Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 34: Paranoia Wrapped in Exhaustion
He frowned as the doorknob in his hand turned completely. He stood there on her doorstep with a serious look in his dark eyes. The sake in his pocket was practically burning his skin.
"You really ought to be more careful, Hime." He grumbled to himself as he let himself in. He was greeted by darkness. He closed the door with a sigh. He walked the twenty steps to her kitchen. He placed the plastic bag in his hand on the counter. He fumbled around for the light switch.
Thud.
He did not move. His eyes locked on the kunai embedded in a wooden column mere centimeters from where his head currently was.
"That was unnecessary." He said in a bored tone. "You should be more gentle with a historical house like this one." He turned around slowly.
"Who said you could come in?" She narrowed her eyes at him.
He took the standoff as an opportunity to study here. Her hair was wet. Water was dripping onto the floor behind her. There was a towel draped over her shoulders. He had cut her shower short from the looks of things. Too bad she managed to get herself fully dressed. He really should not have lingered at the door.
"I brought food and booze." He gestured to the takeout. He pulled the sake from his pocket and set it down next to the containers.
"Go back as many steps as you came, Jiraiya. I'm not in the mood." Tsunade's tone, stance, and expression all backed up her words.
He paid none of it any mind. He busied himself with finding some plates.
"Do you need to get your ears checked?" She seethed. "Leave, now." She spat out. She was much closer now. Only the counter separated them.
"Have you eaten anything?" He asked her, completely ignoring her words.
"Jiraiya, I'm at my limit with my patience." She warned him blatantly. "Take your food and alcohol and go. I want to be alone."
"Someone's trying to kill Sakura," he said in a flat tone. Tsunade winced at his words like they physically struck her. "It's been a while. It's probably bringing up all kinds of things for you. I'm not leaving."
Tsunade looked at the containers of Chinese food. It was from her favorite joint. She had not been able to get a morsel of food down her throat since the events that happened at lunch.
"How are you doing it?" She looked up at him with much less hostility in her amber eyes.
Jiraiya sighed. He distributed the chow mein onto the two plates equally.
"I'm taking it a day at a time." He picked up another container and repeated the process.
He added egg rolls to the plates followed by the broccoli beef. The aromas in the kitchen smelled delicious. Her stomach grumbled.
"I remind myself that Minato can take care of himself."
Tsunade scoffed. "Does that help any?"
Jiraiya held up both plates. He padded over to the living room. She stood in the kitchen watching as he set them down on the table in front of the sofa.
"No," he finally answered. "I still worry all the same."
Tsunade grabbed the sake bottle. She reached for two glasses in the cupboard behind where Jiriaya had been standing. She walked with slow deliberate steps to join him. She folded her legs under her as she came to sit down. She took the plate he was offering her. He had given her the plate that had more of the sweet and sour pork.
She handed him a cup. He took it. Tsunade poured him a drink. He set it on the table.
"Will it get any easier?" She asked him in a solemn voice.
"I think it gets harder the older we get." He answered. He held out the second cup.
She poured herself a glass of sake. She set the bottle down on the table and took the glass from his hand. She threw it back. It joined the sake bottle.
"We're getting soft." Her lips curled into a humorless smile.
Jiraiya snorted. "We've been soft."
Tsunade did not engage with his retort. Instead, she picked up her chopsticks and began to collect nearly all the mushrooms from her plate. She deposited them onto his. She pretended not to notice the surprised look that crossed his face.
"Drink your sake and eat your food." She said gruffly. "And get out here."
Jiraiya's lips pulled into a smile. He picked up a piece of mushroom and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly.
A warmth spread through him.
"Joben," Minato said with clear surprise. He was the last person he expected to see in the halls of Hokage Tower.
The samurai was slightly out of breath. "Hokage-sama, I'm glad I caught you."
"I was just on my way to a meeting," Minato explained.
"I won't be long," Joben assured him. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I was there that day when the bricks almost fell on Haruno-san. The whole thing felt off to me. But I did not find anything concrete. That's why I didn't bring it up. But it was a mistake. I should have said something." He lowered his head.
He lifted his head when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Minato's eyes were clear and warm when he looked into them.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Amo-san." Minato tried to assuage his guilty conscience. "I should have taken a closer look after the second incident but I didn't. I appreciate that you followed through."
"May I ask if there are any leads?" His dark eyes were full of genuine curiosity and traces of concern.
"Not as of right now."
Joben studied Minato's face. It told him everything he needed to know. He was not okay.
"You'll let me know if there's anything I can do to help?"
Minato nodded his head. "I will. Thank you, Amo-san."
Joben dipped his head and took a step back. He watched the Hokage walk down to the end of the hall and enter a room. He could only imagine what was going on in his head.
"Oi!" Shun sucked in his teeth. "Sorry about that, Itachi," he winced apologetically.
Itachi brought his fingertips to his throbbing cheekbone. He had not moved away fast enough to dodge the heel of Shun's boot. Itachi stretched his facial muscles. It hurt, badly.
"You should get someone to take a look at that." Shun made a face as he studied the teenager.
Itachi let out a sigh. Shun was right. Sakura would lose her mind if he came home looking the way he did. She did not need yet another thing to worry about.
"Itachi," Shun's voice pulled his attention back. "I heard about what happened to Haruno."
Itachi's brows furrowed together. He chose to remain silent. Shun would not be getting any information out of him, not that he had much. Both the Hokage and the head medic were being tight-lipped about the whole thing. He supposed they were doing it out of some misplaced sense of shielding him from what happened.
"Did they catch the guy?" Shun pressed on, seemingly not discouraged by Itachi's lack of engagement.
He lowered his hand back down to his side. He peered off into the distance. His routine was tighter these days. He trained Yakumo on the same days, sparred with Shun, and stayed close to the residence. Now was not the time for experimentation or deviation.
"Hm," Shun registered the hard glint in Itachi's eyes. It was as good an answer as any. "How is Shisui doing?"
Itachi blinked in surprise. "What?"
"Shisui," Shun repeated in a bored tone. "You two were close right?" He pulled a kunai from his holster and began to toss it carelessly in the air. He caught it only to shoot it back up higher.
"We were," he answered honestly.
"How do you feel about him now?" Shun asked him innocently. He flicked his wrist as he threw up the projectile.
"He's still someone I respect. Even though we do not see eye to eye and our paths have diverged." He sighed. "It is not easy cutting ties completely." He studied Shun closely.
"That it is not," Shun said in agreement. "Go get your face looked at." His lip curled upwards. "Before it gets much worse. And keep an eye on your left side. You're overcompensating with your right to make up for the difference in speed. It leaves an opening."
Just like that, he was gone with a gust of wind and a swirl of leaves.
Itachi clenched his jaw. He stalked off in the direction of the hospital. He needed to see a medic and he had just the one in mind.
She grumbled under her breath as she walked aimlessly through her house. She had so much to do, she had a whole list of things to do but it was all at work. She had absolutely nothing to do at home. The house was clean, the house plants dusted and watered, laundry was done, and Naruto and Minato were off at the Tower. Itachi would not be back for hours.
She looked up at the ceiling. She glared at a patch of paint that was a slightly different shade than those around it. She set her jaw as she contemplated just how difficult it would be to go up there and scrape off a sample from the surrounding area.
"Sakura," the smooth voice of the ANBU, cut through the silence.
Sakura turned around slowly to see the ANBU leaning casually against the back of the couch.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing," Sakura said bitterly. And that was her problem. She had so much to do but all she could do was nothing.
"You're not doing nothing, you're plotting." Spider was goading her.
"I'm standing in one place, I think that counts as nothing." Sakura was beginning to regret her decision. Wolf would have just judged her silently. She really did not need Spider's color commentary.
"You should be resting." There were hints of exasperation that were detectable in Spider's tone.
"I am," Sakura said with a sigh. "Everyone's just overreacting."
"You almost fell down a flight of stairs," Spider reminded her with a dry tone.
"That is an exaggeration of what happened." Sakura crossed her arms. "I just was a little light-headed and I happened to be near some stairs."
"Tsunade-sama was concerned enough to send you home," Spider continued to use facts to pick apart Sakura's recollection of the events.
"Like I said, overreacting." She rubbed the back of her neck. The new symptom of chronic fatigue was not something she particularly enjoyed.
Spider sighed because she knew Sakura would never admit to it. She watched as the medic began to pull things out of the cabinets. The metal bowls clanged as she set them on the countertop.
"What are you doing?" Spider asked her again but in a more curious tone this time.
"I've been thinking about my dad's apple bars," Sakura answered as she reached for the bright red apples that were sitting in a bowl.
"That sounds like a lot of work," Spider could not help but keep a frown from her face.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's really not. But if it will make you feel better you can help."
"I don't cook or bake." Even Spider could not deny the hesitation in her voice.
Sakura smiled at her. "I'll teach you," her expression turned smug. "I am a very good teacher." Sakura gestured to the sink. "Wash your hands. I would tell you to take off your cloak but we can work around that if that makes you uncomfortable."
Spider looked at her from through the mask with a blank expression on her face. She reacted out of instinct when Sakura tossed two apples at her.
"This won't hurt," the medic grinned. "Wash and peel the apples." She placed a few more at the edge of the sink. "When you're done, cut them into small cubes. I'm going to get started on the dough."
Spider set the apples in her hands on the counter alongside the rest. She slowly pulled off her gloves to reveal pale skin. She tucked them into her hip pouch. She undid the clasp of her cloak and draped it on the back of her chair. She turned on the tap and began to wash her hands.
"Ah man," Sakura said in disappointment as she looked at Spider. "You have a scarf under your hood?"
Spider grinned from behind her mask. "It keeps my hair out of the way."
"So your hair must be on the longer side then," Sakura said in a light tone as she measured the dry ingredients.
"It is. Not quite as long as yours though," Spider answered as she made quick work of peeling the deep red skin from the yellow flesh of the apple.
"It wasn't always that way," Sakura said with a sigh. "I actually prefer it shorter, much, much shorter."
"If you prefer it short, why do you keep it so long?" Spider asked her in a light tone.
"Minato likes it this way," she bit her lip. "And it's a by-product of the light release I think," she admitted without much confidence. Akemi had long hair and all she knew was that she had shoulder-length hair when she lost consciousness and it was down to her hips - splitting the difference between the lengths of her and Akemi's hair - when she regained it. In the nearly ten years she had been here she did not need a haircut. It did not split at the ends and it did not grow any longer.
"Hm. It is quite beautiful. It is a really unique color too," she added offhandedly.
"Thanks, I got it from my dad." Sakura could not help but smile sadly. "His was a darker shade, more vibrant somewhere in between magenta and maroon when he was younger. I just remember it being dusty pink all my life."
"Do the women on his side have hair closer to yours?" Spider sliced through the apples.
"Not sure. I was the first girl in the family in generations. My dad was a single child, the same as my grandfather and great-grandfather." Sakura rolled the dough. She covered it with a towel and put it in the fridge.
"That's a pretty necklace," Spider noted the pendant dangling from Sakura's neck.
"Thank you, it was my dad's. My family really had a thing for cherry blossoms that probably had to do with their hair color and style. My dad used to go all out during the blooming season. He made all kinds of Sakura-themed desserts." Sakura grinned at the memory. "It was our favorite time of year. Even my mom did not complain about how much sugar I was eating."
"You do like your sugar," Spider added in a knowing tone. "Is your dad the one who taught you all this stuff?" Spider watched as Sakura took the apples and put them in a saute pan with some butter.
"He is. He had a bakery. We would make things together all the time," she stirred the apples. She added brown sugar.
"Is that why you bake with Naruto?" Spider watched her closely.
"Yeah. It's my way of keeping his memory alive." Sakura sighed. "It makes it kind of seem like he's still around in a way. It helps that Naruto has inherited my sweet tooth. Minato really doesn't care for it. He'll eat some just to try it but before Naruto, it was up to me to finish it all so I just didn't bother to bake as often. There was only so much Team Minato and my friends at the hospital could take."
"That's sweet," Spider said softly. "Naruto has a connection to his grandfather."
Sakura bit her lip. "I'm sorry," she turned off the gas. "I keep rambling about my dad." Her tone was colored with guilt.
"It's alright." Spider shook her head. "I'm the one who asked." Spider sighed softly. "It's kind of nice to picture. Maybe one day my daughter will get to experience something similar."
"Konoha does have some really good people," she said in an encouraging way. "Some of the best I've met."
Spider made a noncommittal sound. "You're not going to try to set me up?" Spider asked Sakura in a teasing tone.
"No. I learned my lesson the first and only time I tried it." She shook her head. "Besides, all the people I know are attached." It did not help that she did not know any specifics regarding Spider. "Aren't there any ANBU that sparked your interest?" Sakura looked at her with curiosity in her green orbs.
"Not even a little," Spider said evenly. "All the good ones seem to be taken."
"Hm," Sakura smacked her lips in a sympathetic manner. "It drove me crazy when my married friends looked at me like the group charity case just because I was single so I'll spare you the speech of finding someone when you least expect it." Sakura sighed. "Even though that's what happened in my case."
Spider scoffed. "Don't tell me. You were the only one not smitten with the Yondaime-to-be? And that made him take an interest in you. Am I close?"
Sakura's cheeks flushed pink. "I can't say that. I was drawn to him instantly. Just one of the masses." Now that she thought about it, both of her crushes had been pretty consistent with popular opinion. She shook her head as if shaking the thoughts loose.
"So you're nothing special. Is that what you're telling me?"
"Exactly." Sakura flashed her a grin. She turned her attention back to what she was doing. "Thank you, Spider."
"Why?" The ANBU looked at the pinkette in surprise.
"It was nice to talk about my dad." She smiled at her warmly. "It was nice to have someone listen." Her expression became reflective. "I think he would be really happy with how my life turned out. Ever since I was young I remember him telling me he would bake my wedding cake. He got so excited every time he brought it up. He even showed me a sketch one time. He said it would be a matcha cake with cherry blossom-infused frosting. Pink and green and three layers." Sakura could still picture the sketch in her head. It would have been framed and displayed next to their marriage ceremony picture if she still had it.
"And my mom always said that she would make my wedding dress." Sakura bit her lip. She felt her eyes begin to well up.
Spider noted the downturn of Sakura's head, it was directly tied to the heavier mood that settled in the air.
"What happened to him? To them?"
"They died when I was twenty-one," she cleared her throat. "Before I meant Minato. They would have loved him." She chuckled. "My dad would have found him a little dry at first maybe, but he would ultimately have been won over. My mom would have loved him right from the jump, probably more than she loved me."
"Is that so?" Spider watched as Sakura set the filling aside to cool. She pulled the dough out of the fridge and began to roll it into a thin rectangle. She seemed to be showing no clear signs of brain fog.
"She always told me to find someone serious, someone not like Dad," she smiled as she recalled the expression on her mother's face every time she entered one of her tirades, usually after her father did something to set her off. "He was really light-hearted. Quick with a joke and a punchline. He really did not take things seriously. It drove my mom insane."
"That does not sound like Hokage-sama at all," Spider mused.
Sakura put the bars in the oven. "It really isn't. But they do have some traits in common, mostly how deeply they care for their families. Minato's really good at offsetting a lot of my not-so-desirable qualities. Like how my dad offset my mom's."
"You compliment each other," Spider said in a distant voice.
Sakura bit her lip. She ignored the unpleasant feelings creeping up in her. Sakura too thought that at one time but now she was not so sure. She had missed so much.
"The two of you certainly look good together," Spider said in a casual way. "It's an explosion of color."
Sakura chuckled. "I suppose we are." She looked over her shoulder. She walked over to the refrigerator and began to take inventory of the contents.
"What are you doing now?" Spider asked incredulously as Sakura put an armful of vegetables on the counter.
Sakura grinned. "All this talk about my dad got me thinking about his favorite food which coincidentally enough happens to be Minato's too. It's a pretty labor and time-intensive dish but hey, I got time so might as well take advantage right?"
Spider shook her head good-naturedly. "Do you ever sit still?"
"I get bored easily," Sakura answered with a shrug. She rubbed her hands together. "Let's get to cooking!" She said cheerily.
He looked around the walls of the office. It was a similar size to Sakura's but the layout was completely different. It was less homey. Less inviting. He supposed that was intentional.
"Any change?" He already knew the answer.
"No," Tsunade said with a frustrated sigh. "He's not getting worse so that's something. The swelling has all but gone down. The poison is gone. The scans do not show any permanent brain damage. It's all pointing in a promising direction."
"But he's still unconscious."
Tsunade nodded. "And he's going to stay that way. Until I can be sure that he will be in a stable enough state."
Minato ran a hand through his hair. "I'll leave this to your judgment."
Tsuande pressed her lips together in a firm line. "No change or update on Sakura either." She broached the topic that she knew was eating away at him just as badly as it was eating away at her. Sakura would kill her if she found out. Well, she would only need to be worried if Sakura could remain upright for more than thirty minutes at a given time.
"She was not like this the last time," there was so much tension in his frame.
Tsunade made a face. "All pregnancies are different. It's not fair to compare the previous one to this one." The largest factor was age. The early twenties were very different from the early thirties, even if Sakura had been in incredible shape and in good health.
"I'm worried about her," he stared at the wall.
Tsunade bit back a retort whose sentiment was around redundancy and stating the obvious. It did not seem fair to kick a man while he was down.
"Just try to take as much off her plate as you can. As much as she'll let you. I'm keeping a close eye on her. Make sure she keeps eating those energy pills I made for her. It might take some time for her to see the effects but I'm confident they will help. Let me know before they start to run out so I can give you more."
"Understood. I'll do what I can," he looked down at the ground. Lately, it was not feeling like much.
"She's going to be okay, Minato," Tsunade said just as much for her benefit as his.
"Right," he raised his eyes to hers. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama."
"You can thank me by showing up for her. I am not interested in empty words." Her almond-colored eyes were hard as glass.
Minato dipped his head in the faintest of nods. He was gone by the time she had blinked.
Tsunade clicked her tongue. She returned her attention back to Sakura's labs. Nothing was adding up.
"Hey watch it, gaki!" Jiraiya moved out of the considerably large drip zone.
"Sorry," Naruto licked his ice cream cone. He was bothered that he nearly got some of it on Jiraiya's sleeve.
"You don't look very sorry." Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in accusation.
Naruto shrugged.
"How are you doing, gaki?" He studied the face of the boy from the corner of his eye.
"Okay," Naruto answered, uninspired.
"I see," he had hoped the ice cream would help his withdrawn mood but it seemed like it was not such an easy fix. The ramen they had earlier did not seem to make much of a difference either now that he came to think about it.
"I don't like being at work with Dada." Naruto made a face. "It's boring."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Don't you want to be Hokage one day? That will be your office and your life."
"Nuh-uh," Naruto shot back. "When I'm Hokage I'm going to make the job really fun! Like free ramen and ice cream for everyone. Every day!"
"Being Hokage is more than just doing what you want all the time." Jiraiya was not one to burst many bubbles but the kid needed a reality check.
"I know that duh. It's also about being the strongest." Naruto polished off the rest of his ice cream.
"That's not all there is to it either." Jiraiya cradled his head in the back of his hands.
Naruto looked at him scandalized. "Dada is the strongest!"
"No one is arguing that he isn't." He tilted his head back and looked at the bright sky. "Being Hokage is a lot of responsibility and a lot of work."
Naruto frowned. "I know. That's why Dada missed storytime."
Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up. "Does he miss storytime often?"
Naruto shook his head. "Not since Mama got sick. But before he did." His expression became sullen. "Dada can't play with me because Dada's Hokage. And Mama can't play with me because Mama is sick."
Jiraiya felt his heartstrings being pulled. "You know how to manipulate chakra yet?"
"I don't think so." Naruto looked like he was thinking really hard. "I don't think I tried."
"How old are you again?" Jiraiya asked him.
"Four, almost five!" Naruto held up four fingers proudly.
"So you really don't take after your dad." It slipped out before he could stop himself.
Naruto huffed. "I'm going to be as strong as Dada one day. I'll train really, really hard!"
"Okay," Jiraiya said with a large smile. "You convinced me. I'll help you."
"What?" Naruto asked him with a furrowed brow.
"I trained your dad. I taught him everything he knows. And when you're old enough, I'll teach you."
"Promise?" Naruto held out his pinky.
"Promise." Jiraiay looped his pinky around Naruto's. The smile fell off his face. He pulled his hand back in disgust. "Why is your hand so sticky?!"
Naruto shrugged in a bored manner. "I'm a kid." As if that explained everything.
Jiraiya looked at his hand. "You really don't take after your dad. Or your mom."
Naruto looked offended. He crossed his arms and turned his head away.
"Actually that kind of reminded me of your mom." Jiraiya scratched the back of his head.
Naruto lowered his arms. He took four steps and pressed his face against the glass. Jiraiya followed his gaze. There was a large toad plush in the window.
"Pervy-Ojiichan!" Naruto looked over his shoulder at the Sannin with stars in his eyes. "Can you buy me that please?"
Jiraiya took one look at Naruto's puppy dog eyes and felt his will go weak.
"Please," Naruto clasped his hands together. "It's my birthday really soon." His bottom lip hung out past his top lip.
Jiraiya sighed. Naruto's birthday was still more than a month away.
"Fine," he threw up his hands.
"Yay!" Naruto ran to the door. The bell chimed. "You're the best, Pervy-Ojiichan!" He sang out happily as he stepped through the door.
Jiraiya scowled. Women glared at him the minute he entered the shop.
"You really are just like your mother." He grumbled under his breath.
She watched as he walked into the room slowly. He was careful to not make a sound. He crouched at the side of the bed, where she was sleeping. He watched her for some time. A hand came out to rest on her stomach, she did not so much as move.
"Hi baby, it's me again." She could just see the small smile on his face as he addressed her stomach. "Take it easy on your mother, she's too stubborn to know when to call it quits. So help me out, okay? I would really appreciate it."
The woman stirred at the sound of his voice. He waited patiently for her eyes to flutter open.
"Minato," she smiled at him tiredly.
"Looks like you had a busy day," his smile was gentle.
She sighed in contentment. "I did. What time is it?" She got up slowly and looked around. Her hair was a mess. She rubbed her eyes as she yawned loudly.
"It's dinner time," he answered. There were traces of concern in his eyes.
Her jade-colored eyes widened. "I was only planning on a thirty-minute nap," she looked at him. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You looked like you needed sleep."
The woman let out a long breath. "I did," her eyes searched his face. "Thank you."
"Do you feel up for having dinner at the table? I can bring it here for you if not."
"Minato," she said his name gently. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his. "I'm okay," she smiled at him, it was almost timid.
He closed his eyes. "Okay," he sighed deeply. "You made my favorite," he smiled at her.
"I did," she looked into his eyes.
"Thank you," he held her gaze.
Neither had yet to move, they stared into each other's eyes with their foreheads touching. She watched for what seemed like a lifetime.
"Dada!" A loud voice called out from the other room.
It seemed to break them from their trance. A sheepish smile broke out on Minato's face.
"We should go," he said slowly.
"We should," Sakura agreed with a sigh.
She watched as he helped her up. They left the room completely unaware of her presence.
"What do you think?" Kushina stood with her hands fisted at her hips as she surveyed the room.
He rubbed the back of his neck. The expectant look on her face made it clear that she was not going to accept silence as an answer.
"Without having taken any measurements," he began slowly. "I think there's enough space for two twins in this room," Kakashi said without emotion.
"Great!" Kushina clapped her hands together. "Mai said it would be good for them to have their own rooms. Since I don't have the space for that yet, I think them each having their own bed is a great place to start." Kushina nodded her head in satisfaction.
Kakashi said nothing. This time it did not appear that she was expecting anything from him, verbally at least. The look in her eye told him a different story.
"Kakashi," she looked at him almost pleadingly. "Will you help assemble their beds? And I guess disassemble this one? Please?" She even brought her palms together.
Kakashi sighed. "Sure," he said reluctantly. He wondered for the third time how he got roped into any of this.
Kushina beamed at him. "Thank you! You should ask Obito for help too. The girls know him so it would not be that weird. I'll go shopping for new beds tomorrow. Hopefully, they will be ready for pickup and assembly next week."
He nodded his head slowly. He felt her eyes. He looked at her.
"How is she?" Kushina asked him with worry coloring her expression.
"She's okay," Wolf answered back.
Kushina's brow furrowed and her eyes darkened. She did not care for the generic simplified answer.
"I was at the hospital today with the girls, I did not see her in her office. Rin told me she went home."
Kakashi sighed. "She has low energy lately."
Kushina frowned at him. "What does Tsunade say?"
"She doesn't know why."
Kushina's face was now fully dominated by concern.
"And what about the person who is after her? Are you any closer to finding them?"
"She's safe," Kakashi said tightly. "Spider is very good. I trained her myself." It was not hubris. It was the truth. She had no bad habits coming in. She had been green. He was able to mold her work ethic and procedure from the ground up more or less.
Kushina sighed deeply. It was clear that she did not buy it at all.
"She's going to kill me for saying this," Kushina's expression darkened. "Look after her for me, Kakashi."
Kakashi took in her rigid frame and hard stance. He recognized what was being unsaid by her. She would only cooperate in staying away if she had his assurance. He nodded his head slowly.
"I will," he promised earnestly.
He rubbed his chin as thought through what she had shared. "So there are signs of life?" He asked her with purpose.
Tsunade nodded. "His brain function is coming back slowly. It looks like the effects of the poison are starting to be undone."
He looked at the unconscious face with orange hair. "Is it because of the antidote?" He asked for clarification.
"It's because of the body's natural healing process. The brain supplements that Sakura has been giving him daily are speeding it up slightly. The attacker never intended to kill him just incapacitate him long enough to stall us." Tsunade surmised. "He should make a full recovery. I just don't have a prediction for when."
Inoichi furrowed his brows. "If the attacker is stalling that means…" his voice trailed off. His blue eyes looked at Tsunade's amber ones.
"Bat knows who it is. Or at the very least he saw." Tsunade said slowly.
Inoichi looked at the man. "Has his brain healed enough for me to take a look?" He turned to the Sannin.
Tsunade shook her head. "Yes and no. Yes, he can handle it but I doubt you'll find anything there. His memories are probably still in shambles. There is no telling what you'll see and from when it is."
Inoichi frowned. "So it's all disorganized you're saying?"
Tsunade nodded. "We have to wait for his brain to recover enough for that part of him to come back."
Inoichi looked at her with a stern expression.
Tsunade sighed. "What?" She asked him.
"If you can keep his brain stabilized I can sort through what is there." He said firmly.
She looked at him like he had lost his mind. "That could take weeks Inoichi, even longer still trying to make sense of it all! What you are describing is madness. You can't piece through his whole life."
"We might get lucky. The memories we need might be one of the first I see. We have to try something." Inoichi insisted. It was not an easy task waiting around while someone was trying to kill his friend, his friends.
"Do you think it could work?" He asked her.
Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. She only intended to tell Inoichi so he knew to stay ready, she really did not want to go down this road.
"He can handle maybe half an hour a day right now. That's it, no more. With the possibility that we can build up to longer eventually. "
Inoichi nodded. "Works for me. When can we start?"
She looked over at Bat. He had been either behind bars or comatose for months now. He had waited long enough.
"Tomorrow. I need to run more tests before tomorrow. He had a lot happening to him. Keeping a close eye on any changes is vital."
Inoichi nodded. He spared her a puzzled look at the expression on her face.
"The fact that there is an antidote is privileged. If word gets back to the ANBU we figured out their base we will all be back at square one. You understand what I am saying?" She asked him in a clipping tone.
He looked at Bat. "I understand." He said.
"Good. Meet me here at nine tomorrow morning. Don't be late. We have a lot of work to do. Come in through the children's clinic side." She studied his composed features.
Inoichi nodded. "It has been a while since I've seen Mai."
She smirked. "Get used to it. You're going to be seeing her around a lot."
She patted her stomach in contentment. "I'm so full!"
Tsume spared her a sidelong glance. "Enjoy it while it lasts. All five minutes of it". Her eyes darted to the children playing out on the grassy hill. She could make out Kiba's and Karin's voices over all the others. They both had a set of lungs on them.
Yoshino hummed in agreement. "You could spend every waking second eating and you'd still look like that. I look at a piece of cake too long and I gain two pounds. It goes straight to my hips."
Kushina poked at her slightly extended belly. Yoshino was right. She never really had to worry about her caloric intake. She just ate when she was hungry.
"How are the girls adjusting?" Tsume asked her.
"Well. Tukiko still gets the occasional nightmare but she's not having the full experience. I haven't seen the Sharingan since that day in the park. Karin seems fine." Kushina took a slip of her iced tea. She fanned herself. Even under the umbrella it was starting to get hot.
"And how are you adjusting?" Yoshino refilled her glass to the top. Kushina smiled thankfully.
"I'm good. I'm happy." She beamed.
"I'm glad," Yoshino said as she exchanged glances with Tsume.
Kushina's stomach dropped. Tsume brought her chin to rest on the heel of her palm. She curled her fingers back towards her mouth.
"I can't believe I was the only one not to meet your samurai."
Kushina groaned. "Can't we just have a nice conversation about the kids? Or the weather? Or how the deer are doing? Or even the dogs?" Kushina offered suggestions for topics. "Or we can talk about food. We all love food."
"No, I want to talk about Mr. tall, dark and handsome." Yoshino joined in. "He really is all those things."
"How do we feel about him? Do we like him?" Tsume asked Yoshino as if Kushina was not sitting right there.
"We like him," Yoshino said firmly. "We like him a lot. You should have seen him. He was attentive, present, and calm."
Kushina turned her head. She kept her eyes trained on the kids so that she did not have to look at the looks on her friends' faces. She could feel her own face get hot.
"I still want to meet him, put the fear of Kami in him." Tsume nudged Kushina in the shin with her shoe. "Care to arrange that for me or will I have to stop by his place of business?"
Kushina looked at Tsume confused. "Place of business? What?"
Yoshino watched her through narrowed eyes and a frown. "You don't know?"
"Know what?" Kushina huffed.
"He bought old man Buno's shop," Tsume said in a bored tone. She was already over it.
Kushina blinked in surprise. "I had no idea."
Yoshino frowned. "He didn't tell you?"
Kushina shook her head. "We have this weird agreement, I guess? He promised not to approach me because of the girls. Because of Tukiko. I don't want her to be uncomfortable."
"So what, you're just going to wait forever? The both of you? That's the stupidest thing I heard all day." Tsume said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"It's not stupid! It's romantic." Kushina said defensively. "He said he's willing to wait. It's sweet."
"Take it from me, nothing is forever. Act when you still can, otherwise, you'll just be left with regret." Tsume bit into the donut in front of her with more force than necessary. Her teeth gnashed together.
"I'm sorry, Tsume." Kushina gave her a sympathetic look. The brunette grunted dismissively.
"She's right, you know," Yoshino said lightly. "We just want you to have a full life, Red. The kind you always pictured. You're halfway there. No sense in slowing down now."
Kushina played with the napkin in her hands. "There's something I need to take care of first before I commit to going down that road." She had put it off long enough.
Tsume's lips twitched downwards."Don't wait too long."
"I won't," Kushina assured her. She sighed loudly. "It feels weird without Mikoto and Sakura."
"Well, it's about to get a little less weird." Yoshino waved to the figure that was coming through the clan gates.
Kushina and Tsume followed her eyes. They watched as Mikoto and Sasuke walked toward them.
"What is Mikoto doing here?" Kushina asked.
"I invited her." Yoshino smiled. "Mikoto, Sasuke welcome."
"Thanks for having us," the mother and son said in unison.
"Sasuke-kun!" Kushina pulled him into a hug. "You're just so cute! I could just gobble you right up." She tugged his cheeks. He hated every second of it.
"Kushina-san," he said once he escaped her clutches. He bowed toward Yoshino and Tsume. "Inuzuka-san, Nara-san." He looked at his mother.
"Go have fun with your friends." Mikoto smiled at him. No sooner had she said the words and he was off. "Sorry, I'm late. It took forever to get out of the house." She took a breath. "And I'm sorry it took me so long to realize who my real friends are."
"Don't worry about it. I'm just so glad you're here." Kushina patted her hand.
"We're good," Tsume assured her with a nod.
Mikoto smiled. "Me too." She smiled in thanks to Yoshino as she filled the glass with cold tea. The ice clanked against the glass. She took a sip and sighed in contentment. "It's so hot."
"Do you remember training in this weather?" Tsume reminisced.
Yoshino shook her head. "It was the worst. Everything just clung to you."
Kushina nodded empathetically. She tossed her hair. "Imagine dealing with all this!"
"I don't know how we did it as kids." Mikoto grabbed a cucumber sandwich.
"Kids are just built different." Tsume watched them frolic.
"They're just too dumb to know better," Yoshino said. "I had to kick Shikamaru and Choji out of the kitchen."
"Smart, they know where the food and cool is." Mikoto nibbled away. "Where's Sakura-chan?" She asked, noting her absence.
Kushina's expression deflated. "She's trying to minimize her potential impact radius." She said bitterly.
"What?" Mikoto blinked in confusion.
"Have you been living under a rock too? Kushina gets a pass because she's always been kind of oblivious but you, Mikoto?" Yoshino looked at her with a mix of disbelief and slight disgust.
Mikoto looked between Tsume and Kushina for help.
"Someone is trying to kill Sakura," Tsume said tightly. "A chunin died - a kid - and now Sakura is refusing to meet with anyone until the person is caught. The whole situation is bullshit."
Mikoto's eyes widened. "I heard something about that. The funeral was not too long ago. How awful." She said emphatically. She swallowed. "Is Sakura okay?"
"Shika says she's fine. She's been a little worse for wear due to dealing with the third trimester and all this added stress." Yoshino wiped the crumbs from the table.
"She is closing herself off again," Tsume said with a scowl. "It's worse than the time she took a break from work to stay home with Naruto."
Mikoto's eyes softened in understanding. Those had been some dark times for the medic. A very long six months.
"What worked last time?" Kushina asked while scratching her head as she tried to recall.
"Me showing up at her doorstep with Shikamaru and talking some sense into her," Yoshino answered. Sakura had seen Naruto and Shikamaru playing without any tantrums and had burst into tears herself. "I don't think that will work now."
"Probably," Kushina said with a moody sigh. "I have half the mind to knock down her door. I would do it too if she wasn't so tired. Rin-chan seemed really worried about her."
"We all are," Tsume cleaned her nails.
"The third trimester was always the hardest for me too," Mikoto added levelly. "If she wants space, giving it to her is the right thing to do."
"She's gotten so much bigger," she had seen her for a second at the funeral. Sakura had been speaking with the girl's parents so Tsume did not get a chance to talk to her. By the time she had doubled back to the spot, Sakura was gone.
"I can't believe it's almost over. Time went by so fast." Tsume mused.
"So much has changed since the last time we were together," Mikoto looked at the empty chair. "Mostly together anyway."
"The bastard better stay away from me if he knows what is good for him." Tsume ground out through clenched teeth.
"There's no point in getting mad at Minato," Yoshino said. "He's just doing what she asked him. We all know how stubborn she can be."
"You don't know?" Kushina asked her slowly.
Yoshino furrowed her brow. "We need a new way of communicating. This is getting tedious."
Kushina sighed. She crossed her arms. "We don't like Minato right now."
Tsume snorted. "I don't think I've ever liked him."
"Did something happen?" Yoshino asked them. Mikoto also looked lost on the take.
Tsume looked disgusted. "I noticed a while back that there was something different about him. It had been bothering me. It wasn't until he picked up Naruto two Thursdays ago that I figured out what it was. He smells different."
Yoshino looked at her with guarded eyes. "Don't say it." She shot Tsume a sharp look.
"He smells like he's been spending a lot of time with someone. A woman." Tsume spat out the words.
"No," Yoshino shook her head. Mikoto had grown really still and quiet. "It's Minato."
Kushina's eyes were filled with sympathy. She did not want to believe it either.
"He has been working late more and more often," Kushina added.
"Someone tried to kill him. Someone is trying to kill his wife. Did we all forget all that? Working late nights is justified." Yoshino did not believe what they were insinuating.
"He's starting to mentally check out if he's not already there. Everything is pointing to it." Kushina added glumly. "He's just going through the motions." It brought back some ugly memories that she wanted to forget.
"The bastard," Tsume crossed her arms.
"That was a decade ago," Yoshino looked at them with disappointment etched on her face. "No one is the same now as they were then. We've all grown since. Whatever you think you know or see is not the same."
"It's a pattern with him, Yoshi." The Inuzuka all but snarled out. Her purple lips were curled up in distaste.
"It's just stress. Everyone is a little on edge. Shikaku hasn't said anything but even he's struggling with the weight of it all, I can see it." Yoshino held on stubbornly to her stance. "Both of them have that in common, they close themselves off and go inward when they're stressed or overwhelmed. They don't verbalize what's bothering them. And they're going through it. Sakura and Minato will be fine once the stress of all this is behind them."
"It's more than just stress. There's a newish ANBU in his guard, she's a woman," Kushina said with contained anger. "She's been there for about a year."
"That could explain what your nose is picking up on, Tsume." Mikoto gave her two cents. "It could just all be a misunderstanding."
Yoshino nodded. "I knew they were having problems. But who doesn't have problems? Those two things are unrelated. He's in love with her. Anyone can see that."
"As if that's ever just enough," Tsume said with a snort.
"It's enough. They'll figure it out." Her black eyes glistened with belief.
"I hope you are right Yoshi," Kushina said with a sigh. "Otherwise I'm going to do something that will probably get me thrown in jail."
"I'd be right there next to you," Tsume clinked her glass against Kushina's.
Mikoto and Yoshino exchanged looks. It was closer to a promise than a joke.
"Who are you?" Karin asked the dark-haired dark-eyed boy who was just standing there and staring at her. He had come out of nowhere demanding they stop playing hide and seek because it was for babies.
"Who are you?" He shot her question back at her. Her new friend Ino rolled her eyes at him.
She frowned. He was being rude. "Uzumaki Karin." She put her hands on her hips.
"Forget him, Karin. Let's go find some flowers in the shade. You should come too, Tukiko!" Ino pulled Karin towards her. Tukiko followed after them. Both sisters looked back at the boy that was glaring at Karin.
"What's his problem?" Karin asked her as they had moved over the way.
Ino shrugged. She fixed the clip on the left side of her face. She smoothed her hair. "Sasuke's always been like that. Some girls think it's cool, so they like him."
"You don't?" Karin asked her.
Ino gathered some wildflowers. "No. I mean I guess he's ok. But boys are icky." She made a face. She tucked a flower behind her ear. "Do I look pretty?" She asked as she struck some poses.
Tukiko nodded. She handed Ino a purple flower. The Yamanaka beamed.
"Purple? Purple is pretty." She exchanged it with the yellow.
"What's that?" Karin asked in wonder.
"What's what?" Ino asked her in confusion.
"What's it mean to like someone?" Karin asked her.
Ino's face became contemplative. "I think it's when you get really happy for no reason."
"Kind of like puppies?" Karin's face lit up with realization.
"No," Ino giggled. "Not like puppies. I don't know. I don't like anyone yet." She suddenly got a little shy. "I think the person I am going to like is going to be really nice."
Karin nodded emphatically. "The person I like is going to be warm." She smiled at Tukiko.
The raven-haired girl's lips tugged upwards. It was a good goal.
"Warm?" Ino asked with her head tilted to the side.
"I don't know. I can tell if someone is good or bad. If they are good I feel warm. If they are bad I feel scared and cold." Karin explained. She put some flowers in Tukiko's hair as her sister braided her hair.
"Oh," Ino frowned. "What do you feel from me?" She asked curiously.
"You're warm. Like the sun!" She grinned. "We're going to be good friends."
Ino grinned back. "You're really nice Karin. Yeah, let's be good friends!"
The girls looked up to see Shikamaru and Choji looking sheepishly at them. "What do you want?" Ino asked them with her hands on her hips.
"We're sorry about the no girls allowed rule." Choji began. He held out a bag of chips. "Sorry?"
Tukiko blinked. She looked at Ino.
"Fine. We're putting flowers in our hair and playing princesses. You can play too if you want." The platinum blond said.
"Can I be the princess that sleeps the whole time?" Shikamaru asked.
"Sure!" Karin said brightly. "Find a spot to sleep and I'll cover you in flowers."
"That's a great idea." Ino's eyes glittered with excitement. "Choji, you can be the prince!"
Choji nodded. "Okay. Can I still eat my chips?"
Ino shook her head. "Okay." She looked at Tukiko. "Tukiko, do you want to be one of the fairies with me and Karin? Or you could be the evil queen."
Tukiko looked at Karin. "Kiko-oniichan will be a fairy with us."
"Great." She scowled. "What now?" She looked at Kiba.
"Sasuke is being mean. Can I play with you?" He looked at them reluctantly.
Ino looked at the faces around her. None looked opposed to that idea. "Sure."
"Uh, Karin what are you doing?" Kiba looked over Ino's shoulder at Karin throwing grass over Shikamaru's horizontal body.
"He's the sleepy princess. I'm giving him a grass blanket." Karin explained. She did not look up from her task. She tore more grass and threw it on the Nara.
"Okay," Kiba looked like he regretted his decision. "What can I be?"
"Do you want to be the evil queen?" Ino asked him.
"What's the evil queen do?" Kiba asked in a bland tone.
"Just yell and scare everybody. Put a curse on the princess." Ino listed his job responsibilities.
"Okay." He said with a shrug. "It doesn't sound hard."
He pouted. He watched as Kiba chased them and they screamed and giggled as they ran away from him. They looked like they were having fun even if they were playing a dumb game. He did not understand why the boys had not wanted to play train with him.
He had watched his other brother train for as long as he could remember. He knew all the moves. He was being very careful with his kicks and punches. He was not even doing it that hard. They were the training dummies they did not get turns. He wanted to be strong like his brother but he was still not allowed to touch anything sharp or pointy.
So he wanted to practice his form and his aim but they all left him. His Okaasan said Naruto would be here but Narut was not here. Naruto would have trained with him. The boy copied everything that Sasuke did.
He frowned. Karin, the redhead, was screaming at the top of her lungs as Ino tickled her. They both dissolved into a fit of giggles and rolled on the grass. It was stupid. They were being stupid but it did look like fun.
He got up from the boulder he was sitting on. He sighed. He kicked up grass as he walked over to them slowly. They all stopped immediately when they saw him.
"What do you want, Sasuke?" Ino asked him. Her fists were at her hips and she leaned forward slightly.
His lower lip pulled past his top. He reconsidered his decision to come out here in the first place. He did not like being left out even if it was his fault.
"Can I play with you?" He asked, looking away.
"Will you be nice?" He blinked in surprise. It was the redhead that had asked him.
He nodded. "Okay, you can play with us, right everyone?" Karin asked.
Ino nodded. "Only if you stay nice. You can be the horse."
Sasuke frowned. "It's okay. It'll be fun." Karin grabbed his hand and pulled him into the game.
She frowned. "You're cold." She noted.
"Is that bad?" Sasuke asked her.
She took a minute to think it over. "No. It's not scary cold. It's a different cold."
He looked at her in disbelief. "You talk too much."
She frowned. "You said you would be nice."
He sighed. "Fine." He let himself be led by the hand as they ran from Kiba.
She tucked her bottom lip under the top row of her teeth and furrowed her brow. Her eyes were not focused on one particular thing as she tried to remember what she was doing in the storage room in the first place.
Sakura stared at the plethora of neatly stacked medical supplies. It had been five minutes since she had been standing there. Both the clock on the wall and the considerably smaller one on her wrist told her as much. Five painful minutes alternating between standing, leaning against a table or the wall.
The baby kicked her. The urge to urinate was growing.
"Damn it," she supported the small of her back and walked slowly out of the room, empty-handed.
It was not until she had emptied her bladder, washed her hands, and walked down the entirety of the hall that she let out a loud gasp.
"Large gauge syringe!" She smacked her forehead. She let out a long groan as she turned around and waddled back in the direction of the storage room.
"Large gauge syringe. Large gauge syringe. Large gauge syringe." She repeated under her breath like a mantra. If worse came to worst she could use the skin on her arms and hands to write down reminders for herself.
"Sakura?"
The pink-haired medic blinked up at the ANBU. "Spider?"
"Here," Spider held out a rectangular object wrapped in plastic.
"Large gauge syringe," Sakura said flatly.
"Large gauge syringe," Spider matched her tone.
"Thank you," Sakura grabbed the packaged syringe.
"Don't mention it," Spider said with a smile in her voice.
Sakura turned back around and headed back in the direction of her patient. She could only hope that her patient had more patience than she did.
"What's all this?" Tsunade asked with a raised brow.
Rin dusted off her hands. She propped an elbow on top of the stack of files on Tsunade's desk.
"These are all of Sakura-sensei's current patients." It was what Tsunade had asked for. It was not what she was expecting to see.
Tsunade eyed the stack with annoyance. "That's at least double what the recommended patient load is." A recommendation that Sakura wrote herself after doing ample research, surveys, and trial and error to find the perfect ratio that maximized the quality of care and minimized burnout all while maintaining efficiency.
"Two point seven three times the recommended amount to be exact," Rin corrected gently. Rin remembered just how much Sakura loved numbers and her data. While she was strict at ensuring everyone stayed within the guidelines, everyone other than herself. She revisited the numbers every three years for peak performance and employee job satisfaction.
"That Sakura is a real pain," Tsunade grumbled. She took the top third of the stack and put it on her desk. "You and Shizune can divvy up the rest how you want. I don't care." Tsunade flicked her wrist in a gesture of dismissal. "Just make sure no patient care falls through the cracks."
"Um, Tsunade-sama?" Rin asked in an unsure voice. She shuffled on her feet.
Tsunade's irate amber orbs met Rin's chocolate ones. "Spit it out."
"Sakura-sensei will be okay, right? She looked even paler today than she did yesterday." Concern was the emotion that was dominating Rin's features.
Tsunade sighed. "There is no medical reason for her not to be."
Rin held Tsunade's hard gaze. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"You're doing enough, Rin." Tsunade's expression softened slightly. "I need you and Shizune to be at the top of your game. No distractions. Understood?"
Rin stood up straighter. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."
"Good. Now get out of here and go save some lives." She shooed her off for real this time.
"Right," Rin grabbed the rest of the stack and made her way out the door.
Tsunade's lip curled up slightly at the sight.
She watched on as the boy dragged a stick through the gravel while sitting by the front door. He made arches and swirls. His expression was solemn. It did not suit his face in the slightest.
"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" She asked him in a gentle voice.
"I miss Mama," Naruto looked up at her with sad eyes.
Spider paused. She fought down the tickle in her throat. "Your Mama is inside the house, Naruto-kun. She hasn't gone anywhere." She could feel her chakra signature from where they were.
The stick stopped moving. "Mama is sick," Naruto said in a forlorn voice. "She is too tired to play with me."
She had to fight back against the urge to take him into her arms and comfort him.
"Your Mama had a busy day at work, Naruto-kun. She gets tired more easily because of the baby." She explained patiently. "I can play with you."
Naruto shook his head. "It won't be the same." He looked at her mask. "Thank you, though." He added politely.
"I know it won't be the same, Naruto-kun. But it could still be fun. Why don't we play a game?" Spider asked with manufactured enthusiasm. She smiled behind her mask.
"No, thank you." He turned to look back at the door. "I'm going to go sit with Mama now. See you later, Spider." He got up and waved to her.
"Naruto-kun, wait," Spider called out to him. The boy looked at her confused. Spider brought a hand to his shoulder. "Your Mama is going to be alright soon," she told him with a soft smile on her face. "Really soon," she promised him.
Naruto cocked his head to the side and blinked slowly at her. "Do you mean it, Spider?"
Spider nodded her head. She lowered her hand from his shoulder. "I mean it," she said firmly.
"Okay," he said with a small smile, the gesture brought her comfort.
"Naruto-kun, you can't tell anyone I said that." She brought her index finger to the front of her mask where the painted-on lips were.
"Why?" His face was pinched into a look of concentration. He was listening intently.
"It's like a wish. If you tell someone it won't come true." She explained in simple terms. Terms that he understood.
"But you told me!" Panic flashed across his cerulean eyes. "Now Mama won't get better!"
She had about thirty seconds before the waterworks started. She thought quickly on her feet. She crouched down to his level.
"Naruto-kun, I told you because you have a pure heart. If you tell your wish to someone - especially a kid - with a pure heart it will still come true. But we can't tell anyone else okay? Otherwise, it won't work."
He scratched his cheek as he thought. "Okay."
"You can't tell even when your Mama gets better, okay? Otherwise, she'll get sick again." She said in a serious tone.
"I won't," he held out his pinky.
She hooked it with hers. "Good boy," she put her hand on his head.
Spider watched as he opened the door. She followed him inside. She was half a step behind him. Naruto grabbed the doorknob. He slowly opened the door.
"Mama?" His voice called out tentatively into the dark room.
"Yes, Baby?" Sakura's sleepy voice answered back. She sounded weak.
"Can I come lie down with you?" He asked her timidly.
Spider watched from the hallway as Sakura smiled at him.
"Of course, Naruto. Come here." The boy did not need to be told twice. He walked at a hurried pace to the edge of the bed. He moved with surprising gentleness as he climbed into the bed. Sakura cradled the side of his face. "Do you want to hear a story?" She asked him in a small voice.
"Yes, please." Naruto looked at her face. "You're not too tired?"
Sakura took in his concerned expression. "No, Baby. I'm not too tired." Her voice said otherwise. "What story should I tell you?"
Naruto's face pulled into a look of concentration. "From when I was a baby!"
Even though she was exhausted and sickly looking, her eyes lit up. She began to narrate.
Spider watched from the doorway as mother and son entered their own little world forgetting completely about her standing right there.
"We have to make this meeting quick," Minato said with a sigh. Wolf was out of hearing distance. Spider was back at the house but he did not like leaving Naruto and Sakura strictly longer than necessary.
Itachi nodded. "I know what Shun wants." He spared a second to register the looks on their faces. "Shun wants the Uchiha to be the only remaining clan anyone claims loyalty to in Konoha."
Minato did not react. His mask remained unchanged. "How?"
"Shun gave me the hint before the trial when he said that Tukiko was an archetype. She is the first Uchiha with Uzumaki blood. She has two Kekkei Genkai. She benefits from both clans. He wants the Uchiha clan to expand into the other clans. So that eventually everyone will have Uchiha blood." He did not mince words. Time was of the essence.
"That is insane," Fugaku said with a face painted in shock. "No one in the clan will agree to this."
"He has not told them his true motivation. He plans on telling them once he has claimed rule over Konoha. Some will follow him. That will be enough." Itachi said with barely concealed disgust in his tone.
"The other clans will pose resistance." Shisui pointed out the obvious. Someone has to.
"Shun is convinced he has the force necessary to take the village," Itachi said.
Mintao rubbed his face. "The poison." He said flatly.
"What?" The Uchiha looked at him confused.
"Shun is working with an ANBU. The same ANBU is capable of altering brain chemistry through seals. This ANBU could potentially be controlling the minds of the Uchiha. Making them angry and hungry for power." Minato theorized in a level voice.
"The ANBU doesn't need to. There are plenty of angry young Uchiha who feel disenfranchised." Fugaku said harshly when he recovered from his shock.
"Did Shun tell you anything more about this ANBU?" Minato turned to Itachi. He did not let the disappointment show on his face when Itachi shook his head. "Okay. Good work on finding his motives. Keep each other updated." He turned. They were effectively dismissed.
"We can put an end to this if you'd just be willing to do the needful," Fugaku addressed Minato in a clipping tone once it was just the two of them.
"We tried that already. I won't make the same mistake again." Minato shook his head adamantly.
"Don't let what happened with Bat cloud your judgment. Shun is guilty. What are the rights of one when the lives of many are at stake?" Fugaku did not understand why Minato was hesitating. Itachi gave him everything they needed to grab Shun and search his mind.
"That is a path I cannot go down. It sets a dangerous precedent. Rights must be protected especially in trying times." Minato said the same tired line.
"Shun is ruthless. He is thorough. He plans on killing the clan heads, the men, and probably the children too. Karmi only knows what he has planned for the women. If any time was to abandon your hangups it was right now. For the sake of everyone." His dark eyes flashed with unbridled rage. "Shun is a monster."
"I'm not going to become a monster to take one down." Minato narrowed his eyes. "I understand what is at stake. I understand it very well. We need to stay the course. Right now all we have is the ramblings of a lunatic. A lunatic that some members of your clan see as a leader, as someone to follow. There is not enough. We don't know enough to arrest and convict him. We are going to do this right. Above board."
Fugaku pressed his lips together. He had heard it all before just as Minato had heard how he felt before. There was no sense in rehashing their differences in philosophies. It would leave both of them frustrated for the energy and time spent. They would never reach an agreement.
"I'm sorry about this Fugaku," Minato said with remorse.
"It is not your fault." He said tightly.
"I should have backed out from the job. Things could have been different if you were granted the position. Maybe it could have symbolized hope for a better tomorrow." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He tugged at the yellow locks. It was a small miracle that he was not bald.
"You and I cannot change the past," he said with a smirk. His eyes sparkled knowingly. "But you can correct this in the future."
Minato nodded. "Obito is my pick for my successor. That has not changed."
Fugaku nodded curtly in response. "I will hold you to your word then."
"As I hold you to yours," Minato looked him dead in the eye. The man did not flinch.
He lingered in the shadows. He was hidden. He was sure of it but he still felt exposed. It had to be some kind of joke that she asked him to meet him here of all places. He could see the traps underfoot. He was standing on one leg, the only way he could stay on the roof undetected. He watched as she waltzed over the roof without a care in the world. It was just one of the perks of being in the Hokage's Inner Guard. Her presence was permissible.
"You're a hard woman to get a hold of," he said dryly. He kept his breathing calm as she came to stand directly in front of him.
"I don't have much time. The Hokage is still not back from work and Itachi is out." She spoke quickly. "It is going to be harder for us to meet in the future."
"How sad," his voice was laced with sarcasm. "What did you need to say?" He asked her impatiently.
She took another step towards him. Her blue eyes stared at him from behind the mask.
"The seal is weakening. It will be ready to go in a month and a half."
He frowned, it was sooner than he had anticipated. It was no matter. He would be ready.
"I want you to answer something for me. Don't lie." Her voice dropped in a warning.
"What happened to trust?" He asked her coolly.
"Did you have anything to do with the attempts on Sakura's life?" She asked in a dangerously low voice.
"No." The kunai she was pressing against his Adam's apple was so tight that it nicked his skin when he spoke.
She narrowed her eyes. She lowered the blade. She wiped the blood from it with his flak jacket.
"If I find out you're lying to me -"
"I'm not." He interrupted her threat. "Is there anything I can do to help?" He offered in a light tone.
"She's mine," Spider said in a low growl.
He kept his expression neutral. "I'll be ready." He said flatly.
She nodded. "Get out of here. Someone is coming."
He was gone before she even finished her sentence. Not even thirty seconds later did she sense Itachi come around the corner of the block. She was at her post by the time he reached the door. She nodded curtly at him when he looked up at her. He stepped through the door without additional acknowledgments.
Sakura blinked back at the spots that were dancing in her vision. She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a small sigh. She was exhausted and it was only ten in the morning. For the past few days getting out of bed seemed like an insurmountable challenge. She could not stand for more than a few minutes without having to sit down.
No amount of sleep seemed to be enough. It was like she was fading away. Even her focus was getting harder and harder to keep. She was in a fog. She did not remember how she even got to work. She yawned loudly.
"Do you need to rest your eyes?" Spider looked up from the couch she was lodging on. She stared at the pale medic. She looked dead on her feet. The green orb, the one on the left pulsed slightly.
"No," Sakura answered through another yawn. "It won't help." She said with ample frustration.
"You're doing too much," Spider noted with a frown.
"The opposite actually. Minato won't let me do anything around the house. He nearly had an aneurysm when I tried to do the laundry the other day. You'd think the laundry basket I was holding was a vat of acid, the way he snatched it out of my hands."
"So carefully and gently?" She asked in confusion.
Sakura furrowed her brow. She waved her hand dismissively. "Bad example. But you get what I mean."
"He's just worried about you," Spider said matter-of-factly.
"He's just driving me crazy!" Sakura closed the file on her desk. She would review it later. When she could process more than one word a minute.
"You should be taking things easier," Spider said. "Do you want something to eat? You don't look so good."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "Gee thanks, just what I needed to hear." She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
"Sakura," Spider's voice was much closer.
"Hm?" She asked her without opening her eyes.
"Are you alright?" Spider asked with concern.
"I'm just tired." She admitted. "All the time." She added with a sigh. "Tsunade-sama says the baby is fine. My vitals are fine. There's nothing to explain why. She's taken my regulars. She's even limited the number of walk-ins I can see in the clinics. All I can manage right now is paperwork."
Spider frowned. "What about bed rest?"
Sakura peeled an eye open. "Absolutely not."
Spider sighed. "I know you're a workaholic but I think if anyone has earned a break it's you." She gestured to her extended belly. "You have the perfect excuse."
"And set back women a million years? No way. I'm working until I physically can't anymore." Sakura said stubbornly. Work was the only thing keeping her sane-adjacent right now.
"You look just about there," Spider said without any joy. She leaned back on Sakura's desk.
Sakura looked at her. Sakura brought her hands to her stomach.
"How about this? I'll eat something and you tell me more." She reached into her desk drawer and grabbed a bar. She moved it side to side in an enticing gesture.
"Okay," Spider said. She waited for Sakura to take a bite. "What do you want to know?"
Sakura finished chewing. "Tell me more about your mom."
Spider looked at her. "Why?" She let the surprise color her question.
"Just curious." She admitted. "Did you want one?" She asked Spider.
"I don't think you should be offering food to anyone anytime soon." She said without thinking. "Sorry." She added quickly.
Sakura's face fell. It pulled into a brooding mask. "Her funeral was nice. As nice as funerals can be. She looked so young. So quiet." Her hand was on her stomach again. "She should still be alive."
"You couldn't have known." Spider soothing voice enveloped her. "It's not your fault. You can't keep beating yourself up about this."
"Watch me," Sakura said humorlessly. She put the empty wrapper on her desk. She felt slightly better physically. Emotionally was a completely different story. She thought back to three days ago. She could still hear Yuki's mother's screams when they lowered the coffin to the ground. It was soul-crushing.
"So remember how I said my mom fell for a married man, accidentally?" Spider began.
Sakura looked at her with a start. She had forgotten that she was not alone. She looked at Spider with as much focus as she could. Her voice coupled with how tired she was feeling was making it a challenge to be alert.
"Yeah," Sakura said.
"She actually fell for a client's husband," Spider said without emotion.
Sakura stared at Spider with wide eyes and an open mouth.
"That means the woman was pregnant?"
Spider nodded. "That was actually why my father broke things off with my mother. He said he needed to be there for his wife regardless of what happened this time."
Sakura furrowed her brow. "This time?" She asked in a small voice.
Spider nodded. "His wife had lost a baby before. He was scared it was going to happen again. Mom said that it had been really devastating for the two of them. He was trying his best to be there for his wife and support her through it so that he had nothing left for himself. He was acting as her pillar of strength all the while he was broken himself. That's why it happened between my parents. My mom was able to be there for him."
Sakura stared at her in disbelief. "That poor woman. Did she ever find out? That her husband cheated on her?"
Spider made a noncommittal sound. "Mom never heard or saw him again. She doesn't know what happened other than they moved. She didn't even know if the baby was born."
Sakura kept her face neutral. Internally she was screaming. Everything about Spider was feeling off to her. She felt uneasy.
"Your mother fell for a client's husband?" She asked in a shaky voice.
Spider nodded. "Sometimes the most unexpected things happen." She said in a far-off voice.
Sakura froze when she felt Spider's hand on her belly. Her skin crawled but she kept her neutral expression in place. She kept her eyes trained on Spider's mask.
"You really are all stomach," Spider mused with envy. "When I was pregnant I gained so much weight in my thighs. Took forever to lose." Spider pulled back. "Take care of yourself, Sakura. You're in an extremely vulnerable position right now."
Vulnerable. There was that word again.
Sakura smiled tightly.