"Teme!" Naruto bellowed, grabbing Sasuke, causing the furious Uchiha to look at him.
"Naruto, don't get in my way."
"Teme, she escaped Kuromaru to come here. She's our only lead to Sakura."
"I wasn't going to kill her until I got every last bit of information from her, baka."
He pushed passed Naruto and towards the shaking red-head.
"Tou-san."
The sound of his daughter drew his attention to the smaller girl who stood by Bolt and Ino.
"Sarada, what are you doing here? You should be with-"
Sasuke's eyes spotted Kakashi behind her and scowled.
"Really, Kakashi? You couldn't watch her for a couple of days?"
"Sasuke-kun, please," Karin began.
He turned to look at her, his anger returning. "No, you don't get to call me-"
He paused when he noticed she was holding something out to him. Taking a closer look, he realised immediately what it was and he felt his throat close up.
"Is that..."
Karin was crying now.
"I know I've caused you and your family so much pain and that I deserve to be killed by your hand, but please. Please let me explain."
Sasuke moved forward and took the twins into his arms and simply gazed at the babies.
He had two sons.
Karin was smart enough to realise the only reason she was still breathing was because of the shock of seeing the twins.
His eyes were wide as he committed their appearance to memory. They were so tiny, having been born prematurely. One had tuffs of midnight blue hair, like Sasuke's, only the blue was more vibrant. Yawning, the baby boy's eye cracked open, revealing the onyx eyes of the Uchiha as they looked up at the new man. He turned his gaze to his other son. He had the same eyes as his brother but what caught Sasuke's attention, was the tuff of dark pink hair on his head.
Pink.
One of his son had pink hair. But despite the feminine colour, Sasuke knew his son would learn to deal, especially when said baby started to get huffy.
"H-He's hungry," Karin spoke.
She eased her backpack off and held it out for him. Hinata moved forward and grabbed it.
"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke asked.
It might have come off harsh, but Karin knew that it also meant she wasn't going to die.
At least, not yet.
She quickly explained what happened after Sakura had been taken and how she had struggled to lock her memories with the aid of someone by the name of 'Inner'.
"Inner?" Ino perked up. "She's still there?"
"Who the hell is Inner?" Kiba asked.
"Do you guys remember way back during the Chunin Exams when I caught Sakura with my family's jutsu? By all means, I was supposed to have won that. I was in her mind and had control of her body."
"But you were forced out, weren't you?" Shikamaru questioned.
Ino nodded. "Yeah. When Naruto called out to her, he awoke what I know to be 'Inner Sakura', an inner persona Sakura developed when she was a child. It was the part of herself that she was too scared to show other people and so she manifested into apparently an actual being."
Karin nodded. "With Inner, Sakura began locking away important memories while losing some to Kuromaru who warped what memories he could get his hands on."
"But why did you help her?" Naruto asked. "What changed your mind?"
"Sakura did," Karin spoke softly. "My obsession with Sasuke came to a halt when I realised that she was perfect for him. I admired her and not long after, I was planning her escape."
"Did she name them?"
Karin nodded. "Before I ran she whispered their names to me. The oldest, the pink-haired one, is Natsu and the other is Itaru. She wanted him to have some part of your brother in his name.
"What happened with the twins birth?" Sasuke asked.
"Sakura was deathly ill," Karin revealed. "Apparently, it was caused from the Saisen. She was going to die after Natsu was born, but I shared some of my life blood with her. Before she took it all, though, she stopped. She said she had what she needed to fix the damage. She came up with the plan of me escaping with the twins when they were born."
"You left her behind?" Sasuke hissed as he handed the twins to Naruto and Ino, the godparents.
"She begged me to run. I had no choice, Sasuke. No choice. If I hadn't, Kuromaru would have crushed their necks in front of her!"
Sasuke bristled as he grabbed her by the throat.
"S-Sasuke," she choked.
"Ino," Sasuke spoke, looking over to the blond who was ignoring the commotion in favour of staring at the pinkette in her arms.
She looked over at him, uncaring to Karin's plight. "Hmm?"
"Show us everything in Karin's mind regarding Sakura. Can you do it?"
"I'm offended you asked."
Handing the baby to Hinata who had a bottle ready for the fussy baby, her hands flew through a series of hand seals. Sasuke loosened his hold around her throat but didn't let go. A layer of genjutsu settled over room so they could all see what she saw and she sifted through the important memories.
Karin entered the cell, seeing the battered, pregnant pinkette and placed the tray of food down before gently shaking her awake.
"Sakura?" She called.
Slowly, the pinkette roused away.
"Karin?" She answered, confused.
Karin nodded and offered the tray. "You need to eat."
Sakura was too weak to move and so Karin helped her to sit against the wall. Karin helped to spoon small portions of the instant ramen into her mouth.
After a couple of mouthfuls, Sakura smiled.
"What's so funny?" Karin asked.
"Just remembering a certain ramen-crazed blond."
The scene changed to one of Karin as she replaced the damp towel on Sakura's forehead with a colder one.
Karin stared down at the pinkette sadly as she gently moved another cloth over her arms, washing her. Suddenly, Sakura began to seizure, causing Karin to jump back in surprise. Seeing the pinkette beginning to froth at the mouth, she activated the chains which pulled her taut, allowing no space for movement.
"Sakura," she called. "Sakura, wake up!"
It had been the first of several seizures to come.
Ino pulled up another scene.
"Have you thought of names yet?" Karin asked as the two sat in the cell.
Sakura allowed a smile to grace her lips. It was one of the only times she could just relax without being mind raped for information or reliving memories to lock them away. Inner gave her time to rest before they started again and Sakura was quite happy that she could stop to give the twins the consideration they deserved.
"At first, I was thinking Itachi and Shisui for the boys, in memory of Sasuke's lost loved ones but I don't want them to feel as if they are bound by their names to be something or someone they're not. I like Natsu though. Summer," she murmured.
"Fan of Summer?" Karin asked, adding the Uchiha meaning.
Sakura shrugged. "Just an idea."
"Are you happy with having two sons?" Karin asked. "It must have been fun with Sarada. A girl to dress up and spoil."
Sakura giggled. "You should have seen Sasuke-kun when Naruto made a comment about boys when Sarada got older. I swear, that man's going to keep any suitors away with the Susanoo."
Karin cracked a smile as Sakura continued mirthfully.
"But as for having sons, I don't mind. I wanted to give Sasuke-kun a family he could love and receive love from."
Sakura caressed her stomach affectionately. "I don't favour one gender over the other. I'm excited to meet my two sons."
Karin opened her mouth to say something when the sound of the door up the stairs opening cut her off. Both of their eyes widened as Karin stood.
"Knock yourself out," Karin whispered.
"What-"
"Trust me," Karin rushed.
Sakura hesitated a moment before she sent chakra to her brain, casting a sleeping genjutsu over herself and letting it fade as she fell asleep. Karin quickly moved around the room, wetting cloths with hot water and laying it on Sakura. Using a basic fire jutsu, she heated up the pinkette so that she was uncomfortably hot. Just as Kuromaru stepped off the last stair, Karin whipped around.
"Damn it, Kuromaru," she snapped. "Your abuse has caused her to get a fever. She's not handling it well."
"Is that so?" Kuromaru asked as he inspected the pinkette.
Karin sighed as she wiped up the 'sweat' that drenched Sakura.
"Perhaps you should leave her be today," Karin spoke and she squeezed out the water into the bucket.
She stood to face Kuromaru. "With the way you're going, she's going to die before she can be of any use."
"Would that really be so bad?" Kuromaru asked as wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close and kissed her neck.
Karin rolled her eyes and faked a giggle.
"Must I remind you, Kuro-kun, of the invaluable knowledge that slut has in her head?"
Kuromaru sighed and pulled away.
"You're right," he spoke as he released her. "I had a lot of other things to do anyway. I had to ask you to dirty your hands too much on that woman, love, but do you mind nursing her back to health?"
Karin huffed and crossed her arms.
"Fine."
He smirked and headed back up the stairs.
"Thanks, love."
The moment Karin heard him leave out the door, she woke Sakura.
"What happened?" She asked drowsily as she shook off her genjutsu's affect.
Karin gave her a triumphant smile. "We have a couple of days before he bothers you again."
Sakura gazed at her.
"Thank you, Karin."
"We need to plan your escape."
Sakura shook her head. "I'm sick Karin, as you know. I suspect I won't last long after the birth of the twins."
Karin shook her head. "You don't know that."
"Yes, I do. My days are numbered and the strain of childbirth will speed up the process. I may not even make it through childbirth."
"Sakura-"
"When the time comes for the twins to be born, you need to take the twins," Sakura stated.
Karin turned her shocked gaze on the pinkette. "What?"
"Karin, once the twins are born, I will die. Even if I didn't, I wouldn't be fit to escape. The only hope my sons have of living is you."
Karin looked away. "How can you trust me with the lives of your sons?" She asked.
"You're not as heartless as you believe. But please. Promise me, when the boys are born, you'll take them to Konoha."
"I don't-"
"Please, Karin."
"O-Okay, I promise."
Sasuke released the struggling red-head who dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He turned his back on her and moved to Hinata and Naruto who held his tiny sons.
The office door opened to reveal Tsunade and Shizune. They quickly took stock of the situation before Tsunade moved to the twins.
"Let me take them to the hospital for their check ups," she spoke softly to Sasuke who simply stared at his sons.
Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder after handing Natsu to Shizune.
"Go with them and be with your children," Naruto encouraged. "We'll finalize a plan of attack but for tonight, stay with your kids."
Sasuke nodded and he followed Tsunade and Shizune out the door.
Naruto turned to Karin who was being helped up by Suigetsu.
"That went better then I expected," Naruto sighed. "Everyone but Shikamaru is dismissed. Get some rest and prepare for a full scale rescue mission that will start tomorrow."
Said shinobi drawled. "Troublesome."
Suigetsu helped Karin onto a chair to the side of the office while Shikamaru's hands slipped into their thinking form.
It would be a long night, Naruto knew. But they were closer than ever to getting Sakura back.
Sasuke stood holding Sarada's hand as he watched Shizune and Tsunade running health checks on the boys.
He heard a sniffle and looked down to Sarada who allowed her tears to flow freely. He pulled on her hand, causing the younger Uchiha to stagger sideways into her father's legs. She only managed a gasp before she felt Sasuke hand holding her head to his side.
She looked up with surprised onyx eyes and found himself angry at himself that a show of his love would come as such a shock to his daughter.
It was his fault she received his affection as something foreign.
"Sarada," he murmured as he raised his eyes to look back at the twin bundles.
"Yes?" Her voice was meek and quiet.
"When we get your mother back, we'll stay together," he spoke. "From now on."
Her wide eyes stared at him as hope warmed the hurt in her orbs.
"Really?" She asked. "Do you...do you promise?"
Sasuke nodded and looked down at her, offering her one of his rare smiles.
"I promise. When your mother is back home, we'll be a family."
A comfortable silence settled over the Uchiha family.
"I love my brother's," she spoke.
"That's good," Sasuke replied. "It's your job to look out for them, as their older sister."
"I will," Sarada swore. "I will always watch over them."
She looked up with her ruby eyes and Sasuke couldn't help but see some of Itachi in her.
She would grow up into a fine woman one day.
I absolutely hated this chapter.
It was slow and seemed anti-climactic to me
I'm starting to despise this story for some reason.
It's not ending up the way I wanted.
Plus I have no fucking idea whats going to happen next guys so this story will just as much of a surprise to me as it will be to you.
Well, the next chapter should have some action.
Shitty action that I CANT SEEM TO FRIGGIN WRITE
Ja heez