Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 49: The Beginning and the End

Flashback

The familiar scent of wet rain filled her with a sense of ease. She inhaled deeply through her nose. It was the first rain of the season. It had come down rather suddenly and unexpectedly and she relished it. The fat drops pelted the portico of the hospital building with loud splatters. Puddles were beginning to form in the sandy, gravel streets. She resisted the urge to jump in the closest one to her.

It would be completely irresponsible to do so. She neither had the proper shoes nor was she in any condition for it. So she did the next best thing. She pulled her red coat closer around her and watched the rain as she leaned against one of the pillars of the building. It was more or less keeping her up. It was becoming clear to her that her body was starting to wear out before her stubbornness. She did not think she had another day like this in her.

Everything ached. It was a challenge to keep her eyes open and herself upright. She felt the freezing mist against her face as the wind caused the falling rain to suddenly switch directions, it would be coming in sheets soon. But she did not mind one bit even if her toes were getting cold.

The spec of red was moving towards her rather quickly. The umbrella was demanding her eye's attention against the dark gray of the sky and muted colors of the wet buildings. She pushed herself off the support column, her back protested instantly. She ignored it all in favor of watching him come to her.

"Sorry, I got pulled into something last minute and had to sign some papers," he apologized quickly just as he ducked under the protection of the building. The umbrella closed. The droplets of water formed a puddle next to his feet. "Were you out here long?" His blue eyes were darting all around her face.

"Not long," she said with a soft smile.

The concern in his eyes did not let up in the slightest. He was painfully transparent and she was incredibly pitiful.

"I'm okay," she said in her most convincing tone. Her body probably needed to hear it as much as he did. She slipped her cold hand into his. "Let's go home," she was already picturing being surrounded by warm blankets and a cup of tea in her hands. Maybe she could even leave the sliding door open to hear in the rain from the bed.

"Sakura, your face is red and you're freezing." He set the collapsed umbrella down and shrugged out of his jacket. He draped it over her shoulders.

"I wanted to watch the rain," she explained tiredly. She could have waited in her office for him but looking through the window was not the same as being outside.

"You're going to catch a cold if you keep this up," he reached for the discarded umbrella. He turned his head to look at the path he had taken to get here. The rain was coming down harder. "We should teleport home."

He was right. It was raining. It was cold. There was standing water in the streets. It was at least a twenty-minute walk if not longer, depending on how quickly she could move. The last thing she needed to add was getting sick so close to her due date. He knew all the reasons just like she did.

She looked at him with her emerald eyes and a slightly curled lip. Minato ran a hand through his hair.

"We teleport the second I think it's too much," he said firmly despite being the one to lose the very one-sided argument.

"You take such good care of me." He was emitting so much warmth. It only made it all the more perfect. She let out a content sound right as his arm came to rest across her shoulders.

"Not that you make it easy," he said in a light tone. The umbrella opened with a flourish. "Careful with the steps," he held the umbrella over her as she walked incredibly cautiously down the steps at an angle.

Sakura leaned heavily into his side. The sound of the drops hitting the canopy of the umbrella was giving her just enough energy to keep going. She could see her breath in front of her. It was an unusually cold day. She should have brought along a hat.

"This damn rain," Minato grumbled. "It came out of nowhere." He readjusted his jacket on her shoulders.

"It's nice, we need it." She mused, watching the raindrops pool off the ends of the red canopy.

"We could have done without it today," he was expertly avoiding the larger puddles underfoot. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." She was. There was no point in sugarcoating it. "I think I may need to either cut back or take leave early. Today took a lot out of me." It was sheer stubbornness that was keeping her up, that and Minato. Mostly Minato.

"I didn't think I'd hear you ever say that," his tone was not quite teasing. "You'll let me know when it gets to be too much?"

"I will," she assured him. She was not quite ready to be out of the elements just yet. "We should have tomato soup for dinner. And bread. Lots of bread."

"Soup and bread. Sounds good to me," he knew a place where they could get both. Conveniently it was on the way home. She could get off her feet and rest while they waited for the food.

"And cuddling. I demand lots of it." They had only a few days left when it would be just the two of them. She wanted to soak up as much of his undivided attention as she could before the horrible prospect of childbirth that she had to face.

"Oh!" Her face brightened. "A head massage would be nice. Maybe a foot rub too. They could take place before or after we cuddle, whatever works best for you." She added so considerately.

"Anything else?" Amusement danced in his eyes.

"I'm going to be downright obnoxious." She declared without any regret or shame.

"So no different than usual?" He asked her with a teasing grin.

"So rude!" She exclaimed in mocked indignation. She shoved his shoulder for good measure.

Her body vibrated as he chuckled. She was powerless to stop the smile that pulled across her face. His arm came to settle around the small of her back. Everything was pretty perfect. She watched the rain fall with slightly less frequency than before. She extended her hand outside of the protection provided by the red polyester blend. The cool water shocked her senses. Her hand felt colder than ice.

"Keep your hands and feet under the umbrella, Sakura." His tone was colored by sternness.

She pouted but complied. In order for her to get her way she had to play by his rules and she was not quite done walking in the rain.

The rain was falling even quicker now. The rapid drops of water sounded almost like hail. She watched with a smile on her face as little bubbles erupted on the streets underfoot. She could see their breaths. In front of them. Her stomach churned with excitement. She almost felt giddy.

She furrowed her brow and came to a rather abrupt halt. He stopped moving instantly. His feet pointed towards her as he turned to face her. His cobalt eyes asked the silent question. Her hand came to rest on his forearm which was holding up the umbrella. Her emerald eyes held a serious expression in them.

"We're getting close, Darling. You remember what we talked about right?" Now her tone was stern. Her volume was raised so that he could hear it over the heavy rainfall.

"Sakura," Minato began his protest, he moved to be closer to her.

"I need to hear you say it."

The wind changed. She felt the back of her clothes start to get wet. He moved the position of the umbrella so that she would remain dry. There they both stood under the red umbrella staring each other in the eye, having a silent battle of will.

"I want to do what I can for you." The solemnness of his face made her heart flutter in her chest.

"You are doing this for me. You would be doing this for me." She said gently. She took his hand in both of hers. He did not complain as her cold skin made contact with his warm hand. "Tsunade-sama is incredible. She can do more than anyone alive. But even Tsunade has her limits. She can't put something back together that is too broken. She can't turn dust back into bone. No one can."

"Sakura -"

"My strength is monstrous." She admitted it for the first time, out loud. "It's deadly. Even without chakra, you know that. You've seen it. These hands," she squeezed his hand in both of hers gently, "are capable of incredible destruction."

She brought his hand to her lips, kissing it. She tucked their clasped hands under her chin. She looked at him with earnest eyes.

"I'm going to be in a lot of pain. Maybe even the most pain I've ever been in in my life. I'm going to be out of my mind in it. I've never been in this position remotely like this before. Even I don't know what I'm capable of. I'm scared, Minato."

"I'm scared of going through this. I'm worried about it. I don't want to have to worry about you. I don't want to worry about what I might accidentally do to you. I would never forgive myself if I hurt you. So please take this fear and worry from me. I need this from you."

She searched his surprised face. She could see that the backs of his shoulders were beginning to get drenched. It felt like she was holding her breath forever waiting for him to react, for him to say or do anything other than just look back at her completely flabbergasted. Little by little did his expression become more like the face she was accustomed to seeing.

"I promise to keep my hands away from your hands. You don't have to worry about that." He pressed her against his chest, he held the back of her head. "I promise."

She wrapped both her arms around his torso and held on tightly. "Thank you, Darling." She closed her eyes and honed in on his heart beating steadily in her ear. "I love you."

"I love you, too." The warmth he felt in his heart spread the longer he held her. "What's with all the heaviness all of a sudden?" He asked her, looking her in the eye, when they broke apart from their embrace.

"Felt like the right time to bring it up." She brought at hand to the bottom of her bulging stomach and the other to the small of her back. "Seeing how my water broke and all."

"That makes sense," he said with a slight nod of his head. She counted to six. That was how long it took for his eyes to widen, his frame to stiffen, the color to drain from his face, and his jaw to go slack. He looked down at the puddle of water that was not there before. It suddenly became very real.

"What?" Dumbfounded was the word she would use to describe the look on his face.

"Naruto's coming," she eliminated all possibility for confusion. She pulled the jacket closer to her.

"Naruto's coming?" He parroted back her words, completely stunned.

"We need to stay calm." She took a deep breath in. "The contractions have not started. We have time to go home and get my bag before we go to the hospital." She rubbed the back of her neck and shifted on her feet.

"Naruto's coming," he blinked rapidly.

"I apologize in advance for anything I might say to you. Just know that it's coming from a place of anger, fear, and pain so I don't mean it." She tucked her bottom lip under her row of top teeth. "Probably," she added after thinking about it some more.

"Minato?" She called out his name tentatively. He was fading on her. All the research he had done seemingly was purged out of his brain or perhaps, a more primal part of his brain had taken over. She brought her freezing hands to the sides of his face.

The red umbrella fell to the ground with a loud splash. It was the only spec of color against the gray backdrop.

End of flashback

The oven beeped angrily in the background. His face went slack. He blinked slowly. His brain was not cooperating with him. He did not understand what was happening. Her words, her build-up, and her admission did not match her final statement. But when he looked into her eyes he saw there was no conflict in them. She was not struggling with duality. It was crystal clear to her.

He swallowed audibly. He was so numb. He did not know what or how to feel. It surprised him. They had kept warning him - Jiraiya, Kushina, Tsume - that this would happen. He had thought about what it might be like to be in this very situation. In all the times he thought about it, he was certain that he would be feeling something, anything. But now here in the actual moment, everything was muted. It was dull. His brain was sluggish as was everything else about him.

Her voice, her statement was blaring in his ears. Over and over, like it was on some kind of loop. He felt nothing. His world was collapsing in on itself and he felt nothing. He could think of nothing. He was not capable of doing anything but nothing.

She was waiting for him to say something, to say anything.

"Do you want me to go?" He did not trust himself to arrive at the correct conclusion. If they were going to blow up their life, destroy what they built he wanted to be absolutely sure that was what she wanted. He needed her to spell it out for him so that nothing was left for interpretation.

"I want you to be happy." She replied honestly. If he was not, she never could be. She just wanted him to be happy whatever that may look like. "I'm releasing you of your promise, of the burden. I don't want you to stay out of a sense of obligation."

Their child on the way would not know what it was like to not come from a broken home. She wondered if that was a more merciful situation than what Naruto would have to deal with. They would get through it. She was sure. Eventually. Even if they were not together as a family. They would be there to support their son and the new baby. They would have two parents. They would be loved by their parents. It was more than what some had. It was more than he had had.

She looked at his blank expression. She uncurled her fingers from his shirt. She smoothed out the fabric. She focused her gaze on her hands.

"We'll be fine, Minato. Don't worry about me and the kids." She said calmly even though she was dying inside. "We'll figure out how to co-parent." She sighed. She walked past him to turn off the oven. She could smell the food. A second longer and it would burn. The beeping stopped. She bowed her head and blinked back the tears. She took a breath to steady herself.

"I really want to thank you," She turned around to look at him. He was staring out the window. "For everything. I still love you. I will always love you. That won't change." She longed to hold him but it was not about what she wanted. It was about Minato. This was about what he wanted.

He did not move. He did not utter a sound. Sakura closed her eyes. She knew it would not be easy. She slowly turned on her heel, presenting her back to him. They were facing opposite directions. They had been for some time. Now, it just seemed official. It was over. Much like how it started, it came out of nowhere. She did not realize until it was too late. She took a couple of unsteady steps toward the hallway.

"When will you learn, Sakura? When will you listen to what I have been saying?" He asked her in a tight voice. She did not recognize it. It was absurd. All of it. Nine years being undone in seven months.

She stopped in her tracks. She did not turn around to look at him. She clenched her jaw to keep an anguished sob from escaping.

"You keep making these decisions that affect all of us without me, unilaterally." He was angry.

She bowed her head. Tears hit the tiled floor, almost rhythmically.

'I'm sorry.'

Her defeated posture, the slight shaking of her shoulders, raised a reaction out of him. He did not think. He just moved.

She heard his footsteps behind her. Sakura closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. She waited for his anger to swell and pull her under. Her whole body stiffened as she froze. The seconds ticked away agonizingly slowly as her brain struggled to process what was happening.

She brought her hands to the arm that was around her front. One around the shoulders and the other under her stomach. She did not move as he buried her face into her shoulder. She did not complain that he was clinging to her too tightly. Her throat was nearly closed up. A fresh batch of tears rained down her face. He made her resolve so weak. All it took was one touch.

"I'm not going anywhere." His voice came out muffled. She dipped her head forward. "I need you, Sakura." He struggled to keep his voice together. She had done a lot of talking. Too much talking. It was his turn. He reached for a chair she had been sitting on and turned it around. He lowered her into it.

She looked at him with a shell-shocked expression. He lowered himself onto a knee and held her face in between his hands.

"I'm not saying that out of obligation or duty. I'm saying that because it's what I want. I want to be with you. I want to be by your side until the end, Sakura. If you'll let me. I wanted it then and I want it even more now." He said with an intensity that burned his insides.

"I want to stay." Neither his voice nor his gaze wavered.

She became hysterical.

It smelled incredible in her house. It instantly helped elevate her already cheerful mood. She was turning into one of those people, the kind that sang to themselves or hummed upbeat tunes. She was borderline obnoxious with her happiness.

Things were going so, so well. Karin was incredibly well-adjusted at school. She had many friends. She and Ino were attached at the hip. They made quite the pair. She could see the influences of Ino in Karin's budding personality and vice versa for Ino.

Even Tukiko seemed to be turning a corner. She was throwing herself into her training. She was a natural in every sense of the word, the girl showed real promise. She had taught herself to activate and deactivate her Sharingan all by herself. She did not even know if Itachi had managed that by her age. She was cautiously optimistic about Tukiko. The girl had some real fight in her, she had to in order to survive this long. She would be fine.

They all were fine. They were more than fine, they were good. She was incredibly excited about what the prospect of tomorrow would bring. With each day that they spent together things were moving further and further along in the right direction. And she was very excited about the literal tomorrow as well.

Kushina grinned triumphantly. The last of the cake was out of the oven and cooling on the rack. They had all turned out perfect. They were moist, chocolatey and just begging to be devoured. They would be a hit, she could all but guarantee it. It was her best work to date and the timing of it could not be more perfect.

She could not believe that he was turning five. It felt like she had blinked and six years had gone by just like that. It was outrageous how quickly things were changing. It was even longer still since the day she had first met Sakura. She had no idea then that her life would never be the same again.

Meeting Sakura was tied for the single most impactful moment of her life. She hardly remembered what life was like before then, who she was before then. Unbeknownst to her, she had found her person that day. The person that got her and saw her.

And because of her, she got to meet Naruto. Not only that, she got to be a part of his life. She was there to help shape him into who he was. He had weaseled his way into her heart just as deeply and much quicker than his mother had, she really did not stand a chance. She loved him from the moment she laid eyes on him. It was impossible not to. He excelled at giving and receiving love. The little stinker was like a whirlpool that just pulled you in with all his love.

And she could not believe that tomorrow he would be five years old. Tomorrow would be a good day. She was sure of it. She already had it all laid out. The girls would wear the dresses that Sakura had bought for them that time they all went shopping together. Karin would be pretty in purple and Tukiko would be a wonder in white. She, herself, had picked out an emerald jumpsuit for the picnic tomorrow. She knew it would turn some heads but she was only interested in driving one particular head crazy. Joben was also invited.

Minato had assured her that everyone was aware of Tukiko's situation and that none of the men would approach Kushina or the girls without Kushina's permission. She was also given a heads-up as to who would be there. It was all of Naruto's and Karin's class except Fugaku and the Hyugas who declined the invitation, and their parents along with Yakumo and her parents. Team Minato along with Shizune, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and a handful of children that he had befriended at the daycare. It was a big gathering. It would be a big test for Tukiko but again, Kushina was hopeful. She was not too worried that Tukiko would be uncomfortable. She knew all the moms already and she had met all the kids. As long as the dads respected the rule, she would be fine.

Tomorrow would be interesting, to say the least. Tomorrow she and the girls would frost and decorate the cake and it would be ready in time for the picnic in the afternoon. It was perfect that Naruto's birthday fell on a Saturday this year. They could celebrate it on the actual day. She looked at the three layers of cakes that had already finished cooling. They were ready to be put in the fridge.

Naruto would love it. She was sure of it. She sighed as she closed the fridge. The mountain of dishes she dirtied in the process was not so great. She rolled up her sleeves and began to tackle the mess. She hummed to herself as she worked. She kept her mind off of just how tired she felt.

Itachi blinked slowly as he looked up. It was too dark to see as he had drawn the curtains before getting into bed, just as he did every night. Three weeks. The baby would be here in three weeks and something told him that whatever Shun had planned would be executed before then.

Shun was becoming increasingly withdrawn ever since the fire that destroyed the bar. They were still in the process of clearing the space. The official word was the fire started in the basement as the breaker box was in there. The Police Force had investigated and signed off on that explanation. It was purely fabricated. Itachi knew that it was arson.

The fire was started at the order of Shun. He was getting close to mounting his attack. Itachi could feel it. In the past few days, Shun barely exchanged two words with him. His father had said that Shun was sticking to the late shift which was not under the watchful eye of Fugaku. Uito remained working during the day. Shun still had his eyes and ears in the building 24/7.

The numbers had swelled up. Those between the ages of fifteen and thirty gravitated toward Shun. They bought the lie that he was feeding them about unity and restoring the clan's honor. Most were just looking for a reason to cause chaos, they did not look too deeply into what Shun was trying to do. Wakato had been a surprise to Itachi. The man was pragmatic and usually level-headed. He supposed losing both his young sons and his wife during the Pein Invasion had changed him, even if the loss was only temporary.

The Uchiha Clan had received the least amount of resources from the village to rebuild after the attack. The Third claimed that what the Uchiha were given was directly proportional to how much the Uchiha contributed towards Konoha. It left a bad taste in the mouths of many. The Sandaime was a polarizing figure for the Uchiha and that was even before Pein.

Many had been hopeful that he would choose Fugaku to be his successor. The Sandaime burned a lot of bridges and goodwill by choosing the Yellow Flash. It did not take much to rile up the youth against Konoha, against the system that oppressed them. They were so blinded by their anger and hate that they did not see what was right there in front of them: a decent today and a better tomorrow.

Things had been getting better. Things would have continued to get better but now this attack, this coup was going to undo all the work their ancestors did to build and make Konoha what it was. He wanted to stop it before it got to that point. He wanted to stop it before blood was shed. But he was out of time. He could feel it.

Shun had changed. Shun no longer saw a purpose for him. Shun iced him out. He was now on the outside looking in. It was over.

Itachi's fingers curled into a loose fist. His father - if his father was Hokage - would have long arrested Shun. He would have dropped him off in the hands of the I&T Department. He would have let Ibiki and Masaki do their best, which in reality was the worst humanity had to offer, to Shun. If Shun somehow did not break or turn into a shell of the person he once was, he would instruct a Yamanaka to see what he was planning. And his father would not have lost a wink of sleep over it. In fact, he would have gone to be more soundly knowing that Shun had failed.

Itachi would be dishonest if he claimed he did not see certain benefits to his father's approach. They would have most definitely known all the details. But the threat would not have been neutralized. Shun was more than a leader for his followers, he was a symbol, he was a promise of a better future. The cause would have gone on with or without him. If Shun was captured and tortured he would have become a martyr for all the Uchiha. He would be labeled as a freedom fighter and admired. Every little Uchiha growing up would idolize him. He would become immortal.

He would be like Madara only instead of being shunned, he would be embraced. The Hokage had made the right call but that did not mean it was without consequence. They had failed to uncover the plan. There was not enough to bring Shun in. They were only slightly better than where they had been when Itachi first arrived at their doorstep.

Itachi sighed in frustration. He clung to the coin from the Land of Waves in his hand so tightly that he was left with an impression on the skin of his palms.

Obito sighed loudly as he walked out of the bar. The guys would not miss his presence. Most of them were too far gone anyway. He, himself, felt too guilty to keep pace with them. His face was a mask of glumness as his feet let him down the not-so-quiet streets of Konoha.

His mind was off pondering his situation and just how badly he managed to screw it all up. She was the one person he never wanted to hurt. He kicked a rock along with him as he walked. She was all he could think about lately when he was not out on his missions. His guilt was all-consuming. He had two dreams: being Rin's husband and becoming Hokage. That was it. That was all he wanted.

He wanted to be the best version of himself so that he could be the best possible partner to Rin and be the best possible Hokage for the village. Anything else was just icing on the cake. As Kakashi had so crassly put it, he was years away from being Hokage. He knew that. He acknowledged that. There was so much he needed to understand still and even more that he needed to experience. He was not ready but he knew exactly where his weaknesses were and how to tackle them. He knew in his heart of hearts that he would bridge the gap. He would make it. Barring death, he would be the Godaime. He would be the first of his kind, of his clan, to represent and protect the village that he loved so much. He was not worried. He would get there.

But Rin, with Rin he was less sure now. The longer he waited the worse it would be for them. But since he had waited so long he could not just ask her. He wanted it to be worth the wait. He wanted to give her a story that she would be proud to recount. He wanted to give her everything just like she had given him.

Obito scowled as he continued to kick the smooth gray rock down the dirt road. He clasped his hands behind his back. Proposing tomorrow at the picnic was out. Kakashi was right, even he had to admit that even if he did so begrudgingly. It did not cross his mind that it would be tacky. In fact, it was only thirty minutes prior when he heard two civilians talking about a mutual friend who recently got engaged that he learned it was generally not encouraged to take the spotlight off of the person for whom the event was for.

So tomorrow was out and that meant he would have to spend X number of days thinking of plan F. He scratched at his head in agitation. He did not think it would be this hard. He knew from the minute he met her that he would marry her. He knew in his bones that she would be the single most important person in his life. He should have just asked her to marry him then, maybe she would have been too shocked to say anything other than yes.

A public proposal was out of the question too now. He did not want her to think that he was pressuring her to say yes by asking when there were a bunch of people around. He learned that too just twenty-seven minutes ago. Women were ruthless. He did not understand it. They shared everything with their friends and their so-called friends then went and dissected and picked apart happy moments with their other friends. It was brutal to listen to the two women criticize everything the man had done. He did not even know him but Obito wanted to give him a hug and tell him it was okay. He had tried his best.

Savage. Women were savage. At least all the men he knew would have just told the dude to his face that his proposal sucked and things would not even be slightly weird among them. That was just how they were. They did not care. They could not care less about this kind of stuff. But women, Kami, they went crazy for this kind of thing. Now he had all this pressure to give her a good proposal, not just a proposal where everyone says it was good but then they talk about it behind your back.

He growled loudly. "Why is it so hard?!" He shouted out in anger.

"Oi!" An angry voice called out.

Obito widened his eyes as he took in his surroundings. Lights of various units in the apartment building turned on. Windows opened. He saw angry faces glaring at him.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry!" He said loud enough for them to hear. Loud shushing and disgruntled exclaims were what he received in response.

"Keep it down, kid." A distinctively gruff voice that he could place anywhere reached his ears.

"Jiraiya-sama!" Obito looked at him with pure adulation. He bounded to his window. "I need your help!" He shouted through cupped hands as if he needed any help in being louder.

Jiraiya peered at him from his window. "You're one of Minato's brats," he said as he placed his face.

Obito ignored the angry sounds he was eliciting from Jiraiya's neighbors.

"It's Obito!" He told him eagerly. "Can I come up?"

"No," Jiraiya said flatly as he closed the window.

Obito clenched his teeth. "Please!" He shouted loud enough for Jiraiya to hear him through his dual-paned glass. "You're the only one that can save my relationship!" He continued his plea desperately.

Jiraiya stopped midstep. He turned his head.

"I need your advice! I need your knowledge Jiraiya-sama! Be the hero in my love story, Jiraiya-sama!" He knew he was laying it on thick but he was desperate. He needed to have a plan before he saw Rin tomorrow. He needed to have hope again.

"Damn it," Jiraiya muttered to himself. Obito had said the magic words. Jiraiya grumbled as he opened the window. "3B" he called out to Obito in a clear voice.

Obito grinned. He ran to the front gate and took the stairs two at a time. He nearly pounded Jiraiya's face in as he knocked on the door frantically.

"Sit down," Jiraiya told him with an exasperated sigh.

Obito sat down on the sofa. He folded his hands as he regarded the Sannin. There was sleep in his eyes and his hair was a mess. The green pajamas were also a dead giveaway.

"You were sleeping?" Obito asked him incredulously. "It's only ten o'clock."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at him. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Right," Obito rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I need your help," he said with a solemn expression.

"I'm aware," Jiraiya said with a scoff. "How drunk are you?" He eyed the twenty-something suspiciously.

"Not enough," Obito answered without emotion.

"Ask away," Jiraiya gestured with his hand for Obito to do just that.

"I need you to tell me how to propose to my girlfriend." Obito looked at him with immense seriousness.

Jiraiya's lips pulled into a smirk. "You came to the right place, kid. I'm the reason why Naruto exists," he said smugly.

Obito furrowed his brow. "What?"

"I taught Minato everything he knows about women." Jiraiya clarified with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Right," Obito was beginning to have reservations. Many of them.

Jiraiya saw his face drop. "It's true," he said adamantly. "But if you don't believe me then that's fine. You should go to someone else for advice. Someone you do believe in." Jiraiya crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

Obito waved his hands. "No! No! I do believe in you, Jiraiya-sama! Please help me!" He clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Enough with the begging already, I'll help you," Jiraiya's eyes sparkled with glee. "Here's what you do…" he frowned. "Aren't you going to write this down?" He asked Obito in a deadpan.

"No need, I'll keep it all up here." Obito tapped his temple with his index finger.

Jiraiya's face turned to stone.

Obito swallowed. "Can I borrow some paper and a pen?"

Jiraiya pointed with his thumb behind him. "On the table."

Obito shot up and grabbed the tools. He came back to sit down. He posed the pen against the paper on his knee. "I'm ready," he said as his face pulled into a concentrated expression.

Jiraiya held up one finger. "The first thing you need is two dozen roses. Red with extra long stems."

Obito nodded his head as he wrote. "Roses, two dozen. Long stem got it." He looked back up at Jiraiya.

The Sannin grinned. "Pay attention, this is really important." Obito sat up straighter. Jiraiya rubbed his hands together. "Do you know anyone with a hot air balloon?"

Obito frowned. "No," he said flatly.

Jiraiya tapped his chin. "Okay, we'll scrap that idea then."

Obito crossed out what he wrote.

"What did you do that for?" Jiraiya asked him in disbelief.

Obito blinked owlishly at him. "Was I not supposed to?"

Jiraiya sighed. This would take longer than he had thought.

He was calm. He was unyielding. He was the shore that greeted each and every one of her swells caused by her emotions. She had a lot of them. She was emptying herself out so that she would be anew when the new day greeted her. It was months of buildup, this moment. Nearly seven months of negative emotions that she was carrying all by herself.

He pulled her closer to him as her breathing was starting to level off. Her breakdown had blind-sighted him. She had been putting on a brave face for him or maybe against him. She was holding herself together to not give him yet another reason to think that she was vulnerable or weak.

He should have known. He should have seen it coming. It was the biggest chip on her shoulder that she carried with her. This idea was that she was weak or useless. It had been her greatest insecurity when he met her almost ten years ago. It played a large part in her compulsive need to always be doing something. She never wanted to be seen that way again. She did not want to be a burden to anyone. It shaped a core characteristic of her person. She needed to be strong and self-reliant. She needed to be the one doing the saving and not being saved.

Being in the state she was, the insecurity had reared its ugly head again, and the circumstances that had developed fed into it. He fed into it.

It was just hitting him now. The build-up of months' worth of tension based on emotions repressed over the course of the years. It had all just come to a head. He had thought he was doing them both a favor by keeping everything inside of him as if he were a vault or a black hole that had endless capacity.

Every negative emotion he felt, he pushed into the dark crypt and he told himself that it was dealt with and that he was fine. That they were fine. That was his way of dealing with conflict, it was to endure and go inward. She was right, he internalized everything. He kept it in and let it build and build until it all came spilling out. It was an unmanageable monster he had no idea how to face. He saw that now.

If that was not bad enough, it had affected her negatively as well. His silence, his internalization, and his turning to himself, all impacted her. The breakdown she just experienced spoke to that fact. They were both hurting. The weight of his silence was crushing both of them. He saw that now. He realized that now.

It had taken watching her completely unravel and fall apart for him to see it. She thought he did not love her anymore. She had thought that for a while now. She thought he did not want her anymore. And he let her think that, all of that.

She had been telling him from the start, point blank what she wanted and he thought he knew what was best for her. He had been wrong. He caused her stress. He caused her devastation along with his own. He played a large part in why she was coming undone.

In both their desires to protect the other, they actually did much more harm than benefit. The secrets between them, the unshared experiences and insights had become almost too great. Each secret and each lie that came from calcified into yet another boulder that was sitting on their chests. They were both being crushed.

He saw that now. He saw clearly now. He had three walls to hold up but he only had two hands. With her, there were a total of four walls: responsibilities of being Hokage, responsibilities of being head medic, their marriage, and their kids. With her, he now had four walls and four hands. Together nothing would have needed to suffer. And for the previous five years, it had been that way. If he had just let her help, things would not have progressed to this stage. Neither of them would have gotten to such a low point.

The thought of him no longer loving her would never have planted roots in her mind just as the thought of her not trusting him would not have done the same in his. They should have been fleeting but they had both created environments where instead it became planted and it flourished. It grew stronger and stronger while they grew weaker and more susceptible to what it was saying. They let themselves believe it. They let it ensnare them both. It sucked the fight right out of them. It became so big that they could no longer see anything else. It would have killed their relationship if it had grown any bigger.

They had fallen out of lockstep. They were not in harmony and everything was quick to fall apart on them. They did this to themselves.

He should have just told her what he needed from her. He should have modeled it for her by being open and having faith that she would open up in return. He should have done so many things differently. Yes, she should have been honest, but so should he.

Her transgressions in the past did not justify his behavior in the now. It was painfully clear. He understood what the Sandaime, Sarutobi, was trying to tell him. It never was about him or her, it was about how they operated together as a collective, as a unit. It was about them. It was not about being right, keeping score, or even seeing eye to eye. It was about not losing sight of the bigger picture.

It was about working together to solve the problem. It was about bringing out the best in each other and minimizing each other's weaknesses. She was quick to anger and jump to conclusions. He was more level-headed and preferred to know all the facts. Neither approach was suitable for all their problems all the time. But maybe if there was a balance between being overly rash and overly cautious, the state of the investigation could have been different. It was about working with each other and not against each other. It took way too long for him to see that.

He looked at her in his arms. Her pink hair was sprawled around her. The strands were tickling his neck as he pulled her even closer still. She did not complain. She sniffled before she cleared her throat. She seemed to have lost her nerve because she did not utter another sound. Silence surrounded them. He had no qualms about breaking it. They both had spent too much time alone with their thoughts already. They needed to do what she had been advocating for all along. They needed to talk to each other.

"I don't want to leave." He said firmly as he held her, reassuring her that it was not a one-off. He meant what he said. "I need you," he said into her hair. He felt her head move against his arm. The movement caused his circulation to return. He ignored the pins and needles.

"I need you too," she managed out in between raspy breaths. She backed up closer to him. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I don't." She said in a small voice as she stroked her fingers along the skin of his arm.

"You make me better," he meant it. Just the past seven months proved it. Everything nearly crumbled.

"You make me better," she acknowledged back. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." He closed his eyes. "I love you." He kissed the back of her neck.

She pressed her face against the cushion of the couch. She had longed to hear those words again. "I love you too."

"We'll be happy again," Minato assured her. He was already feeling better than he had in months. "We'll figure it out. It will be as good as before, if not better."

Sakura closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. She could hear the smile in his voice. It was Minato. It was really him. She believed him with every fiber of her being. She could count on this man. She had faith in them. As long as they were walking in the same direction they would figure it out, together.

"I don't want to keep looking back, Sakura. We have so many new memories to make." Minato hoped that his tone conveyed the ease he felt. "I'm ready to fall in love with you all over again. And to keep falling in love."

"Okay," she said without much enthusiasm. She was spent. She had whiplash from going from one extreme to another. She was not completely sure what was happening. If she had any capacity to feel anything at that moment she would have been elated. This is what she was fighting for, struggling for. She should have but all she felt was deep exhaustion.

"What's wrong?" He asked her warily. She was not fully relaxed. She was also playing with her necklace.

She flinched at the question. She really did not want to get into it right now. The previous admissions had left her raw. She needed to recharge.

"I'm just tired." It sounded unconvincing to her own ears.

"Sakura," she could hear the dread creep up into his voice. "We have to break the habit," he said gently.

Sakura inhaled deeply. "You're right," she chewed on her bottom lip. Her eyes fixed on where she knew the clock was. She could not see it in the dark but it was well enough. They had already lost so much time.

If they did not want to fall into the same destructive habits she - they - would need to try harder. They both knew that. It would take effort at least initially but they had made it this far. It was something she wanted, it was something they both wanted.

"I learned something about my parents that's really shaken me up," Sakura admitted with a reluctant sigh. She looked at the metal sakura blossom in her hand. It all seemed like a cruel joke to her now. "Their marriage was not what I thought."

There was a moment of quiet as the words settled into his consciousness. He did not allow himself to sit with it too long. He needed to be present for himself and for her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He did not want to push or pry. He knew how touchy of a topic it could be. It was more complicated than most family dynamics. There was that whole thing with time travel wrapped in there. But he could not help but feel curious. Something had happened for her to broach the topic that she did earlier. He still had so many questions.

"Not really." She answered honestly. She turned in his arms slowly, and the sofa creaked. He kept a hand on the small of her back to anchor her to him. Her cheeks were still red as were her eyes. There were no more tears but the effects still lingered. He moved his thumb across her cheek before sliding it along her jawline. It came to rest under her chin. He tilted her head upwards ever so slightly.

"Sakura -" he stared into her eyes. His face fell. "Is that what brought this on?" He asked her in a whisper.

She started crying again. She swiped at her eyes in clear annoyance at the presence of the tears again.

"I just don't know. I don't know what was real growing up and what was perception. My whole life it feels like," she played with the fabric of his shirt. "My whole life feels like it was just manufactured. Like it was designed by someone else for a specific purpose. How I came to be in this world, the family that raised me. My childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. All of it. It's hard to know what was real. I don't know what's real anymore."

His heart broke for her. She was devastated. He brushed the hair from her face. Minato tucked the strands behind her ear. Her half-laden eyelids were impacting his ability to rely on her eyes to gauge just how receptive she was.

He moved closer, his fingertips applied steady pressure on the back of her head. His hand wove into her hair.

"I don't know what to say about your childhood. I wasn't there," his voice was smooth and gentle. "I really can't say anything beyond 'I'm sorry'. And that I'm here to listen and support you in any way you need."

Her slow blinking and silently moving lips were the only clues as to her being responsive and listening.

"But I can say that this is real. You feel that right?"

Sakura nodded her head slowly. She could feel his heart beating under the palm of her hand.

"How I felt about you, how I feel about you is real. Everything we went through together and apart is real. Right now is real. This is real. We're real."

"Okay," she said in a small voice. She moved even closer. "You're real." She inhaled deeply, taking in the way he smelled. It put her at ease. "This is real."

"Your past - your parents they don't change right now. It doesn't change anything for me. It doesn't change anything for us." His firm conviction was pushing the worry aside. But that gave way to something else. "We're here right now, that's all that matters."

"I just didn't want to end up like them. I didn't want us to be like them. Ever." She held anger in her eyes.

His heart clenched. "I'm sorry." He said with genuine remorse. He wiped away her trailing tears. "We aren't them." He said soundly.

She looked at his conviction-filled cobalt eyes. "I know," she really did. She knew he could never do that to her. He was faithful to who he was, his village, his family, and to her. She was still angry about the Spider situation, she would want to know more one day. She would tell him how she felt about it. She would ask him about it. But not right now. He was not like her dad. She trusted him.

He would not be holding her the way he was or looking at her the way he was if a line had been crossed. She knew that to her core. It was a very bitter pill to swallow that he did not come to her but she was determined to do better. To be better so that maybe one day he would feel safe enough to come to her. She would be that version of herself that he felt safe being vulnerable to. She would work towards that.

She would get there. Just like how she did not doubt him, she did not doubt herself in that. She loved him with everything. She would do it for both of them. That would be their future.

Right now, right now, she did not want to think about any of that. She had been all over the place both emotionally and mentally. There was only one place she wanted to be: here with him. In this moment with him was where she wanted to be.

"I love you." She said before placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"I love you," he said right before kissing her deeply. His fingers twisted into her pink locks.

They were making up for lost time.

He turned to face the window. He stared at the unobstructed view he had of the full moon. He let its cool light give him the calm he needed. His dark eyes closed as he basked in the moonbeams that were filtering in through the glass.

Everyone and everything was right where it should be. He was where he needed to be. He took a deep breath through his nose. He felt his insides start to cool.

Shunsuke opened his dark eyes and looked at the face of Uito blankly. His mask did not betray the war that was raging inside of him. His eyes suppressed the surprising amount of conflict he felt. The mission was what he marched towards for all of his adult life. It was his reason for breathing. The details here and there had changed over the course of years as certain aspects became less and more feasible. A certain detail had cropped up. It was instrumental to the successful completion of the plan. It was a detail that had given him the most pause.

It was the reason why he had welcomed Itachi. He hoped that he could pass the burden onto him. It had been wishful thinking. Itachi was never sold on the plan. His loyalties were not to it. Itachi was a plant. He could not rely on Itachi. Itachi could not provide him with what he needed. He realized this some time back. Even before Uito more or less confirmed it. It was impossible to really lie to yourself. Even if he had given it an honest effort.

So he prepared himself for the inevitable. He was ready to do what was needed to make the dream a reality. He talked much of sacrifice to his peers, to those willing to follow him. It was time for him to show them he was capable of more than just talk.

"Everything alright, Shunsuke?" Uito called out to him. It had been last minute when Shun stopped by. It was not often that they stayed at Uito's. Shun preferred his own home.

"Everything is fine," Shun said numbly. He knew what he had to do. He just did not expect it to be so hard.

Uito nodded his head. "The final preparations are complete. We are ready to go at your signal." There was a deep-rooted belief in his eyes. He was loyal to a fault. All the way up to the end.

"Almost complete," Shun corrected him.

Uito raised his brow in confusion. "What is left?"

Shun beckoned Uito to him. Uito did not hesitate to comply. Shun grabbed him and pulled him closer. Uito's confusion grew in magnitude.

"Something only I can do," Shun said roughly before he claimed Uito's lips. The Uchiha closed his eyes. The confusion was replaced by a sense of deep satisfaction. This was all he wanted. They were going to face this new day together. He was happy.

It was short-lived. A sharp burning pain in his side registered in his brain. He opened his eyes in shock. Shun's eyes were still closed. Uito stumbled backward, falling onto the bed as he clutched his side. He looked at his hand in horror, it was wet. In the monochromatic glow of the moon, it was dark against his pale hand. Blood.

"Shunsuke?" Uito asked him in a state of shock.

"I'm sorry, Uito. I put it off as long as I could." He truly did look remorseful. "There was no other way." He added in a gentle whisper.

Understanding hit Uito squarely in the chest. "For the clan," he said deliriously. He was losing too much blood too quickly.

"For the clan," Shun repeated grimly.

He watched the blood and light leave Uito's body and eyes respectively. Shun closed Uito's eyes. There was a smile on the corpse's face. Shun took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When Shun blinked his eyes open the Mayoikao Sharingan revealed itself.

It was time.

She stirred in her sleep. She made an unintelligible sound and her brows furrowed slightly. She was straddling the line between sleep and wakefulness. She thought she had heard something, something that pushed to more towards being awake than asleep. She stubbornly kept her eyes closed; it would not take much to firmly plant her feet in the land of sleep.

'Sakura!' A voice roared in her head; it was frantic, uncontrolled, wild. It was the likes of which she had never heard before.

Sakura's eyes snapped open.

A/N: Hope it was worth the wait. Things are about to get every exciting!