumbling to herself underneath her breath, she unlocked the door and was shocked to find that it was Naruto.
"Naruto," she breathed, genuinely surprised. "I thought your mission was going to end next week."
He gave her a crooked smile and shrugged. "We finished it early," he informed her softly.
Ever since he was informed of Sakura's pregnancy, Naruto had been talking quietly, so unlike his usual hyperactive self. It was as if he was afraid that shouting would hurt the baby.
Or maybe he was just hurt.
"Would you...like to come in?" she asked, stepping aside to grant him passage. The blond hesitated, looking to both sides and looking inside, desire to be with her evident in his eyes. Sakura's heart clenched. He was really worried that he might hurt her reputation. That sweet, sweet man. He had really matured a lot. "Naruto, come in," she demanded forcefully, pulling his arm and causing him to cry out in surprise. They strolled to the kitchen, and her friend helped himself to the cake on the counter, grabbing the plate she had been using. "Yummy," he rasped, slicing himself a generous portion. The pregnant girl's eyes gleamed with tenderness, and her lips curled up at the corners. "Your voice has gotten a lot deeper. You sound like a man," she commented. "You're already sixteen." Reaching over to take the knife so she could cut the scrumptious, chocolate cake on the counter, she missed the red tinge that colored Naruto's cheeks, neck, and ears.
"Well," he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck to hide the growing flush, "it's all a part of life." Sakura hummed in agreement, picking up another dish.
"It's just hard to accept...believe sometimes," she voiced lightly, albeit a little sadly. The change from boy to man was always hard to keep up with...sometimes it felt like it occurred overnight.
She rubbed her belly and remembered.
Casting those thoughts away, she grasped the edge of her dish and motioned for Naruto to join her at the fire. At the hearth, Naruto pulled up a chair as Sakura settled herself on her favorite armchair, swinging her feet up to the matching stool. Naruto looked at her puffy feet and immediately turned sympathetic.
"Your feet are swollen," he said, no more than a whisper. Sakura huffed.
"Yeah, but it's really a natural part of the pregnancy since I'm getting so fat," she said, half laughing.
Naruto was silent at first. "You're not fat," he said, his callused hands ghosting over her toes.
"You're beautiful."
Sakura was absolutely speechless at his words. Earlier that day, she was pretty much called ugly, and now Naruto was showering her with generous praise? When his fingers started applying pressure, Sakura sighed in pleasure.
"That feels so nice," she encouraged him, leaning and sinking into her seat. A naughty, childlike smirk played out onto Naruto's face. It was so familiar Sakura could have cried.
"I am an expert massager," he bragged, rubbing his thumbs in all the right ways.
A memory sprang to Sakura's head. "Do you remember? We had that one D-ranked mission when we were Genin. An old lady was paying us to clean her house, babysit her kids, and massage her feet for a day. You were stuck with playing masseuse."
Naruto burst out laughing. "Oh, geez. She had athlete's foot, did I tell you? I had it on my hands for a while. It was disgusting."
Sakura couldn't help it. She snorted as she laughed, unable to contain it. "Athlete's foot? Oh, God. You poor thing."
"I know right? She also smelled like she had walked ten miles if fresh dog crap."
Obnoxious snorts and guffaws escaped Sakura's lungs, and the two friends continued laughing until they settled into a comfortable silence. Naruto continued rubbing her feet, and Sakura took a nibble out of her cake. She then laced her hands over her midsection and closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of her tight muscles being loosened.
Suddenly, Naruto stopped.
His hand froze in their position, tenderly holding her feet in place. This did not go unnoticed by Sakura.
"Thank you," she said, withdrawing her feet from his hands, but Naruto still seemed bothered. Leaning towards him, Sakura asked, "Are you okay, Naruto?" He hung his head.
"Sakura-chan." Sakura sat up, attentive. "I want to test something."
Gently, his left hand cupped Sakura's cheek, and for Sakura, time stopped. Leaning forward, his breath caressed her cheek, and so softly she would miss it had she not been so breath taken, his lips brushed over hers, not quite a kiss. The two withdrew, until Sakura looked him in the eyes, telling him it was okay. His lips were upon hers again, more hungry this time. Both his hands held her face, and both her hands held his larger ones. Teeth scraping against his lips once, the boy, almost a man, shuddered. His tongue traced the crease between her lips, drawing out one whimper from her. As his self control fell, so did his hands, to just above her breast.
Sakura remembered.
She broke away, almost confused as to who Naruto was at the moment. The man at the grocery store, others, Sasuke... All of them had touched her like that, and she had despised it. She hated the way they had looked at her, eyes full of lust, hate, and malicious intent.
"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, almost as confused as she was. "I'm sorry! I went too far-"
"No!" Sakura nearly shrieked. Then she let out a whimper. "I'm sorry. You just reminded me of..."
"What?" Naruto asked, then his eyes hardened. "Did someone hurt you? Tell me who he is, I swear I'll-"
"No, Naruto." Sakura sighed shakily, the breath leaving her in quivering wisps. "It happened today. A guy and his friends started harassing me."
"Sakura-chan, just say the word and-"
"Naruto, someone helped me."
"Who?" he inquired.
Sakura took one more deep breath and continued, "It was a girl, probably just a little older than me. She had dark, curly hair and blue eyes. She just told them to back off, roughed them up a little, and that was that." She finished, smacking her lips together. "She didn't even tell me her name. She seemed to recognize me though."
Naruto's eyes lit up in a sort of recognition. "I think I saw her, Sakura-chan. Yeah, she was at Baa-chan's office. She was really dirty and bloody, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Well, I think she was some sort of refugee. She had some wounds, I think." Sakura's eye lit up in concern.
"If she had just told me, I could have helped her-"
"Well, most pregnant women don't have any chakra. It's a miracle you even have yours. That's probably why she didn't tell you."
Sakura leaned back in her chair and snatched her cake, hacking away at it almost angrily. "But still, I could have helped her bandage them or something-"
"I think she was in trouble, Sakura-chan. Her eyes seemed really guarded and hostile. I bumped into her, and I was scared after I met her eyes. They were really cold."
"Naruto, did you catch her name?"
"No, I didn't see her talk to anyone. Just stay away from that girl, Sakura-chan. She's bad news."
The two friends talked for a bit more, but Naruto announced that he should probably go home. "Do you want me to walk you back?" Sakura inquired.
Naruto looked at her like she was crazy. "Sakura-chan, you're eight months pregnant. Don't be ridiculous! That baby's ready to slide out any minute now." The pink-haired girl slapped his shoulder.
"I'm pregnant, not crippled."
"Still, I'll be fine on my own. See ya later." With a small wave and a one-armed hug, Naruto bounced down the steps, leaving Sakura to stare at his orange back.
Sighing solemnly, she closed the door and locked it.
Did you guys predict the NaruSaku part? Don't worry; this isn't going to be NaruSakuSasu.
And who was that dirty hobo girl?
Shall we ever know?
Also, would you like me to continue the flashback or continue to storyline first? If I do the storyline first, the flashback will come in sometime, you just may be confused as to what's going on.
A'ight. Peace.
P.S. Review! I like hearing what you guys think! Reviews are chocolate to the soul. Could we get to 345? Honestly, reviews help me with writer's block, knowing that people are waiting on me. And I get writer's block a looooooot.