Author's note: Here I am with the second part! Didn't get as much writing done as I had hoped, but at least this story is finished now.

Thanks to the following reviewers: 666snoopy; ankwhat; Misabeth; leighd1314; TheBeauty; Iraheta 127; sasunaru1214; Luna12297; Kiyone Iwa; Nellana; AviT; richon

Warnings: References to MPreg; references to mature content; dual pov

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like this!


Part 2

It took a bit before they figured out how exactly they would approach this mission. Shadowing Naruto was out of the question; even if he himself wouldn't notice it, there was no way the Kyuubi wouldn't catch on to them following. There were plenty enough stories of enemies failing to have the drop on Naruto simply because the Kyuubi had noticed their presence before they could even strike.

So trying to follow Naruto was out of the question, but they could hardly wait for Lady Luck to give them a hand and have them happen to be around when Naruto or someone else would do or say something that proved he was pregnant. Ino could already count herself to be very fortunate that she had happened to be around during those previous situations. Their only option was to plant bugs – literally.

"I didn't know this was something your family could do, Shino," Tenten piped up amazed.

"Hm, we don't really advertise our jutsu," Shino murmured as he placed the jutsu on each of his bugs that would allow them to record everything they saw and heard.

It was quite the nifty jutsu even though Ino hated all sorts of bugs and it explained why the Aburame clan excelled at infiltration missions. With bugs everywhere, nobody would expect some of them to actually infiltrate and record whatever they heard and saw. One could hardly be suspicious of every bug they saw after all.

"And they will record everything?" Ino asked for confirmation. "And they'll know who to follow?"

"They will record everything and they know to follow Naruto," Shino confirmed and with a simple wave of his hand he sent the bugs away.

They spread out their small, shiny wings and with a low buzzing noise they rose up in the air, pausing for a couple of seconds before they flew away, quickly disappearing out of sight.

"How will we see the recording exactly?" Kiba asked curiously, resting his chin on top of Akamaru's head.

"By allowing the bugs to rest against your skin. The chakra within them will connect to yours and you will be able to see and hear the recording through that," Shino explained.

Ino couldn't really hide her grimace and neither could Tenten. Even Neji looked a bit perturbed at the fact that they would have to allow a bug to sit on them. Kiba merely looked thoughtful while Shikamaru looked as bored as ever; Ino doubted there was much that could really disturb the lazy genius, but she thought a bug sharing chakra with you should count as at least a bit unnerving!

"Well, if we get the final proof thanks to them, I guess it's a small price to pay," Ino muttered and rubbed her left arm, shuddering at the phantom sensation of having a bug resting on her skin.

Eugh, she really wasn't looking forward to that part, but if it meant actually having true evidence, she supposed she would just have to put up with it.


They were all busy with the respective missions throughout the following week, but it didn't escape Ino's attention that Naruto still had yet to receive a mission that was above a level D. For someone who had apparently made such a fuss about it back when they had first started out as shinobi – Sakura had complained about Naruto's rudeness when Ino had encountered her afterwards – it was really remarkable that Naruto wasn't arguing to receive more dangerous missions. Especially considering he and Sasuke were part of the ANBU and as such were often sent out to deal with the most dangerous of enemies.

That alone, even without a recording yet, reaffirmed her belief that Naruto had to be expecting a baby. Why else would he acquiesce to doing only level D missions if nothing was amiss? If he was expecting a baby, however, of course he wouldn't be sent on dangerous missions anymore. Even with how freakishly strong Naruto was, something bad could always happen during a mission, more so if those were level A or S, and those missions wouldn't be a good environment for someone who was expecting.

It made her wonder how far along Naruto already was. It couldn't be that long yet, considering he had yet to show – or at least was not showing obviously through his clothes yet – but obviously already far enough that the pregnancy had registered. Man, just the thought of how adorable a kid of him and Sasuke would be had her nearly squealing in delight. Both men were really good-looking, so a kid with genes of the both of them? Yeah, that was going to be one hell of an adorable baby and later on, would be a really handsome guy or a very pretty girl, no doubt about that!

It took them all two weeks, but eventually they could all agree on a moment that they were all available on in order to watch the recordings.

Friday evening saw them all gathered in Tenten's dojo, having finished a quick dinner. Sakura had a late shift at the hospital today, so Ino wouldn't have to worry about her pink haired friend suddenly showing up and wondering why they were together here. As long as they didn't have definite proof, she preferred to keep her friend oblivious – clearly Naruto and Sasuke felt the same way, because if they had informed Sakura about the baby, no doubt Ino's door would have been long kicked in already.

"All right, did they manage to follow him the whole time?" Ino asked curiously as they sat down in a circle on the mat.

"Every time he was out," Shino confirmed. With a soft tap of his hand against the mat, a small group of bugs appeared out of nowhere and descended on the back of his hand. "I will direct them to each of you. Please do not be alarmed when they connect their chakra with yours."

Reflexively Ino closed her eyes when the metallic looking bug landed squarely on her forehead. Its tiny legs, barely thicker than a needle point, tickled her forehead as it settled itself; the buzzing noise it had emitted until now fading away to a very low hum instead. She felt something reaching out to her chakra next. It was barely present and she only noticed it because she was concentrating on it. As soon as the bug latched onto her chakra it was as if a screen popped up in her mind.

The image that was produced next was fuzzy at first, rather static, and reminded her of the old television her grandparents insisted still worked perfectly fine. She didn't know whether opening her eyes would ruin the chakra connection, so she kept them firmly closed, aware of the others' breathing until that faded away, replaced by a disembodied sound she started to pick up.

The image cleared up and she inhaled sharply in surprise when it showed Naruto, walking alongside Sasuke's cousin Shisui.

"This just fucking sucks," Naruto grumbled, linking his hands behind his head. "I can carry a damn bag, you know."

"I'm aware," Shisui replied dryly before his tone grew soothingly, "but you know why it's better if we carry heavy bags like these for now."

"I still think it's stupid," Naruto insisted and scowled at him. "One heavy bag won't kill me!"

"It won't be for that long," Shisui attempted to assure him, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Long enough for my liking. The fluffy bastard thinks it's hilarious," Naruto said darkly. "Can't even kick his butt because I'm not supposed to exert myself!"

"You can always ask one of us to run interference," Shisui smirked, clearly referencing to their Sharingan.

The image turned black when Naruto and Shisui entered the main house in the Uchiha compound. Ino figured that Shino probably hadn't wanted to risk making any of the Uchiha suspicious if a bunch of insects followed the two of them inside. It didn't take long for the next scene to appear.

Sasuke and Naruto sat underneath a tree on a blanket. They were either in some kind of field or in a garden that was allowed to grow wild, because the grass wasn't that short and plenty of wildflowers dotted the space around them.

"Come on, we might as well synch our chakra now," Sasuke suggested and sat up a bit straighter, before resting his palm against Naruto's stomach. A concentrated look appeared on his face and then his hand started to glow a very faint purple.

"You know, we could have done this inside as well," Naruto remarked, glancing down at the hand before he looked at Sasuke and grinned. "Like your bedroom for example."

"As if you would have kept it to just connecting our chakra then," Sasuke snorted.

"Oh please, don't act like you don't like fucking me," Naruto scoffed and leant back on his hands, humming when Sasuke's hand slowly drifted up and down. "Just saying, a bed would be more comfortable than the ground."

"Odd, you didn't have the same reservations when you begged me to fuck you in the woods last week," Sasuke smirked; his black eyes glinting.

"I did not beg, you bastard," Naruto pouted petulantly. "And while I really don't want to make your ego even more inflated than it already is, it pains me to admit that it had been a while and I was tired of waiting, all right?" His face grew as red as a tomato.

"Hm, let us act responsible for a little longer and then we'll go to my room," Sasuke suggested; the glow around his hand intensifying slightly. "I'm nearly finished, promise."

"Well, there is nobody around, is there?" Naruto grinned mischievously and swiftly turned around, straddling Sasuke's lap before the other man could properly react.

Ino thought she could hear Kiba breathe out a strangled "Thank fuck" when the scene faded into black once more; the bugs having decided that they had done enough recording for that day apparently. Ino had no idea what exactly to think of the conversation between Sasuke and Naruto, except that apparently her friends were a lot more kinky than she had given them credit for. Huh, who knew? Well, they knew now or at least had a general idea of it thanks to the insects.

The image flickered several times now, quickly flipping through scenes of Naruto doing a couple of D missions, him eating at one of the local restaurants with his parents, walking home with Sasuke, meeting Sasuke's parents and his brother at their home until it slowed down, showing the kitchen in what Ino thought was the Hokage's home.

Naruto dropped down on one of the kitchen chairs with a forlorn look darkening his face. "Couldn't eat ramen again," he announced sadly. "This time even the smell set me off."

Kushina turned away from the counter with a sympathetic smile. "You tried again, huh?"

"It's been too long since I last had ramen, ma!" he complained, crossing his arms on top of the table and resting his chin on them. "I thought for sure that I could eat it this time, because I have been feeling better, but nope!"

"That's just bad luck, I'm afraid," she sighed and sat down at the table as well, ruffling his hair. "I know how you feel, it really sucks when you can't eat what you want."

"Of all the things, though, why did it have to be ramen that I can't stomach now?" he whined. "This is so unfair! And that furry arsehole just keeps laughing at me, even though he's partly the reason why I'm in this mess!"

"Yes, well, Kyuubi has always had an odd sense of humour," she snorted. "Not much that can be done about that, sorry."

The scene abruptly cut off, but not before Ino picked up the sound of a door opening. She presumed Minato might have arrived home at that moment and with how sensitive he was to his surroundings, no doubt the bugs had decided they were better off being somewhere else. That was a bit of a shame, because the conversation had started to become quite interesting.

Ino didn't get much time to mourn the cut off conversation, however, because the image already settled on the next scene deemed worthy enough to be shown.

"God, I feel like shit," Naruto groaned and pushed himself away from the toilet, slumping against the wall next to it.

There was an open window right above him and he tilted his head towards it in search of a breeze.

Sasuke was with him, rubbing his lower back soothingly. He stood up and retrieved a glass from the sink, filling it with tap water before he crouched down and held it out to Naruto.

"At least you didn't end up puking that much this time," Sasuke remarked as Naruto took slow sips before standing up on shaky legs and using the rest of the water to rinse his mouth, spitting it out in the sink.

"That's not really the comfort you think it is, bastard," Naruto muttered and placed the glass on the edge of the sink before turning the tap open and splashing water all over his face.

"It shouldn't be too long anymore, right?" Sasuke said and rose up as well, coming to stand behind Naruto to wrap his arms around his waist.

"The old hag says this should be over soon," Naruto confirmed and blinked the water out of his eyes, shaking his head a bit. "But she also didn't want to give an actual estimate, so who knows? She might have just said that to get me to shut up."

"Naruto, you okay?" Itachi's voice floated from somewhere in the corridor, right outside the room.

There were a couple of other scenes the bugs had managed to record, mostly Naruto hanging out with the Uchiha family, teasing Itachi, or helping his dad out with his paperwork, but nothing that really stood out in particular.

The bug seemed to think so as well, because the connection between its chakra and Ino's suddenly broke off and the bug flew away. When she opened her eyes, she caught it flying back to Shino, who nodded at it before the insect spread out its metallic looking wings and disappeared from view. The other bugs did the same and soon they all sat there, staring at each other.

"Okay, does that sound like enough proof that something is really up with Naruto?" Ino demanded.

Tenten glanced at the others. "We never heard him directly refer to a baby, but honestly?" She shrugged. "It does really sound like he's expecting. I don't know what other explanation there could be for all of that."

"It still sounds incredibly inane," Neji insisted, but he couldn't offer any other explanation that would give a different view on everything they had seen and heard now.

"So, what's the plan next?" Kiba questioned, still looking a bit squeamish.

"I'd say we'll confront them directly," Ino stated. "We have to let them know we're totally okay with their baby and - "

"We are?" Neji muttered.

"That they can count on us for any help they might need," she finished, ignoring the interruption.

Neji could grumble all he wanted; everyone knew he had a soft spot for Naruto ever since the latter had beaten the shit out of him during the Chuunin exam. Boys, Ino would never understand them.

"I still think we're missing something here," Shikamaru sighed and raised his hands when Ino whipped her head towards him. "But fine, we might as well go ask them directly. We'll know for sure then."

All this evidence still wasn't enough for him? Ino snorted and pushed herself off the floor. Well, whatever, once they tracked down either Sasuke or Naruto or both, they would get the official confirmation of what they had expected to be true for more than two weeks now.


"I found them!" Tenten announced, gesturing at a couple walking further down the street.

Ino rose up on her tiptoes to take a proper look and grinned when yes, that were indeed Sasuke and Naruto! They might have just left a restaurant or so, because why else would they still be outside this late? At least they had found them relatively quickly! With how excited Ino was to hear her suspicions confirmed, she didn't know if she could have waited until tomorrow to confront them.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" she called out, beckoning the others to follow her.

Naruto was the first one to turn around and he shot them a surprised smile. "Hey, guys, got back from a mission or so?"

"No, we just had dinner together, that's all," Ino answered and clasped her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forwards, ignoring the way Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. "Say, you two know you can tell us everything, right?"

"Sure," Naruto smiled bemused and idly swung Sasuke's hand back and forth. "What brought this on?"

"And you know we won't ever judge you," she continued.

They all ignored Neji mumbling, "I don't know about that."

"I guess." Naruto tilted his head to the left, shooting Sasuke a quick glance before he focused back on their group. "What's got into you, Ino-chan?"

"We know about it," she said meaningfully.

Tenten cleared her throat. "Well, more like we assume we know about it. We don't have any actual confirmation."

"Confirmation about what?" Sasuke asked flatly.

Ino drew closer, not wanting any passerby to overhear them. Best not to let a stranger know just yet that the Jinchuuriki of Konoha was expecting a baby. "About the baby, of course!"

"Well, that is certainly blunt enough," Shikamaru muttered.

Sasuke's eyes widened while Naruto actually gaped at them.

"THE WHAT?" he exclaimed, looking affronted when Ino shushed him with her hands.

"Not so loud!" she chided. "We're talking about your baby, what else?"

To her utter bewilderment Naruto whirled around and poked Sasuke in his chest. "You got something you need to tell me, bastard?"

"You know I could ask the same of you," Sasuke scoffed and grasped his finger, squeezing it before releasing it. "How much sake did you drink?" That question was directed at their little group and this time it was Ino who grew offended.

"We didn't drink anything! Come on, no need to keep being secretive about it; we picked up on the clues!"

"And what clues are those exactly?" Sasuke asked sceptically while Naruto still stood there flabbergasted for some reason.

"We know Naruto can't eat ramen anymore without feeling sick; he also hasn't taken on any missions higher than level D these past couple of weeks; I've seen you two in the baby store and we've overheard Naruto complaining that he isn't allowed to carry anything heavy anymore," Ino rattled off and crossed her arms. "So fess up: why didn't you say anything yet?"

"We didn't say anything, because there is nothing to say," Sasuke said bluntly. "You've got an overactive imagination, that's what you got."

"Oh, I do, do I?" She scowled at him. "So how do you explain all that then? Don't tell me Naruto is suddenly happy with low level missions!"

"Oh my god, you got it all wrong!" Naruto burst out and waved one hand in the air. He laughed then, shaking his head. "I'm not having a baby – why do you even think I would be the one to carry one, the hell? – my chakra is just fucked up at the moment!"

"How did that happen?" Shikamaru questioned, frowning.

"During our latest mission, one of the guys we had to take down was apparently quite well-versed in messing with someone's chakra," Naruto said sourly; his face darkening. "I took him down, but he managed to get me anyway. My chakra is basically out of whack now and because it can act up in this way, I can't do anything that might be considered 'stressful'," he said mockingly.

"But the nausea?" Ino spluttered, taking completely off guard. There was no baby? How the fuck?

"Just another lovely side-effect of this attack," Naruto answered, glowering. "Sasuke and my parents had to connect their chakra with me several times just to set everything straight again. Because my chakra was so badly out of synch, I couldn't always eat what I wanted." He perked up. "But I'm getting better now, though! Baa-chan says I should be good to go in just one more week!"

"So no baby?" Ino asked incredulously.

"No baby," Naruto said and smiled crookedly. "But I suppose it's nice that you would have been so supportive of us anyway in that case! Hey, why the long face?"

"Eugh, I had thought I could babysit your cut kid and maybe even become its godmother!" Ino said upset and sighed heavily. "I can't believe it was just your chakra messing up! How do you even manage that?"

"By being stupid," Sasuke said dryly.

"Oh fuck off," Naruto said good-naturedly and slapped Sasuke's arm. "Sorry, guys, no baby here."

"Wait, what about the baby store then?" Tenten asked puzzled.

"Oh, we were looking around because one of Sasuke's cousins, you might know her, Izumi? Yeah, she's pregnant," Naruto explained brightly. "We went into the store to see if we can buy something for her as a surprise."

"Oh my god, all those clues and we were still wrong," Ino bemoaned; her shoulders slumping.

Shikamaru patted her back. "Well, messed up chakra was not something either of us could have guessed," he awkwardly comforted her.

"Sorry, no baby here," Naruto laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "But erm, glad to hear you would have accepted it?"

Well, this mission was a serious bust, god damn it.


Naruto watched their friends disappear into the crowd, Ino still carrying a dejected look. "Our friends have some weird assumptions," he said aloud.

"Hn, guess they meant well," Sasuke muttered and tugged at his wrist, a silent sign to start walking again.

"Would that even be possible?" Naruto asked puzzled.

"What?"

"Me and you having a baby," Naruto clarified and started swinging their clasped hands again. "How would that even work?"

"I don't know, I never thought about it," Sasuke huffed, though the tips of his ears turned slightly pink. "Maybe that ridiculous jutsu of yours?"

"My Sexy-no-Jutsu isn't ridiculous, bastard!" Naruto smacked his shoulder.

"The fact that you know immediately what I'm talking about says enough, no?" Sasuke smirked like the absolute bastard he was.

"Well, obviously you don't consider it that ridiculous if you think that would help getting a baby!" Naruto shot back.

"Why are we even talking about this?" Sasuke wondered.

"They started it!"

"Doesn't mean you have to finish it," Sasuke retorted. "Now come on, my house is empty; they're all gone for the weekend."

Naruto grinned, pressing himself against Sasuke's side, forcing him to stop walking. "Want to practice having a baby?" he teased and laughed when hands firmly clamped down around his waist and he was pressed against a wall before a pair of hungry lips swallowed his laughter.

There was definitely no baby and Naruto had no idea how that would even work, but hey, practice was always good, no? Lots and lots of practice!

The End


AN2: No cute Uchiha-Uzumaki baby - for now XD

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in my future stories! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

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