Critical Moments, a Naruto Fanfic, Volume 3
Author's notes: Greetings fellow fanfic reader. If this is your first time reading anything I post, welcome. If you have read my other works, welcome back. I hope this lives up to the expectations set by volume I and II. As with the prior volumes in this series, this takes place in an altered timeline due to one major divergence point. While every effort has been made to maintain continuity with the prior entries, there may be errors here and there, especially regarding time and age. As with my prior work, there will be a fair amount of adult content as almost all the major characters are age of consent at this point. I would not recommend someone under sixteen years of age read this story as a result. Otherwise, thanks for joining me, and I hope you enjoy.
Chapter One
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Naruto! Happy birthday to you!" The chorus of Mom, Dad, Konohamaru, and baby Akane nearly brought tears to Naruto's eyes as he sat at the dining room table. The cake with nineteen candles glowed brilliant in the dimmed room. "Make a wish, son!" Mom, Dad, and Konohamaru beckoned as Akane cooed on, continuing her best efforts to keep singing.
Naruto's thoughts wandered to a young medical-nin in training with silk-black hair and amethyst eyes that could bewitch even the stoutest of hearts. Wish you were here tonight, babe! Naruto blew out the candles, knowing full well the wish wouldn't come true tonight. Hinata was in her final weeks of residency, and she'd be facing her final board exam in less than two weeks. Despite pleading and begging, Hinata had been thoroughly unable to get tonight off. It's worth it; quit acting like a kid who opened his birthday presents to find only socks and underwear.
Despite best efforts, dourness remained as Dad turned the lights up. "So, what did you wish for, son?" Mom asked, resting a hand on his.
"Yeah, big brother, tell us!" Konohamaru exclaimed.
"Konohmaru," Naruto winked, "you know how they say if you tell the wish won't come true."
"It's okay," a soft tussle of his hair by unseen fingers froze Naruto in place, "I wish I could stay, love!"
The soft voice was unmistakable, "Hinata!" Naruto burst from his chair, turned, and saw her, still dressed in her white coat and black scrubs. Naruto desperately wrapped her in a hug, praying she wouldn't dissolve as a shadow clone or a figment of his imagination.
"Hey, birthday boy," she gave a gentle brush of her lips, "you didn't think I'd completely miss your birthday!" She handed him a package wrapped in simple brown tissue paper. "My break is only for a few more minutes; you'd better open it quickly."
Naruto traced his thumb under the tape securing the small parcel, and the paper gave way to a brilliant red scarf underneath. "Hinata," Naruto extracted the scarf, tracing fingers over what must have been dozens of hours of work. His eyes paused as he noticed an area where the shade of red varied slightly in an unusual pattern. "Hinata? Is this…" he couldn't finish his words.
"Yes, the same one that was destroyed all those years ago," she beamed, "I finally was able to mend it in with the new one!"
"Hinata!" Naruto hugged the scarf as tears pushed past his eyelids, "This must have taken months! You did this for me?!"
"I started just before your eighteenth birthday, bit by bit," she caressed his cheek, "I hope you like it…"
"I LOVE IT!" Naruto pulled her in and locked lips with her.
"Please, don't mind us," Konohamaru quipped.
"You're just jealous," Naruto snickered.
"Hinata," Dad handed over a thin slice of cake, "You must have at least a small one before leaving."
"All right, Lord Fourth," she took a seat next to Naruto.
"Minato," Dad replied, "it's just Minato now."
"Dad, I get the feeling it's going to be a long time before people drop that title for you," Naruto mused as he sat next to Hinata. During Pain's Assault years earlier, Dad had been critically injured, and Mom had been asked to be the Fifth Hokage. Throughout his recovery, he refused overtures to return to office. The greatest warrior of his generation, now mostly a stay-at-home dad. Naruto smirked at the thought.
"Hinata, how you feeling for the final board exam?" Mom asked.
"Nervous," she shrugged, "but also ready just to be done with it." She sighed. "Between studying with Ino and Sakura and practicing on Naruto and live patients, I'm starting to dream about being on the floor when I'm asleep."
"Dr. Nakamura tells me you're a shoe-in for the pediatrics department," Dad winked as she patted little Akane on the head. Naruto's baby sister played with her cake more than eating it, but she nevertheless seemed satisfied.
"That is one path…" Hinata's voice betrayed a level of stress. Naruto knew Hinata's mom, Akemi, was pushing her to go into obstetrics and gynecology as Akemi had done after becoming a medical-nin.
"Oh, dear," Mom spoke up, "whatever choice you make, I know your parents will be proud of you, much was we are."
"Thank you, Mom," Hinata spoke exhausted. Mom had been a second mother to Hinata most of her life, and Hinata was no longer afraid of using the term.
"So," Konohamaru spoke again, "when are you two tying the knot again?" On the last day of the Fourth Shinobi War, Hinata and Naruto had been married only for their marriage to be invalidated due to a lack of the Hokage's Seal on their marriage certificate. While both sides were all for staying married, Hinata would have been expected to produce an heir by now – derailing any hopes for her last few years in active service as a shinobi and as a medical-nin in training.
"Konohamaru!" Mom scolded.
"What?" he shrugged, "Hanabi keeps asking me; I figured I'd get the answer from the source."
"Little brother," Naruto shook his head, "it will happen when it happens."
"It's been two years now," he shot back, "You two still love each other, right?"
"Konohamaru!" Dad now spoke up. Akane began to fuss at the sudden negative turn the conversation had taken.
"It's all right," Hinata raised her hand, "Konohamaru, I still have to pass my final board, and after that…" she turned an uncertain look to Naruto, "… after that, we'll start planning things from there." Hinata's watch dinged, "Dammit," she took a quick bite of her cake, "sorry to eat and run, but I'm due back on the floor in a few minutes." She stood up and gave Naruto one last kiss, "Happy birthday! Call you later tonight!" She disappeared as she activated her Flying Thunder God Technique. What was that about? Hinata certainly gave no hint that she was planning on breaking their longstanding engagement, but Naruto detected something unusual in her behavior.
"All you have to do is ask," Nine-Tails reminded him of the chakra link Naruto shared with Hinata via the Nine-Tailed Foxes. Had he desired, he could reach out and see what was bugging her. Appreciate it, but not yet. After first discovering their link, Hinata and he had an unofficial agreement not to enter the other's thoughts without permission or some kind of emergency.
"Big brother," Konohamaru's voice became uncertain, "I didn't mean to stir things up, honest!"
"It's fine, Konohamaru," he shook his head. "I'm a bit anxious about it, too." Naruto sank back in his chair. Something has Hinata bothered, but what? Naruto went down the narrow list of things that could actually spook Hinata, and none of them sat well. Come on, the war is over. What the hell else could possible happen? Naruto mulled the though as he remembered another girl with her mother's beauty – Himawari. What else sent you back, baby girl? What else happens between now and the day I first hold you in my arms? Naruto's birthday cake sat sour in his stomach as he mulled the obstacles to the future.
The return to the hospital for Hinata meant another four hours on shift. It would be midnight by the time she got off. Midnight, worst hour of the night. As she walked back to the medical-nins' lockers, she couldn't help but question everything as of late, and Konohamaru's outburst made her question things further. She was now eighteen, nineteen in two months. As a clan leader, her status as a shinobi had been relegated to that of a reservist – a status usually for much older shinobi. While she still practiced and still regularly took part in field exercises, she had no illusions that her career as a field shinobi was over.
Hinata opened her locker, changed into her extra-padded shoes she kept for long shifts, and grabbed her medical bag. As she did, she eyed a slowly growing swatch of red fabric. While she'd just given Naruto a scarf containing the original swatch from childhood, she was making this one specially for the Rinne Festival. It would be heavier and keep him warm this winter, and it would be longer than the one she gave him at age thirteen – one suited for a man. And when I give it to you, I'll wrap both of us in it, and we'll finally have that talk about our wedding date!
"Big sister!" a familiar, energetic voice boomed from the entrance to the hospital locker room.
Hinata turned to see Hanabi, dressed in her best gold and black robes. "Hey, Hanabi, what's the occasion?"
"Brought you dinner," she held out a lunch sack.
"Thanks, but I had something resembling dinner at Naruto's birthday party just a few minutes ago," Hinata said.
"Ah, so you two haven't broken up, then!" Hanabi tilted her head aside.
"Hanabi!" Hinata gasped, "Why would you suggest anything like that!"
"Well, you have been ignoring him for the past few months!"
"Hanabi, he and I both have been busy," Hinata sighed, "So damn busy…" Hinata couldn't finish what was on her mind.
"You need to get on it, girl," Hanabi didn't let up, "or eventually he's going to call one of the numbers written on a set of panties gifted to him!" She winked, "Keep the home fires burning as the saying goes!"
"Hanabi!" The remark was inappropriate in more ways than one. Hinata knew her sister was teasing, but she wasn't wrong, either. The last year of medical-nin training and clinical rotations had been brutal, and she'd barely seen Naruto the past three months, could count on her hand how many times they'd been intimate in that same span of time. Don't forget that you haven't slept a full night together in almost a year now! The thought of him losing interest perpetually worried Hinata, even though she knew in her heart it wouldn't happen.
"Sis, I'm not saying he's going to stray, but do you really think he's going to wait forever?" Hanabi probed. "I mean, you were married. Even before that, most of the clan already accepted him as your consort."
"The prince-in-waiting," Hinata recited the nickname that had floated around the compound during Naruto's extended stay. Most of the domestic staff had floated the term expecting a surprise marriage or baby before Naruto moved out. The term had stuck ever since. "Hanabi, what's gotten into you?"
"I worry about you, sis," Hanabi shrugged, "You're tired all the time, you come in at late hours, and you seem so damn serious lately!" Hanabi's Byakugan eyes darted to the side, "I miss my sister, especially from her kick-ass days leading up to the war."
Hinata rattled the words in her mind. Two weeks, two more lousy weeks and then you can stop and breathe. Her mind wandered to Naruto. Two weeks, and you're at least taking a long weekend with him… somewhere where Hanabi and Neji can't play chaperone! The thought of all the wild, wicked things she'd do to Naruto as Dr. Hyūga raised the corner of Hinata's mouth into an involuntary smirk.
"Sis, what's up?" Hanabi had clearly caught the cue.
"Nothing, I'll just be glad when the next two weeks is through." And so will Naruto! "Aren't you late for ritual training with Mom?"
"Eh, I'm not sure I'm going to continue," Hanabi said, sounding dour.
"Oh, what's up?" Hinata tilted her head. Hanabi had been training with Mom as part of the White Kitsune – a semi-religious order – since mom reformed the order two years ago. Hanabi was slated to be one of the first apprentices to graduate next year.
"I don't know," she shrugged, "I'm just not sure it's me."
Hinata shook her head, "You're still a bit young to know what you want to do for the rest of your life, Hanabi," Hinata dipped her head, "I've been on the roller coast of being a clan heir, a plain-Jane shinobi, a clan leader, a KIB/ANBU operative, and now a medical-nin." Hinata lifted her head and smiled, "The one constant in life is change." Hinata's watch beeped incessantly, "Crap, I gotta go, see you at home later!"
"See ya, sis!" Hanabi called after as Hinata closed her locker and ran down the hall. Gloom followed Hinata as she walked to the registration desk to sign in. Hinata had begun training as a medical-nin to remain relevant beyond being a trust-fund princess. Naruto had remained an active shinobi and member of the Konoha Investigation Bureau. While both had throngs of admirers still gifting them randomly, Naruto shined brighter in the limelight than she did. Of course, you always hated being on stage; he could never get enough of it.
"Hinata, Sakura wanted to see you in her office," one of the nurses called out as she checked back in at the nurse's station.
"Thanks," she smiled as she took off to see her friend and teammate. Hinata's tired feet carried her swiftly, but she slowed as she neared the office. She looked back over her shoulder, using instincts she'd learned from her time as part of the KIB/ANBU. In spite of the hallway being clear of threats, Hinata couldn't shake the ominous sensation in her stomach. "Knock, knock," she tried to sound calm as she knocked at Sakura's door.
"Hinata, come in," Sakura looked lively, if a bit tired. "How was the party? Was he glad to see you?"
"He was over the moon," Hinata smiled, feeling warm from the memory of Naruto's surprised look when she snuck into the dining room, "and so was I!"
"And the present?"
"He actually cried he was so happy."
Sakura smiled for a brief moment. "Hinata," Sakura's expression became tight, "are you happy?"
"What do you mean?" the hairs on the back of Hinata's neck stood on end.
"I just know you and Naruto have been under a lot of pressure lately," Sakura nodded slowly, "Between work, being hounded by the press and admirers, and your relative lack of missions lately," Sakura paused, eyeing her with reluctance, "I know it can take a toll on a relationship."
"Sakura," she stared her friend deep in the green eyes, reading for something unsaid, "What aren't you telling me? Naruto and I might be a bit stressed, but we're happy!" She stared harder, "Sakura, did he say something?" Hinata's heart twisted at the thought of Naruto possibly being bored with the relationship, much less trying to end it.
"No," she shook her head, "but I found this wedged in your locker door, and it was addressed to you," Sakura extracted an envelope from her desk.
"Oh god, no!" Hinata shivered as she eyed the envelope. Same as the last one, and the one before that – plain envelope hand addressed to me, no postmark, sealed in red wax with a signet I can't identify.
"Hinata," Sakura measured her words cautious as medication, "I didn't read this, but tell me please, what is this?"
"Sakura," she sobbed, "I…"
"Is there… someone else?" Sakura tried for passive, but the accusation burned worse than rubbing alcohol in an open wound.
"Worse!" she buried her face in her hands, "Sakura, someone is sending me these letters, and I'm really starting to get the creeps from them!" Fear and embarrassment overwhelmed Hinata as she spoke.
"Letters," Sakura pointed her words as she balked, "There are more of them? How long has this been happening?" Sakura grimaced in horror. Clearly, she was expecting me to confess one of us was having an affair and not this!
"Sakura, the first one came in August, after that, two in September, and now…"
"Have you told Neji yet?" Sakura asked.
"Neji wouldn't let me leave the compound if he knew!" she protested. Her cousin-turned-adoptive-brother was also her sworn bodyguard. Back when she was a KIB agent, Hinata had to beg Neji not to expose her double life to her father. The situation made all the more embarrassing that she – leader of the Hyūga Clan, a reservist KIB/ANBU operative, and one of the great heroes of the Fourth Shinobi War – was afraid of a stalker.
"What about Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"At first, I just thought it was someone with an awkward crush," she cleared her eyes, "I can't tell you how many pairs of panties with names and phone numbers Naruto got at the Rinne Festival last year, still gets intermittently, among countless other gifts." She shrugged, "I honestly thought this guy would just go away!"
Sakura delicately broke the seal and extracted the letter, "We'll be together soon." She tilted her head.
"The first said, 'You are meant to be with me,'" Hinata peeled back the memories she'd rather forget, "After that, it was, 'You belong with me,' and the last one was, 'I'll be yours and you'll be mine.'"
"Hinata…" Sakura shook her head in disgust, "… this isn't a harmless prank! Someone is very actively stalking you, and it can't be allowed to go on! We have to tell Naruto!"
"Sakura, please don't" she shook her head in protest. Embarrassment leaked with her tears.
"Why not?" she demanded.
"Because I am this close," she pinched her fingers together, "to being done with boards and passing! He'd never let me leave the house!"
"If you were taken or hurt, he'd never forgive himself!"
"Sakura! Please!" She shook her head, "You of all people should know how unforgiving the education and licensing board is for medical-nin!"
Sakura averted her eyes, and Hinata remembered how completely burned-out Sakura and Ino had both been while training after the Chunin Exams. On several occasions, Sakura had come to Hinata in tears, ready to throw in the towel despite all the hard work already spent. "Then let me talk to Sasuke, or Itachi, or someone!" Sakura insisted.
"Sasuke?" Hinata tilted her head.
"He's a trained KIB agent, and he needs to be needed, especially at his current stage of rehab," Sakura crossed her arms.
"Sakura… I'm a trained shinobi for crying out loud!" Hinata sighed, "I'm supposed to be able to protect myself!"
"It doesn't matter, stalking is stalking!" Sakura's green eyes penetrated to the soul as she asked, "If someone were sending threatening letters to Naruto or Hanabi, would we even be having this conversation?"
The thought of either Naruto or Hanabi in danger trickled ice water down Hinata's back. Her mind wandered back to the fight with Pain, the fight with Kenji Takahashi, and when Hanabi had been taken during the Chunin Exams. "You're right," she sighed.
"Hinata, I'll talk to Sasuke tonight," Sakura nodded, "and I promise he'll be discrete."
Sasuke knew something was off the moment he walked into the convenience store. Eyes were on him the second he came in looking for a handful of simple items for a late dinner for Sakura. Ignore it, just get in and get out! As he walked down the aisle of the store, a mother took her child by the arm and guided the child to a different aisle. Other hushed conversations among patrons reminded Sasuke of his current predicament:
"So that's Sasuke Uchiha, eh? Not much to look at."
"He used to be hot, can't believe I ever had a crush on that monster!"
"I can't believe that Haruno girl still hangs with him. Boy, did she take a downgrade!"
"Too bad she keeps him around; have you seen her hips? That's one medical-nin I'd like to get an oral exam from!"
Sasuke's left hand shook, and he vice gripped his fingers to stop the quivering. Stop, breathe, and drown it out, drown it all out like Sakura taught you! He closed his eyes and breathed slowly through his nose. Eventually, the episode ended, and he was able to find the few items he needed for tonight. As he went to the checkout counter, he spotted a magazine with Lord Fifth on the front cover. Her brilliant red hair was tamed in the photo by the Hokage's headdress. Wife, Mom, Hokage!
While Kushina had always been kind, hard memories of another member of the Uzumaki clan threatened to crash over him. During his time as a captive of the Akatsuki; he'd been tortured and brainwashed by Orochimaru and Obito Uchiha. At some point, they'd had him impregnate Karin Uzumaki, fooling him into thinking it was Sakura. Sasuke had later killed her and their unborn child while under Orochimaru's influence. The events still preyed on his mind even years later, despite the fact that Karin had been part of the Akatsuki and had meant nothing to him.
"Sir, are you all right?" the checkout girl asked.
"Yes," he extracted his wallet, "sorry, long day." He paid and left, grateful to be away from other people.
He kept his head low as he walked to the commercial district, hoping to avoid other recognition. As he entered the door for Ichiraku Ramen, a booming voice greeted him, "Yo, Sasuke!" Characteristic of Naruto, he didn't grasp the fact that Sasuke was an untouchable in the village.
Sasuke sat at a booth across from Naruto. The years had been kind to his friend, especially considering how damn close to dying he'd been a few times. Had you not had your head up your ass, that could be you. "You shouldn't announce me so loudly, Naruto."
"Why not? You're my friend, and I'll be seen with you," he replied. "I won't hide from being seen with my friend, ya know!"
"I appreciate it, I really do," Sasuke nodded, "You're about the only person other than Sakura that doesn't treat me like mold growing in a petri dish."
The server delivered their order – fresh, hot ramen. "How is Sakura? I so rarely see her anymore."
"She's good…" Sasuke's voice trailed off. Honestly, he didn't know how she was. She'd been his caregiver ever since he'd been freed at the war's end. Due to the sensitive nature of his physical and mental wounds during the war, she'd become his personal physician, caregiver, and roommate. Really, is that all? Before he'd been taken, they'd also briefly been lovers.
"You don't sound convinced," Naruto leaned his head to the side.
"She… I…" he stared down at his ramen, "I don't know why she wastes her time with a fuck up like me." He shook his head.
"Sasuke, you're not a fuck-up" Naruto stared sternly, "even if you were a fuck-up, you'd be one with friends!"
"Thanks," he sighed, "happy birthday by the way." Sasuke desperately tried changing the subject, "How… how is Hinata?" Sasuke didn't know if it was a tricky subject for Naruto. Sasuke had been her partner before being captured. While the two had been close, they'd never wandered beyond being partners as part of the KIB/ANBU.
Now it was Naruto's turn to look glum, "I don't know… something is bugging her, and I can't seem to figure out what."
"Maybe all those lacy panties you've been getting in the mail are getting to her."
"They mean nothing to me," Naruto's voice rose slightly, "besides, Hinata is the only girl I want to see in lace!" Naruto's smirk hinted that he had, in fact, seen her in lace as well as out of lace.
"Uh-huh," Sasuke leaned back in his seat as he pushed back the image of his one-time partner dolled up in something skimpy from the Kunoichi's Secret. Sakura and he had only done the nasty once, before he was captured. In the wake of all the trauma of the past several years, Sasuke had never tried initiating again, and Sakura was too noble to make it an issue despite clearly wanting to. The stone in his stomach sank even harder at the though of all the things Sakura was putting off to be with him.
"Uh-huh, what?" Naruto groaned.
"You're the golden boy of the village, Naruto. Even the head of the strongest clan might get jealous if you're not putting in the time with her." He shrugged, "I'm just saying, lesser men have strayed before, and some women stray because their man doesn't put in the time." Relationship advice from a war criminal – cute.
"You think that's it?" Naruto's voice softened and became contemplative. He rubbed his chin as he spoke "I mean, she's been real busy with her medical-nin training, but I didn't want to interrupt, not with her final board exam two weeks away!"
"I'm saying it's a possibility," Sasuke corrected as he raised a finger. "For all I know she's just worried about passing, but you have been garnering a lot of attention lately – Hokage-in-waiting."
"That's a stupid term, and highly premature, ya know!" Naruto protested.
"That doesn't sound like the rival I grew up with."
Naruto placed his right hand over his heart, "Maybe, I'm not the same person you once competed with. Sasuke, I have no doubt I'll be Hokage someday, but I have no intention of waltzing in just because Mom wants to retire or anything."
"Does she?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "She easily has years if not decades left."
"Sasuke, Mom took the job in an emergency, and that emergency passed," he shrugged. "She has my sister, Konohamaru, and myself to worry about."
"And would you let that get in your way?" Sasuke asked, curious.
"I—" Naruto paused, "if it meant neglecting my family and the love of my life, yes, I think so."
"Well, you're better than my old man, then," Sasuke huffed. Father had never been attentive, even after being paraded around as a hero in the wake of the Konoha Crush, Sasuke had never commanded father's respect. It doesn't help you two haven't spoken in almost three years.
"He is paying your living expenses."
"That's not the same as being a real father, Naruto," Sasuke felt acid bite his tongue.
"Sasuke, maybe he feels like a fuck-up because of what happened to you. Did you ever think about that?" Naruto asked. "Maybe he is the one who afraid of facing you?"
"I…" Sasuke choked, "I never thought about it that way, to be honest."
"Speaking of things to think about," Naruto cleared his throat, "are you feeling ready to go on missions again?"
Sasuke sighed, "Sakura would never go for it," he shrugged. "So, what's the point?"
"What if…" Naruto searched his words, "… if she came with?"
Sasuke stared Naruto in the blue eyes, "She asked you to ask me, didn't she?"
"Actually," Naruto cleared his throat, "Itachi asked her, and she asked me to reach out to you."
"Naruto…" Sasuke's hand tightened into a fist at the mention of his brother. Itachi meant well, but part of Sasuke resented the hell out of him for placing Sasuke on borderline house arrest after trying to leave the village. In hindsight, Itachi had been right – Sasuke was quite mentally ill at the time - but being kept in the hospital and later under home care had now led to the opposite effect. Sasuke now struggled to be in the open.
"You're scared; I'd be if I'd went through what you did," Naruto tried to reassure him, "Sasuke, you want a chance to get out, not be a prisoner in the village. Maybe it's time."
"What does Sakura think?" he asked with a huff.
"Why don't you ask her, yourself?" Naruto shrugged. "She's worried she's holding you back."
"Holding me back?" he cocked up an eyebrow. "Naruto, for the love of god, she'd be the chief of medicine at the hospital now if it weren't for me!"
Naruto held up a hand to stop the train of thought, "And that doesn't matter to her! You do!" Naruto lowered his hand and offered a thin smile, "My friend, you're all that mattered to her."
Sasuke bit his lip, mulling the thought of how things had gotten to here. "Naruto, answer me this," he stared at his friend and crossed his arms, "If it came down to being Hokage or Hinata's career, which would you put first?"
"Hinata," Naruto said without hesitation.
"Heh," Sasuke chuckled, "you really have grown up, birthday boy!"
Sakura walked home by streetlamp after walking Hinata back to the Hyūga Compound. Sakura insisted they walk versus teleport, the whole time keeping her eye out for anything suggesting someone was following Hinata. While she didn't doubt her friend was telling the truth about being stalked versus having an affair, Sakura struggled to understand how anyone could leave letters in such secure, private places without being seen. Even after living with Sasuke for a few years, there were still times when she'd have a mild jump scare if he was home when she wasn't expecting him.
Now alone, the night, itself, seemed to be staring. Sakura couldn't help but feel her heart rate pick up along with her steppage as she made her way to the apartment she shared with Sasuke. She went up the stairs to the second floor and fumbled with her keys until the door opened. As expected, the apartment was dark and Sasuke was asleep on the couch. She closed the door, taking special care to secure the deadbolt and chain.
Sakura removed her shoes and carefully tiptoed across the floor despite her aching feet. Don't wake up, hon, just sleep. She reached the bedroom without him stirring. She closed the door, turned on her reading lamp, and stripped out of her outfit. Sakura carefully entered the restroom, turned on the water in the shower, and stepped under the heavenly rain of warm water.
Showering in the dark had been a necessity on nights when Sasuke slept in the bed with her – he was a light sleeper. For a long minute or two, Sakura merely held still under the water. After long nights at the hospital, this had become a necessity. Now that her normally orderly life had more problems added to it, she needed the hot rain to wash away her worries.
So distracted was she in her own world, she didn't hear the footsteps, nor did she notice the moving shadow in the dim light passing in front of her reading lamp in the next room. The shower curtain pulled aside, and her hands instinctively moved to cover her female anatomy as she prepared to scream. A hand blocked her mouth, "You'll wake the neighbors," Sasuke whispered.
Satisfied she wasn't being attacked by some pervert she nodded and hissed, "Sasuke, what the hell?"
"I thought you used to like being naked around me," he said deadpan.
Sakura looked down to realize that she was indeed, wearing nothing but raindrops and clearly visible by the light spilling in from the bedroom. He can see everything! "What… what are you doing!?" her heart jumped.
"I thought we should talk," he replied without any additional affect, "Plus, I thought you could use help washing your back." A coy dip of the head suggested he was trying to be seductive. Interesting.
"Sasuke," she stepped back, "you might as well join me." She had no idea how he'd process the invitation.
"I've never," he began removing his shirt, "had a shower with a woman," a slight smirk cracked along his deadpan face. "I do hope it's as interesting as it's made out to be," he said as he shed the rest of his outfit and stepped in, closing the curtain behind him.
Sasuke's toned silhouette blocked the light from the bedroom, once again plunging her in shadow. For a moment, she was the gawky sixteen-year-old on a mission with her boyfriend, and he'd decided to play musical sleeping bags with her. "Sasuke!" she huffed as he approached, hot water running down her body.
"Yes?" he grinned in amusement.
"What the hell brought this all up?!" for years, he'd never been this forward. Sakura had given him space, despite wanting to invade his space. For two long years, she'd been careful not to make too firm of advances.
"A certain blonde himbo," he chuckled as he took her chin in his hand, "told me my girlfriend thought she was holding me back." He guided her chin up until they were eye to eye, "I wish to dispel such misconceptions!" He guided her lips to his, and Sasuke wasted no time rushing past her defenses, his tongue plundering her mouth as desperate as their first time.
Sakura turned to clay in his arms as he pulled her to him with his right arm and his left hand massaged her back and begin kneading her ass. "Sasuke!" she threw her head back and her legs slipped apart slightly. She lived almost three years with nothing better than a good romance novel and a vibrator; Sakura's body erupted in goosebumps and millions of nerve endings fired all at once across her body.
"Yes, love?" he asked as his tongue traced along her neck, and she began going weak at the knees. His villainous left hand snuck forward across her hips until his was toying with her womanhood.
"You fiend!" she moaned as his fingers massaged her sensitive nub. Sakura now wrapped her arms around his body, hands sliding over seal-slick skin and fingernails digging into tight bands of muscle on his arm and back. His mouth began kissing and tongue began lapping down her neck, between her breasts, and to her navel. Oh god!
"I've been called worse," he toyed with her faster, sending her to the edge, "but I have a favor to ask." His tongue took over for his hand, and both hands gripped her ass, bringing her to him as he licked in an aggressive swipe.
"Anything!" she moaned as her body shivered, and she began melting in his arms.
"Can we take this to the bed?" he teased. "I feel like I'm being waterboarded down here!" Sakura's hand frantically searched the for the faucet, almost warping the mount she'd pressed it in so hard. Sasuke gave one last playful swipe of his tongue within her folds, eliciting her scream, and he assisted her out of the shower.
By now, she was so turned on it wouldn't have taken much for Sasuke to put her over the edge; she was standing atop a mountain spire and the lightest of breeze would finish what he'd started. They toweled off, lips finding one another as her hands found his erection. Damn, boy! His hands firmly rooted under her butt and lifted up, carrying her to the bed. Sakura flopped down, laying splayed open as she beckoned him to finish what he'd started, "Come and get me!"
Sasuke slithered between her legs, his manhood tracing along her inner thigh, "Let's see if I remember," he grinned, "I think it belongs here!" He entered her, and Sakura threw her head back into her pillow. As she squirmed in pleasure he chuckled, "Ah, a perfect fit!" he chuckled.
"Quit clowning!" she thundered as she pulled his upper body closer over hers, "FUCK ME! AND TELL ME I'M PRETTY!" Even Sakura was stunned by her outburst.
Sasuke thrusted deep, paralyzing her with pleasure, and he giggled, "Ok, pretty." He smirked as he drew back and thrusted home again.
"Ha… AH!" Sakura moaned as she dug her head back in her pillow and her fingernails scratched his arms and shoulders. Almost three years had not dulled his intensity nor the feelings she felt for him. Sasuke's lust went deep, and the wave washed over Sakura, as she bucked up and down, and then convulsed around his throbbing length. "AAHHH!" Cold goosebumps crawled over her skin, and her arms and legs went limp as she stared up at Sasuke, transfixed by pleasure.
Sasuke heaved several deep breaths as sweat ran down his brow. "Damn," he huffed, "that was a lot easier with two lungs!"
"You haven't lost it!" Sakura giggled in mirth. "Although you keep having this annoying habit of doing me without protection!"
"Shit!" he huffed. "I didn't… I didn't think…" he collapsed to his side.
"I'm still on the pill," she rolled to face him, "but if it's all the same, I don't want to chance explaining to your parents I've been attending to more than your mental health. What exactly brought this on?" Her head still spun from where he'd taken her.
"I'd thought…" he huffed, still winded, "…being able to have intercourse again without a panic attack would be a positive thing."
Sakura smirked, "It is, just unexpected." She rolled on her back, "And it comes at an odd time."
"Yes, Naruto talked to me about going back on missions," he rested her head on her chest. "Do you really thing I'm ready.
Sakura had no illusions about her breasts, they were nothing compared to Hinata or Ino's. As a genin and teenager, it had been a terrible source of anxiety, much as the question asked by the man resting her head on them right now. "I'm afraid…"
"So am I…" his right hand migrated to the smooth mound that was her left breast.
"…Sasuske," she heaved, trying to stay focused under the pressure of his advances, "I'm afraid, circumstances, might force the issue."
Sasuke's touch went from playful to serious, "What do you mean?" he stared with concern in his obsidian eyes.
"Sasuke… you can't tell Naruto…"
"Tell him what?" he sat up towering over her.
"Sasuke… someone is stalking Hinata."
"Stalking?" he raised an eyebrow, "She's a trained assassin, a killer of killers…"
"Sasuke," her tone was almost scolding, "Someone is leaving her suggestive, possibly threatening notes in places where no one should be able to leave them – like her locker at work."
"And, no one has seen anything?" Sasuke's expression by now was one of concern as he sat up, hand slipping from her breast.
"I had security review all footage from tonight, before I found the letter sticking out of her locker – nothing, not a damn thing out of place."
"The hospital," he sprawled out next to her, "was never exactly the best secured location."
"And yet, presumably a man has been able to sneak in and out of a busy women's locker room unnoticed at least a few times…"
"Okay," he stretched out, snaking his arms around her, "Would you prefer a clean kill, or would you like to send a message?" he asked without any sign of emotion, "And would you like answers, or would you rather he be silent."
"Answers," now she rested her head on his chest, "but preferably alive." Her fingers traced the scar where he'd been stabbed through the right lung to the scars from the emergency thoracotomy and pneumonectomy that followed that stab wound. While it hadn't been as bad as Naruto's heart trauma from the same injury, it had left Sasuke without a right lung and part of his chakra network permanently severed.
"Alive?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Hinata doesn't approve of murder, except in dire circumstances. Otherwise, you'd be dead right now."
"All right, point taken," his hand traced her spine, "we'll do it her way for now." He smirked, self-assured. Confident if nothing else. Sakura hugged their naked bodies today. Despite his assurance, Sakura couldn't help but notice unwelcome goosebumps on her skin. She didn't know why, but she had a truly odd, unpleasant sensation in the pit of her stomach. The last time she'd felt it, the world had almost ended. It's just nerves; go to sleep!
Author's notes: Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the opening chapter of this story. Due to my work schedule as of late, I probably will only be able to post every two weeks instead of weekly. If I manage to get significantly ahead of schedule, I will post early. Next chapter, we catch up with Shikamaru and Temari, there is drama in the Hokage's office, Naruto and Hinata will face even more unexpected challenges, and more. Until then, stay healthy, stay safe, and thank you again for reading!