Naruko's hair undergoes a transformation in this chapter, and with that in mind, I'm not trying to copy the Mermaid Melody-anime, or any fanfictions where these things have happened.
Naruko closed the front door of her apartment, and leaned on it with her back, then ran through the front door of her apartment to sit on the floor of her apartment's lobby. She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them, and pressed her head against her knees, almost on the verge of crying.
Naruko and her group had just returned to Konoha after successfully completing a mission, but after watching Sasuke, and Sakura go to Sasuke's house together, Naruko had felt like an outsider. He had felt that way ever since Sasuke, and Sakura had started dating. Along with the exterior, he had even felt envy.
"I shouldn't feel this way, they are my friends, but for some reason I just can't be happy for them", Naruko thought. He couldn't help it though, so he had avoided Sasuke and Sakura's company as best he could.
Naruko had loved Sasuke since she was little, so it was completely understandable that she was jealous to see her crush with another woman. The situation was not improved at all by the fact that the woman in question was Naruko's best friend, who on top of that knew Naruko loved Sasuke. That's why Naruko felt betrayed. In a way, Naruko wanted to hate Sasuke, and Sakura because they didn't seem to notice Naruko's feelings, or care about them at all.
"They never seemed to care about my feelings, or if they did, their way of showing it was quite rude. Now that I think about it, they've been treating me like a doormat lately. They even underestimated me before. In that sense, I probably wouldn't need to spend my free time with them, or even care about their feelings. But even so, I don't want to cause them trouble. You wouldn't want to see your father with another woman either, would you? You are my very own secret", Naruko thought as she lightly touched her stomach with her right hand as she looked up from her knees and then looked down at her stomach.
Naruko had had a special situation with Sasuke one night 4 months ago before Sasuke and Sakura started dating and Naruko hadn't told Sasuke anything about the results of that night. And Naruko wasn't going to tell, lest she spoil the relationship between her friends. And after the birth of her child, Naruko's dream of her own family would finally come true. In that sense, he didn't want to ruin his friends' relationship because he valued his friends very much, and he would be grateful to Sasuke because Sasuke had unknowingly helped Naruko realize Naruko's biggest dream.
(Flashback)
Naruko was shopping, and walked out of the clothing store when she saw Sasuke and Sakura coming up.
As soon as Sasuke and Sakura saw Naruko, they grabbed each other's hands.
"Morning, Naruko. Have you seen Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked Naruko.
"Morning. I just saw him walk over there", Naruko said pointing to the left.
"Alright. Thanks", Sakura said walking away with Sasuke.
Naruko looked at the rising sun.
(End of the flashback)
Naruko looked at her apartment standing up. He had cleaned his apartment carefully this morning, and covered all the furniture with sheets so they wouldn't get dusty during his absence.
"I really need a vacation", Naruko muttered taking a backpack from a nearby shelf and placing it on her back. He then looked at the Team 7 photo on his nightstand. She cried a little, but quickly wiped her tears away, and turned the photo face down on the table.
Naruko looked at her apartment again. This apartment had been quiet for as long as he could remember, but one day there would be two people talking here. He didn't know exactly when he would return to Konoha yet, but he planned to return to Konoha one day. Yes. He would return to Konoha one day with his child.
Naruko opened and closed the front door of her apartment behind her, locking it with the key she placed in the envelope she sealed with a piece of tape she took from her pocket.
Naruko walked towards Iruka's apartment, and put the envelope in the mail slot of the front door of Iruka's apartment.
"I'll see you later Iruka-sensei", Naruko started walking towards the Hokage's tower, and when she got there she knocked on Tsunade's office door.
"Come in", Tsunade said, and Naruko opened the door, and went in, closing the door behind her.
"What now?" Tsunade asked after seeing Naruko's backpack.
"Could I go on vacation for a while, Tsunade… -sama?" Naruko asked. He had been on the verge of saying baa-chan, but finally changed it to Tsunade-sama. At some point, she would become a mother who would have to set a good example for her child.
"For a vacation? Is that your request because of your baby?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes, because I don't want to ruin Sasuke, and Sakura's relationship, because Sasuke is the father of my child but he doesn't know it. I don't want to ruin my friends' relationship, and they hardly even notice that I went on vacation", Naruko said. He felt jealous of his friends again, but now it was stronger than before. Surprisingly, Naruko's hair turned black due to the effect of the envious chakra within her chakra.
"Good grief!" Tsunade said surprised. He stood up, and walked in front of Naruko, probing Naruko with his chakra. "You're fine, but your chakra got mixed up, your jealous chakra turned your hair black".
"Maybe this is just better, because if the baby has black hair too, then he won't be surprised by the different colors of our hair when he grows up", Naruko removed the buns from her hair, letting her hair flow down her back. He put the hair buns in his pocket.
"Fine. You can go on vacation. How is your vacation?" Tsunade asked.
"I will first travel to explore the ruins of Uzuchiocakure, and then continue traveling. I don't know exactly when I will return to Konoha, but I will return here one day. You won't tell anyone the reason I left, or about the baby?" Naruko asked. "If Iruka-sensei asks about me, tell him I'm on vacation so he doesn't worry too much, because he's like a big brother to me".
"Alright. I'll see you again", Tsunade hugged Naruko, sealing Naruko at the same time. The seal in question would tell Tsunade about Naruko's location, and at the same time inform Tsunade about Naruko's delivery so that Tsunade would know to prepare for Naruko's birth. "Thanks to that seal, I know your location, and the start of your labor, so I know how to prepare to help you when your labor starts".
Tsunade sat down at the table, and started writing 2 scrolls, one of which she gave to Naruko, putting the Hokage's seal on both scrolls.
"Here is a scroll containing information about your vacation", Tsunade handed the scroll to Naruko:
"I'm giving Uzumaki Naruko permission to go on vacation for a while, during which she will research her clan's history, while she explores her clan's old settlement, while investigating Konoha's security for outside threats, and report directly to me".
"Thank you very much", Naruko said after reading the scroll, and placed it in her equipment bag. He then gave Tsunade a small bow, then stood up to his full height. "See you sometime".
Naruko walked towards Tsunade's office opening the door and closing the door behind her. He then started walking towards Konoha's main gate starting from the village.
"So you ended up with this solution", Kakashi thought as he stood in one of Konoha's side alleys, while looking at Naruko walking away from Konoha. Of course, Kakashi had a small guess as to why Naruko had come to that decision, but Kakashi didn't want to seem too intrusive by asking Naruko about it directly.
Kakashi knew all the members of Team 7 well enough to know what their personalities were like. Because of that, he knew that despite her cheerful, outgoing nature, Naruko's former, lonely past had started to creep into Naruko's mind ever since she had found out that Sasuke and Sakura were dating. Naruko had tried to pretend that this matter didn't bother Naruko in any way, but despite that, Kakashi noticed that Naruko's behavior had changed, and Kakashi had suspected that ever since Naruko had started to distance herself from Sasuke and Sakura.
"I hope you'll be fine", Kakashi thought, looking at Naruko, and then at the moon that had just risen into the sky.
Kakashi was of course surprised to see just now that Naruko's hair was now black, as it had been blonde this morning, and during today's mission. Naruko's hair had been blond even when Naruko had entered the Hokage's tower, but when Naruko had come out of the Hokage's tower, her hair had been black, so Kakashi believed that the Hokage might know the reason why Naruko's hair was now black, so Kakashi decided that at some point he could ask the Hokage about the transformation-thing about Naruko's hair.