~Emiko POV~
It's been two weeks since Lord Third's death. Everyone in the village has been working together to rebuild areas that suffered the most damage. It's been a slow process, but things have been slowly coming back together. Kashi reintroduced me to Master Jiraiya, or as Naruto called him Pervy Sage. I could tell it hurt that I didn't remember him, but he tried his best to play it off. But I've seen that look often enough now to know he was upset. While he and Naruto went to look for the Leaf's new Hokage, Kakashi promised him he would try his best to help me remember who he was. I wasn't too keen on Naruto leaving the village with someone I didn't remember, but Kashi assured me over and over that Master Jiraiya would protect Naruto. All I could do was trust my husband and watch as the little boy I raised as an infant walk out the village gates with this person I didn't remember.
It was hard.
But I understood why he needed to go.
I just wish that while everyone else was helping rebuild the village, I could do something to help. Even Kashi was helping more. Granted he wasn't too thrilled about leaving me while he did patrols around the gates. But he understood the village was on high alert and every Chunin and Jounin was needed to protect the village.
All but me of course.
No, here I was, stuck at home, staring at the fourth pregnancy test I took. All telling me positive.
"Oh, Kashi is not going to be happy." I sighed blowing air out my mouth. But I couldn't help but laugh at the deja vu.
And I just kind of sat there, on the bathroom floor, staring at all four of those tests for what seemed like forever. I was petrified, honestly. With all that's been happening, the village being attacked, being attacked at home, the Hokage dying, all I could do is think the worst. That I'd have yet another miscarriage, or something else would happen to prevent this baby from joining Kakashi and I. Another baby we would lose. The fifth baby, to be exact.
But at the same time, a little sliver inside of me was hopeful. Hopeful that maybe the universe will show mercy on us. That after all of the grief Kakashi and I had gone through, the universe will finally give us that one ray of sunshine we desperately wanted. And as much as I tried not to be, I couldn't help but be excited. Excited to have my own little bundle of joy. A small little version of me and Kakashi running around the house. Someone who would live in that little nursery that we built out of a closet.
Now for the hard part.
Telling him.
I heard the door open and close downstairs followed by Kashi's voice announcing he was home. I pushed the jittery feeling down and grabbed the pregnancy tests as I got back up. Looking down at the little plus signs again, I sighed and placed them into my pants pocket.
"Emi?"
"In here." I said leaning into the mirror with a sigh.
'Just tell him. Just rip it off like a band aide and tell him. You already know he's going to freak out, so just get it over with.' I thought to myself.
The light knock on the door, tore my gaze away from my reflection. The door opened and he peaked his head inside, giving me a soft smile.
"You okay?"
I nodded returning the smile. "Just finishing getting ready." I lied.
He raised an eye brow, blowing air out his nose as a chuckle. "Emi, when are you going to learn that you can't lie?" He chuckled under his breath.
I chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, I don't know why I even bother."
"So are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or am I going to have to drag it out of you?" He said playfully.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, my one hand gripping the tests. "Can just just promise not to freak out?" I asked scrunching my face, knowing full well me saying that is only going to stress him out more.
And as I suspected, he already started to internally freak. Anyone else would have easily missed it, but I know better. His eye brows do this small twitch and his stance will shift. Something so small that easily could have been mistaken as nothing.
"Okay." He said letting a breath out.
I hesitated for a moment, trying to find the best way to say it.
'Just say it. Rip it off like a band aide.'
"Emi, you can't tell me not to freak out and then not say anything." He chuckled nervously.
"I'm pregnant." I blurted out.
He blinked a few times, both of his eyes wide in surprise. He almost seemed frozen though. As the seconds seemed to slowly tick by he didn't respond. He didn't even move. Which honestly made me nervous. I knew he wasn't going to be thrilled but I didn't think he would be like this.
"Kashi?" I said breaking the silence, tilting my head slightly.
He let a breath out of his nose, and nodded his head. "Huh? Sorry, I -uh- are you sure?"
I pulled the tests out of my pocket and put them on the counter for him to see. "I mean, it's possible they're all false positive's, I suppose. But I don't think so."
He leaned over, looking at the tests. His rans ran through his hair, slightly gripping them. "I'm not going to lie, Emi, I'm fucking scared right now." He said not taking his eyes off the tests. "With everything happening in the village, Orochimaru still going after you and Sasuke -"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Orochimaru?"
He closed his eyes with a sigh, his shoulders tense realizing he just said something that he probably shouldn't have. "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry." He sighed turning to me.
"Who is Orochimaru? And why are they after Sasuke? Was that what that mark on his neck was?"
"Can we come back to that? Please. I'm still stuck on the you being pregnant part, and trying to figure out how I'm going to keep you two safe."
"Well, how did you do it before?"
He looked at me confused. "What?"
"The previous times we were pregnant, how did you handle it?"
He blinked a few times as if he was trying to understand what I just asked him. "That was different, Emi. There weren't people actively looking for you."
"That you know of." His eyes widened slightly as if he was taken aback by what I said. "You know, I'm right. If this Orochimaru person is the one who took me, who's to say he wasn't actively trying to before. Or that anyone else wasn't? I'm sure word got around that you were romantically with someone back in your ANBU days. The legendary Kakashi of the Sharingan with a girl friend and a two year old adopted son who happens to be the nine tails jinchuriki. Who's to say one of them weren't -"
"I made sure none of them escaped, let alone lived." He said sternly interrupting me.
"Regardless, Kashi. I understand you're nervous, I am too. How do you think I feel? I use to be able to defend myself, and now I'll be lucky if I can throw a kunai straight. I'm petrified. And I know if we had known this was going to happen we probably wouldn't be here right now. But here we are."
He sighed and took my hands in his giving them a small squeeze. "I'm sorry. I will - I will try not to worry as much. But I hope you understand my hesitation with this."
I nodded my head. "No I understand. But hey, who knows? Maybe fifth time will be the charm." I said lightheartedly.
He rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a sigh. "You and your jokes, I swear."
"Sorry, I can't help it." I chuckled under my breath.
"You realize I'm going to become overly protective of you, right?"
"I expect nothing less from you, Kashi." I said pulling his mask down and giving him a kiss.
~*~
Kashi had to go back on patrol, so instead of sitting at home alone I decided to go out on a walk. The summer breeze blowing through my hair, and the sun's rays hitting my face as I looked up towards the clouds. It was actually really nice out side. It actually reminded me of days that Kakashi and I would go on picnics back when were dating. Just the two of us in a secluded area so he could eat freely without prying eyes. Each of us with a book in hand as we enjoyed the silence together. Either his head would be in my lap, or my legs out be in his as I laid on my back. Days that we would bring Naruto with us were a bit more chaotic, but they were good memories none the less.
My shoulder bumped against someone, taking me back slightly. As I stumble back slightly I turned to the person I bumped into with an apologetic bow.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
I had to say their choice in ensemble was . . . questionable. A black cloak in the middle of summer? I mean, the straw hat I understood. But unless that cloak had some ice stashed in there, I can only imagine how hot those two are.
"That's quite alright." One said returning the bow.
As he turned to continue down the path, I couldn't help but feel like I recognized the voice.
"I-I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind me asking, but do I know you?" The two of them stopped and I noticed the taller one turn towards his partner slightly. "You see, I lost my memories a few months ago, so I'm still trying to put some pieces together. But your voice sounds familiar. I hope I don't come off as offensive."
The shorter one turned his head over his shoulder. "It's no trouble at all. You could say we new each other at one point. Do you mind me asking what happened to your memories?"
My gaze drifted towards the ground. "I actually don't know. All that I really gathered is some guy named Orochimaru kidnapped me for quite some time. I guess he injected me with some serum that affected my memories and my chakra points." I watched as his shoulders tensed slightly, his attention turning to his partner.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"I appreciate that. I'm sorry to hold you. I'll let you go back to what you were doing." I said with a smile.
"We're in no rush. If you would like to catch up more you are more than welcome to join us."
I let a breath out as a chuckle. "Maybe next time, my husband is pretty protective of me as of late."
"As he understandably should." He responded with a nod.
My eyes widened slightly and I took a step back as I saw the faint flint of red coming from under his straw hat. "I would offer congratulations, but given your history, I'm not sure if you are ready to celebrate quite yet."
"Itachi?" I gasped.
He nodded. "Hello, Emiko."
His partner turned to face me. "So this is the girl I've heard of then? Maybe we should take advantage of this then." He said with a hint of a sinister smirk.
He held his hand out in front of him as he went to take a step. "Regardless of her condition, she is not one to under estimate. Especially knowing her husband, he can't be too far away."
I quickly turned to run, but was cut off as Itachi's partner body flickered in front of me.
"I don't know, Itachi. She seems pretty weak to me. I say we kill two birds with one stone."
"Enough, Kisame. Touch her, and I assure you, you won't like the consequences." Itachi said walking up behind me. "Given your condition though, Emiko, I'd like to bring you closer to town." He said putting his hand gently on my shoulder, making me jump slightly. He gave me a soft smile and held one of his hands out for me to take. "I'm sure you don't remember, but I am not one to break a promise."
~Flashback~
The forest around me was a blur of green as I was running the fastest I probably ever ran. My simple B-Ranked mission, turned into an S-Ranked mission quick, fast and in a hurry. And as much as I would love to prove my worth and handle the mission on my own, I was severally out numbered, exhausted from the late nights with Naruto being sick, and my chakra was low. Tucking the missive securely in my pouch I turned around, focusing on the chakra in the air around me I extended my hands forward and a huge gust of wind surged past me and towards the shinobi behind me, knocking a few of them down to the ground with a hard and audible thud. I turned back around, tracing my hands along the trees as I passed them. As I passed each one their branches bent down blocking the path I was taking.
I turned just a little too late as I sensed kunai behind me. One pierced my shoulder, making me involuntarily yelp out in pain. My arm hung useless at my side as I continued to avoid the remaining kunai.
As I continued moving forward, I was surprised when I suddenly didn't sense my pursuers chakra anymore. Taking advantage of the situation I came to a stop at the next tree, sliding my back down against the trunk of the tree as I lowered my self down. I reached up to the kunai sticking out of my shoulder, flinching with a hiss before quickly ripping it out.
I jumped slightly in surprise when someone body flickered in front of me, but quickly let out a breath in relief when I saw the familiar fox kitsune mask.
"Are you okay, Emiko?" He asked kneeling in front of me looking at my injured shoulder.
"I've been better." I chuckled under my breath. "Probably not the best impression for my first mission back, huh?" I said lightheartedly.
He blew air out of his nose, shaking his head slightly, giving me the impression that he was laughing. "Kakashi always did say you had thing with jokes at the worst time." He said reaching into his pouch and pulling out a first aide kit.
I flinched as he poured peroxide on the open wound. "It's a coping mechanism." I said through clenched teeth, my fist balled up at my sides. "So is he why you're here then?"
He shook his head. "He doesn't know I'm here."
"I knew you liked me." I teased, poking his masked forehead.
"You are always there for Sasuke and I, it's the least I can do."
"I appreciate it, Itachi." I said in a hushed voice. I knew better than anyone that using an ANBU's name while they were out on missions was a big no no. All it took was one person to figure out who you really were before they went out of their way to find who your family and friends were. That was one of the first things Kakashi openly talked about with me when we first started dating.
"Any time, Emiko. As I said before, I see you as . . . an older sister, in a way."
"You know, I always did want a sibling. Or at least wandered what that was like. Now I have two little brothers." I said with a closed eyed smile.
He shook his head as he stood up. "Come on. I'll escort you the rest of the way."
"Thanks. I don't think Kashi will be too thrilled to see my first mission back and I've already been caught in a cross fire and have to go to the hospital." I chuckled.
~End Flashback~
I looked down at his hand, taking it hesitantly.
"I'm really confused." I said softly, looking up at him.
He nodded his head. "It's understandable."
Kisame cleared his throat from behind me and Itachi looked over my shoulder toward him. "So, are we taking her or not?"
He shook his head. "I draw the line at pregnant women. You know this."
"So that's what you meant by condition." Kisame said. By the sounds of it he was smiling, but honestly I was too scared to even bother looking.
"Let's go." Itachi said ignoring his comment and pulling me close to his side as he lead me back toward town.
The walk was pretty quiet for the most part, but in the back of my head all I could think of was Kakashi telling me how Itachi was the one behind the massacre. The one who single handedly ended an entire clan. Or well, almost an entire clan. But from what I do remember of him, this wasn't something that the Itachi I knew would do. So why did he?
"Itachi." He hummed in response. "Why did you do it?" I asked softly, hoping his fish like friend wouldn't hear me.
He looked down at me, only for his gaze to quickly turn back forward. "Because I could." He said simply.
"And they say I'm a bad liar." I scoffed.
He chuckled softly under his breath.
"Were you the one that put me under the genjutsu?"
His jaw clenched and I felt his hand tighten slightly around mine. "No, Emiko. I've never put you under a genjutsu."
"Well Kashi wont like hearing that. He was convinced it was you." I said chuckling nervously.
He shook his head. "I can honestly say that it wasn't me that put you in the genjutsu."
"I don't know how I feel about you two being all buddy buddy." Kisame sneered from behind us.
"You don't need to worry about it much longer, Kisame." Itachi said pulled us to a stop.
I looked forward and saw Kurenai standing there with a man I recognize from the picture she had showed me.
"Em, I need you to come over here." She said, her voice was urgent but her attention was kept on Itachi.
His grip moved from my hand to my arm and he murmured a small apology from the tight grasp.
"Kurenai, Asuma." Itachi said simply.
Kisame chuckled under his breath. "Well it seems you're having quite the reunion Itachi."
"Let her go Itachi." The man, who I'm assuming was Asuma, said.
"Momentarily."
"Itachi?" I said softly looking up to him, but his eyes were focused in front of him. Before I knew it Asuma and Kisame broke out into a fight, and while they were fighting Kurenai tried to use a genjutsu on Itachi.
He let go of my arm for a brief moment. "Stay." He said in a tone that was almost threatening. As he weaved his hands, he quickly turned the jutsu against her, kicking her out towards the lake that was to our right. "Stay with me. I don't trust Kisame not to respect my wishes." He said grabbing my arm again.
"But Itachi, they're -"
"I'm sorry to use you like this, Emiko. But I assure you, my promise will still stand." He said as he body flickered the two of us on the water to where Kurenai was. My feet started to sink into the water and I ended up heavily leaning on Itachi to keep myself on top of the water.
"I suggest you take your hands off of my wife, now, Itachi."
I turned over my shoulder at the sound of Kashi's voice. If looks could fucking kill, Itachi would be a dead man. His headband was up, revealing his sharingan that I so rarely see outside of the house. A kunai pointed at the back of Itachi's neck. But his stance was casual, one hand in his pocket as he tried to maintain a calm demeanor, but I knew inside he was seething.
"Now why would I do that, Kakashi? You and I both know, me keeping her here will prevent you from attacking."
"I'm okay, Kashi." I assured him as his eyes briefly locked with mine.
Itachi turned toward Kisame who was holding a sword out to one of Kashi's clones. "Kisame, stop it. If you take this man on it will not be without cost. On top of that, it will take time and the commotion will just draw more shinobi here. Let's not lose sight of our goal, after all."
"What exactly is your goal?" Kashi clone asked before disappearing in a puff of smoke. But when Itachi didn't answer, Kashi pressed his kunai harder against his neck. "What is this thing you are looking for?"
"My way is more efficient than Kisame's." He said pulling a kunai out suddenly and holding it up to my neck.
I swallowed hard, my jaw clenched tight. Here I was yet again unable to defend myself. Left to be the helpless damsel in destress while I relied on everyone around me to protect me. My gaze shifted down to the water as I tried to fight back the angry tears that threatened to escape. It felt like eternity just sitting there, Itachi holding me at knife point. But the longer I stared at the water, the more visible the chakra flow in the small ripples became. In a desperate attempt I flexed my hand out by my side, focusing on the chakra beneath mine and Itachi's feet. Next thing I knew the water beneath him swallowed him, as if the chakra in his feet betrayed him. As I started sinking into the water, Kakashi quickly scooped me up and brought me back to land by Asuma.
"Are you hurt at all?" He asked giving me a quick glance over.
"No, Kashi. I'm okay. I - I'm sorry. I ran into him, but I didn't realize who he was, and -"
"Emi, it's okay. Just stay here please." He looked over to Asuma who gave him a nod in understanding before jumping back to the water with Kurenai.
~*~
"Kashi!" I screamed as he suddenly fell to his knees. As I went to run towards them Asuma grabbed me around the waist pulling me back.
"There's nothing you can do right now, Em. The only thing you can do for him now is to stay out of the way and stay safe."
"I can't just sit here while he's hurt!"
"He'll be fine."
I gritted my teeth, my fists tightly clenched to my sides. Kisame charged toward Kashi and before he could even get close enough, a blur of green dropped in front of Kashi, kicking Kisame back. I gasped slightly as Kashi started to sink in the water and held both of my hands out, focusing on the chakra in the water, I used the water to keep him afloat and used a small wave to bring him over towards me. Asuma bent over the railing and helped him over and back on to land, laying him flat on his back.
"Kashi." I whispered moving the misplaced tuffs of hair out of his face.
"You're . . . suppose . . . to . . . stay out. . . of it." He panted weakly before closing his eyes.
I looked up at Asuma with a small stream of tears in my eyes. "Kashi said I knew medical ninjutsu, h-how do I do it?"
He scratched the back of his head , his face slightly scrunched as he tried to put his words together. "I'm not really sure, Em. I never learned medical ninjutsu."
"I have to do something! I can't do nothing!"
"Emiko." I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Guy standing there, his face soft and concerned.
"Why can't I do anything? I don't understand." I sobbed, breaking to my hands and knees.
"It'll be okay. Things will start to come back with time. Just be patient a little while more." He said crouching down and scooping Kashi up. "But for now, let's get him to the hospital." I nodded somberly, wiping the tears from my face.
(A/N):
Hey! Sorry I'm being pretty inconsistent with updates. We're actually in the middle of moving now. Yay, military life! With the move and a new school year coming up I might be a bit slower with my updates. But don't worry! I'll still be posting updates whenever I finally have a moment to sit down and be at my computer lol.
In other news! I'm also in the middle of working on another book. It's another Kakashi x OC story, but this will be different since it wont be following the Main Naruto story line like at all. But if you guys were would interested in my posting that one as well just let me know!
Anyway, as always thank you for reading my fanfic! I know it's not the best and it means a lot that y'all gave it a chance. So thank you.
Till next time friends
Remember to drink water 💦
Touch some grass 🌱
And stay pervy 🤙