My Everything
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I'm sorry that this one is so late. Like I said before, I've been battling a severe case of writer's block on this story. I haven't abandoned this though. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Kyuubi talking to Naruko in bold.
Naruko talking to Kyuubi in italics.
Chapter Notation: This place a month after the last chapter. I made up the Zodiac name. I'm sure that they used something different in the show to describe when that happened.
Chapter 18
Sai frowns as he listens to the reports from his ink mice. They were rather useful creations when it came to gathering information. That is what they needed badly.
He believed Shikamaru. Sai believed that the Daimyos were plotting against Naruko. Unfortunately, it made perfect sense. The Ninja World loved to build up heroes and then to tear them down. That wasn't going to be allowed to happen this time though.
"What did you learn?" He asks his mice.
For a month, he had been spying on the Daimyos between his various regular missions. Sai didn't like it, but he knew that he had to be patient. He was going to need hard evidence against them.
One didn't just simply accuse the Daimyo's of plotting murder. That would lead to your own demise. No, what he needed was proof. The kind of proof that no one would be able to argue against.
"Good things come to those who wait." He says with a smile as he takes the camera that he had placed inside one of the mice off.
It was a tiny camera. One that the Daimyos would likely never notice. They might notice a mouse, but he doubted they'd notice a camera that as smaller than his thumb.
"I'll go have a look at this. Thank you, my friends." He whispers as he dispels them and goes off to do exactly that.
Sai was rather grateful for his ROOT training in some ways. If it weren't for that, he probably would have been a wreck by now. It had been a very long month. A month where he had been very aware that his life could be forfeit at any time. If any of the Daimyos noticed what he was up to, that would be the end of him.
"Let's see what we have here." Sai says as he heads to the Intelligence Building in the Leaf Village.
He checked to make sure he was alone in one of the rooms, before locking the door and soundproofing it with a handy jutsu. Once that was done, he pushes the tape into the player and watches. What he saw made his eyes widen.
"Damn it. I have no idea where they went, but they obviously aren't in the Uchiha District anymore. They obviously must still be in the Leaf village or the Hokage would have everyone looking for them." The Fire Daimyo lamented.
The other Daimyos looked just as frustrated and worried. Sai had never seen a group of people who looked more guilty in his entire life. Thankfully, it appeared that they were unaware that they were being watched and so they kept going.
"The poison must have filtered out of her system by now. It's been a month. We need to figure out where she is staying, if we want to restart the regime." The Water Daimyo pointed out.
"Unfortunately, the Nine Tails was clearly burning off the poisoning. At least she couldn't access chakra in that state. We might have had a chance. If the Uchiha would leave her alone for five minutes, that's all that we would need." The Earth Daimyo replied.
The Daimyos all nod in agreement. No elaboration was needed. There was only one Uchiha left in the world by blood. Well there was only one living Uchiha by blood who had been born yet, anyway.
"That seems unlikely. He's very protective of her. I suppose it only makes sense. They are married. We simply can not allow her this to continue. Everyone knows that she's pregnant now. There's nothing that the public loves more than a damn love story that ends with a child being born." The Wind Daimyo muttered in disgust.
"She's already grown too popular as is. If the people see her as a doting mother, that will only make matters worse. Not to mention it would probably do wonders to rehabilitate her husband's image. That and we don't know what this child will be capable of. What if it has her chakra reserves and his Sharingan? That could spell the end of us all." The Water Daimyo added.
"Well we have to figure out something before that demon spawn is born." The Lightning Daimyo added.
The other Daimyos nodded in agreement. It was obvious exactly what they were talking about. They were plotting an assassination.
"There's the proof that Shikamaru wanted. Now we just have to figure out what to do with it. If Sasuke finds out about this, there may not be a Leaf Village left." Sai muses.
Perhaps it would be best to tell Naruko first and let her handle it. Sasuke's rage could be a terrifying prospect. The blonde would have a cooler head. Well at least that's what he was hoping anyway as he head towards the Nara Clan's Lands.
Meanwhile Sasuke was watching Naruko eat some strange concoction. It consisted of strawberry ice cream, bananas, water melon slices, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and probably some other stuff that he couldn't see. He loved Naruko and their children, but her pregnancy cravings could be weird sometimes.
"I'm glad that we know that we are having twins now. That explains the rather diverse taste in food cravings." He observes dryly.
"You can be such a bastard sometimes. You want some?" Naruko asks him.
"No, thank you. I think that I'm going to need to see a dentist. I'm getting cavities, just looking at that monstrosity." Sasuke taunts her with a smirk.
Naruko grumbles and lunges at him. Well she tried to lunge at him. It was hard to move very fast when you were pregnant with twins and into your second trimester. Still it was the thought that counted.
"You really shouldn't try to jump like that." Sasuke chides her gently and catches her.
"Well you shouldn't make fun of my awesome food!" She huffs.
"Awesomely sugary, you mean." He says with a smirk and kisses her forehead.
"Whatever. You're just jealous. You wish that you were as creative as me in the kitchen! You have a tomato fetish." She retorts.
Sasuke shrugs. He couldn't exactly deny the tomato fetish thing. His fetish wasn't nearly as severe as her ramen fetish though.
"I guess I do. How are you feeling?" He whispers.
"Alright. I mean it's kinda awkward to walk around like this, but other than that I'm okay." She answers him and snuggles into his arms.
"Good. I mean it. Take it easy. You're pregnant with twins. You shouldn't really be out of bed." He chides her gently.
Naruko raises an eyebrow. Oh not this again. It was sweet that he was so worried about her, but sometimes she was only a minute or two away from strangling him. The blonde had to remind herself at least a dozen times a day, that she loved her bastard and he was only being overprotective because he cared.
"Sasuke, people have been pregnant before. It's not exactly a new thing. It's generally not a fatal condition. You can tell this because humans haven't gone extinct yet." She sasses him.
"Naruko, you know exactly what I mean. Don't pretend that you don't. Alright?" Sasuke asks.
"Yeah. Yeah. I know. If you had your way, you'd probably just chain me to the bed until I had them." She mutters.
Hmm. That wasn't a bad idea. Maybe he should just do that. It'd be a lot easier and he would be less likely to have gray hair by the end of this pregnancy.
"That's not a bad idea." The raven haired ninja says.
"You can't be serious! Bad, Sasuke! Bad!" She scolds him.
"I was just joking. Well mostly. At least the poison is out of your system now. You can use your chakra again, right?" He inquires.
She nods. Yeah. She could use her chakra again. The blonde couldn't help but feel relieved at that knowledge. They'd be able to protect the twins better this way.
"Yes, I can use it again." Naruko says and Sasuke sighs in relief.
"Good. Just don't. Don't use it unless you have to. You don't want to overwork your Chakra Network after it's been dormant for so long. Save the showing for after you've had them." Her husband instructs.
"I know. I know. Geez, bastard. You are going to give yourself a heart attack at this rate. You need to relax." Naruko says as she kisses his cheek.
Sasuke sighs and nods. That was accurate. It was just hard to relax when he knew that somehow the Uchiha Wells had been poisoned right under his nose. If Naruko had been anyone other than Naruko, she would probably be dead by now. It was almost certain that their twins would have been miscarried. That was why he was on edge.
The oldest Uchiha knew that the Daimyos were likely to try again. They'd almost certainly strike before Naruko went into labor. After all, a woman who was nine months pregnant was extremely vulnerable. It would only make sense.
"You're right. I just don't want anything to happen to you or them." Sasuke says as he holds her more tightly, remembering the day when they found out that they were having twins.
"Alright, do you want to know if you are having a boy or a girl or would the two of you prefer to be surprised?" Tsunade asked.
Sasuke looked at Naruko. He was of the opinion that they should know. It'd be easier to pick out baby names and to do some baby shopping that way. He wasn't really sure what the blonde's opinion on the matter was though.
"I'd like to know. Well I wanna know if the bastard is cool with it." Naruko said with a grin.
"Great. Well let's get your ultrasound done. I'm warning you, this stuff is very cold." Tsunade said as she helped the blonde onto the exam table.
"Pft. Please. I can handle it. I'm a ninja. I can handle a little cold!" Naruko insisted.
The medic shakes her head in amusement. That's what they all said, but she knew the truth. They all shrieked like babies.
"If you say so." The busty blonde replied as she placed the gel on Naruko's stomach.
"AHHHH! THAT'S SO COLD! IT'S LIKE ICE!" The pregnant woman yelled.
"Well I did try to warn you. For some reason, no one believes me when I tell them that. Hmm. Now let's see what you are having here. Ohhh. I didn't expect that." Tsunade said as she looked up at the screen.
Sasuke and Naruko both gulped. Tsunade didn't expect what?! What didn't she expect?! The woman was one of the most experienced medics in the world. What could possibly shock her at this point?!
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Naruko asked nervously.
"Oh no. Everything is fine. It just seems that you are having twins." Tsunade said.
Sasuke and Naruko blinked. Neither of them had expected THAT bombshell. Tsunade chuckled at their expressions and then proceeded to check for their genders.
"Fraternal twins. You are having a boy and a girl." The busty blonde continued.
"Yeah. Definitely a boy and a girl. It's not hard to tell what gender the first baby is." Sasuke said with a stunned voice.
"Sasuke, that's his LEG. That's not his…kunai." Tsunade groaned as she smacked her forehead in exasperation.
The eldest Uchiha had the decency to look embarrassed. Naruko was another matter though. The younger blonde burst out laughing.
"Did you really think that it was his kunai?" She asked.
"Naruko, shut up." Sasuke grumbled as he could feel his face heating up in embarrassment.
"Oh come on. That's funny." She pouted.
Sasuke just shook his head. He loved Naruko, but sometimes she made him want to strangle her. He supposed that was how you could tell it was love. If you didn't want to kill them half the time, you weren't emotionally invested enough.
"You are so lucky that I love you." He growled.
"I know and I love you too, bastard. That's why I can overlook the fact that you are such a bastard! Believe it!" Naruko said cheerfully.
Despite the situation, Sasuke found himself chuckling at the memory. It was just so Naruko. There was no other way to explain it really.
"What's so funny?" She asks in confusion.
"I was just remembering when we found out that you're carrying twins." He admits.
"Oh yeah! That was pretty funny. I still can't believe that you thought his arm was that!" She laughs and Sasuke just rolls his eyes good-naturedly.
She was apparently never going to let him live that one done. He shakes his head and tugs on her hand. It was late. They should both get some sleep.
"Whatever. Come on. You should get some sleep." Sasuke says.
"Oh alright. I guess I am kinda tired. That and since you're going to sleep too, that'll make it easier to fall asleep. You really are a great cuddler." She teases him.
"Naruko, I don't cuddle." Sasuke protests once more.
Naruko giggles. It was funny. He would always protest when she said that he cuddled. The bastard could deny it all that he wanted. She knew the truth. He did so cuddle!
"Whatever you say." She replies as they head to their room.
It didn't take long for the two of them to get the bed. Sasuke shuts off the lights and wraps the blankets around them. Naruko snuggles into his arms and closes her eyes. The two lovers fell asleep almost immediately.
The next day, Naruko heard a knock on the door. She smiles when she notices Sasuke was still asleep and sneaks out of the bed. She quickly leaves a note by his head in case he woke up and heads off to answer the door.
"Oh hey, Sai." Naruko greets him a few minutes later.
"Naruko, is Sasuke here?" The artist asks immediately and suddenly the entire mood shifted.
Sai sounded so serious. That wasn't like him. Usually, the artist would be saying the most random and awkward things imaginable and making people uncomfortable. (Though he was starting to get a bit better at not doing that.)
"Yeah. He's here. He's asleep right now though. I can go wake him up, if it's important." She says as she turns around to go do precisely t hat.
"No! No! I think that this is something that I should tell you first. You know what his temper is like." Sai says.
Naruko raises an eyebrow. Sai was definitely nervous about something. He was super nervous actually. What could cause someone who was trained by ROOT to be this skittish? Nothing good, that was for damn sure.
"Yeah. Believe me, I know what his temper is like. What's going on?" The blonde asks in concern.
"Shikamaru asked me to spy on the Daimyos. He was convinced that they were secretly plotting against you. He was right. It took me a month to get the proof, but I have it. I have it on tape. You are going to want to take a look at this." He says as he hands her the tape.
The young woman blinks. Sai actually found the proof? That was great news! Now they could nail these jerks! Believe it!
"I don't get it. If you found proof that they are behind it, why are you so afraid of Sasuke? He's going to want to know. The bastard has a right to know." She protests.
"Oh I'm not arguing that. These men were trying to kill his wife and children. He has every right to know. Sasuke also has every right to be angry. Very angry. We all know what happens when he gets angry, particularly about wrongs done to his family." The artist replies.
Naruko blinks. Oh right. Sai definitely had a point there. She quickly places the tape in the tv and watches.
A few minutes later, the blonde was staring at the screen in shock. She had suspected that the Daimyos were trying to kill her for a long time. It was just one thing to know that in her head and another to actually see it.
"If that's not enough to prove they did it, nothing is." She whispers.
"Exactly. I believe that you can see why it would be a bad idea for you to show Sasuke that tape, until you know what you want to do." He whispers.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, Sasuke had just woken up. He frowns when he realizes that his wife wasn't curled up next to him, like she usually was. That was when Sasuke notices the note and reads it.
Sasuke,
Someone was knocking on the door. I went to answer it. Don't freak, if I'm not there when you wake up.
Love, Naruko
Sasuke smirks. She was smart to leave that note. He had been about thirty seconds from "freaking." Sighing, he gets up and stretches before heading to the living room to find his wife and perhaps greet their guest.
He soon finds her and realizes she wasn't alone. Naruko was talking to Sai. The eldest Uchiha knew that it was wrong, but he couldn't resist listening in.
"If that's not enough to prove they did it, nothing is." He hears Naruko whisper.
"Exactly. I believe that you can see why it would be a bad idea for you to show Sasuke that tape, until you know what you want to do." Sai replies.
Well that was more than enough to peek his interest. Clearly, the eccentric ninja had brought some sort of tape with him to show Naruko. A tape that he didn't want Sasuke to see. That meant that the Uchiha Patriarch was definitely going to see that tape.
"It would be a bad idea for me to see what's on what tape?" He asks dryly and smirks when he saw them both jump.
"Oh hey, bastard!" Naruko says awkwardly.
"Naruko, tell me what is going on." Sasuke says simply.
He wasn't going to let her distract him. Not this time. This was clearly important. Sai wouldn't come all the way out here and be so paranoid about him finding out what was on that tape without good reason.
"I believe that this is something the two of you should discuss in private. It was nice seeing you, Naruko. I'll see you around, Sasuke." Sai tells them as he darts off.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. Oh yes. He definitely wanted to know what was on that tape. Something had seriously spooked the artist and he was going to find out what it was.
"You know how we have thought for awhile that it was the Daimyos who poisoned us?" She begins nervously.
"Yes, I'm well aware. Unfortunately, we don't have any proof that they did it. Well other than our suspicions. That's not good enough to convict them." Sasuke reminds her.
"Well we have proof now. It's all on this video. It's just a matter of deciding what we are going to do with the video. Sai was worried that you would lose control and destroy the village in a fit of rage or something, if you found out too soon." She mumbles.
Sasuke couldn't entirely dismiss Sai's fears. They were valid. Someone had tried to kill his pregnant wife. The Daimyos were going to die and they were going to die slowly.
"I can see why he would think that. What do you want to do about all this? We can't just let this go, Naruko. They are going to try again." Her husband says.
"I know. I think that we should call for an emergency meeting of the Ninja World's Allied Forces. Everything should still be active from the war. That would be the fastest way to get the word out. Then we can just play the tape. We just need to make sure that the Daimyos are there." She whispers.
That actually wasn't a bad idea. Sasuke was a bit impressed. Naruko was apparently capable of being sneaky when she wanted to be.
"Alright, but we can't call the meeting. They've been trying to kill you for months. If you suddenly call a meeting like that, they are going to be suspicious. We need to get in touch with Gaara." The other Leaf Ninja suggests.
"Yeah! That's what we'll do. We'll get in touch with Gaara. That's a great idea!" Naruko says excitedly as she gets out a scroll and some ink.
Sasuke shakes his head. If he wasn't married to Naruko, he would probably be jealous at the way her eyes lit up at the mention of the red head's name. He knew better though.
"Of course, it's a great idea. That's why I suggested it." He says smugly.
"You are such a cocky jerk sometimes." The blonde muses as she begins penning the letter.
Dear Gaara,
We need you to activate Operation Zodiac as soon as possible. No time to explain now. It's important though.
Your friend, Naruko.
Operation Zodiac is what they had all decided to call convening an emergency meeting of the Ninja World's Allied Forces. Many different types of people would come together in one place. It was a bit like the zodiac was a collection of all sorts of different kinds of animals. Hence the name had stuck.
"Well that should get his attention. I'll have Garuda fly it to him." Sasuke says as he heads out of the house and summons his Hawk.
Naruko follows Sasuke outside and smiles. She was never going to get used to the sight of a massive hawk. There was something just very majestic about it.
In a way, she envied Sasuke's ability to summon that enormous bird. It was certainly a lot cooler looking than her toads. Oh well. Her toads were still better, even if they weren't as cool looking.
"Take this to the Kazekage. Do so as quickly as you can. It's an emergency. Do not take no for an answer." Sasuke instructs the hawk and Garuda nods, before taking to the sky.
"Don't worry. This will work. We have proof now." Naruko says.
"I know it will work and I'm not worried." Sasuke tells her as he kisses her forehead.
Naruko gives him a look. Sasuke should know better than to lie to her by now. They had known each other forever and shockingly, the Uchiha wasn't that good of a liar to begin with. So it was really easy for her to tell when he wasn't being completely honest.
"Sasuke, don't lie to me." She says.
"Alright. I'm worried. Garuda is fast though and Gaara is a competent Kazekage. He'll get that meeting set up quickly and then we can make them pay for what they tried to do." He mutters darkly.
"Bad Sasuke. Bad. What did I say about not going on a revenge kick?" She demands as she places her hands on her hips in annoyance.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. She couldn't possibly be serious. The Daimyos had tried to kill the love of his life AND his children. He was going to make them pay.
"You said not to do it. Though you have to admit, this is a special occasion. You can be by my side. That way you can stop me, if I get carried away. Does that work?" He asks.
"Yeah. I guess that'll work. Just don't go doing anything too crazy. I mean it." She warns him.
Naruko had a bad feeling about this. Sasuke had barley managed to pull himself out of the darkness last time. She wasn't going to let him sink back into it. It was easy to succumb to rage, but it was much harder to let it go.
"Oh let him have his fun. They deserve to be punished for what they tried to do and I am curious as to what he'll come up with." Kurama says.
"Not you too! Kurama! Stop that! He doesn't need any encouragement!" Naruko groans.