Words: 5.9 K
Published on: 04.17.18
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"Why do I ever bother with you two?" Sakura swears into the stinking air.
"Now look what you did, bastard. You've upset Sakura-chan."
"She's not upset-"
"I kind of am."
"- and you're the one who started it."
"Ha! As if you were an innocent bystander."
"At least I am not stupid."
"Oh, you're stupid alright."
"Is anyone about to tell me how this even happened?"
"I am done saving your idiotic, featherbrained ass."
"Hello?"
"You're done saving my ass? As if!"
"Next time, I am not going to stop Sakura from strangling you."
"Now, hold on a second-"
"And I'll tell her about your 'secret' secret."
Naruto goes pale.
"What secret? ...Guys?"
"You're just lucky I haven't killed you myself."
"Not that you could kill me - but we settled that issue long ago, right?"
"Boys, I am starting to get pissed off," Sakura thinks it important to point out.
"Well, I say I let you have it."
"You wouldn't betray me like that."
"She's my girlfriend."
"And I'm your best friend."
"..."
"Right?"
"..."
"Right? Sasuke?"
"In case you idiots are missing it, there's a dead body on the floor."
"No thanks to this usuratonkachi."
"Me? How am I responsible!?"
"You ate the guy's food! Right in the middle of a watch and report detail!" Sasuke reminds, exasperated beyond belief.
"Hey, I was hungry! Very! And he shouldn't have kept it by an open window."
"How in the world did you become assassins?"
"Noble assassins," Naruto corrects. "And if there is anyone to be questioned here, its Sasuke. Ask him what he was doing when you were bathing. Go on, Sa - stop smirking, asshole. I am not talking about yesterday. You both need to reduce your volume, by the way. I can fucking hear you two as if I were in there with you." He shivers. "That's more of your sex life than I ever wanted to know."
Sakura swears under her breath while Sasuke stubbornly crosses his arms. He looks down at the corpse.
"We should figure out what to do with him.. her?"
At that, the other two members of Team 7 look down as well.
"Which is it, anyway?" wonders Sakura.
"Well, there's one sure fire way to find out," quips Naruto, looking meaningfully to her.
"What? No way! I am not going to look. Sasuke?"
"I've decided I don't want to know."
"Oh, come on! You just, you know, remove that." Naruto points south of the body. "And voila!"
Sasuke shoots him a look of disgust while Sakura adds, "And that's why you don't have a girlfriend."
"Hey! I resent that!"
But then all three fall silent and gaze upon the body.
"How are we going to explain this to Kakashi sensei this time?" Sakura breaks it with a complaint. "Honestly you two, have I not lectured you enough about restraint?"
"We were restraining. Then he made fun of Naruto's whiskers."
"And tried to get into Sasuke's pants."
"That did not happen!" sputters said man indignantly, refusing to meet the curious green eyes of his girlfriend.
"If you say so.."
"Regardless -"
POW!
"Ow! Why'd you have to hit me?"
"Why'd you have to spout nonsense?"
"Oh, as if he wasn't making all googly eyes at your pretty face. Lets face it, he - or she - was clearly into you. I can at least appreciate the dead person's taste."
"Regardless - " Sakura tries to continue.
"Which is more than what can be said for you. Fuka? Really?"
"I knew you weren't happy about that," Naruto groans. "But I swear it was the one time. And she kissed me. I didn't want to do it, man."
"Right. And next you'll tell me an albatross ran off with your clothes and your dick accidentally fell into her-"
"REGARDLESS!"
Cracks appear on the coffee table dividing it into two as Sakura's fist lands on it. The two men shiver in response, backs jarring straight. Her face quickly transforms into one that is bright as sunshine. Another shiver runs through their body.
"Fucking pregnancy hormones," Sasuke discreetly mouths, to which Naruto readily nods.
"Like I was saying-"
CRACK! THUD! THUD! SQUISH!
Silence.
"..."
"..."
"Well, ouch. His face would have felt that if he were alive."
Sakura groans in frustration. "Aw, come on!"
"Which brings us to the point that he is not alive," Sasuke holds up a finger, choosing to ignore his girlfriend's impending rambling. From experience, she calms down quicker if they aren't listening (in most cases) and is less likely to hurl the other half of the table at them. She can be fierce that way. Naruto certainly learnt it the hard way. (Sasuke later learnt he wasn't as out of the loop as he thought he was.) "And we need to figure out what to do now. His people will surely come searching for us. Or worse: Kakashi."
"We go to Kakashi sensei and tell him the truth about what happened, obviously."
"But he might fire us."
"Not to mention the earful we'll get from the old bat."
"He's not that old," defends Sakura, ever so loyal. "Still, I wonder..."
"His age is what you're curious about? What of the fucking face we have never seen? And we've known him practically our whole life!"
A contemplative silence falls as failed schemes are replayed in their minds. After a few seconds, Sasuke shakes his head. "Lets get cleaning. At least we'll be doing something right."
"Yeah."
"So guys... its a 'he', then?"
*
"Dead?"
"Yes."
"On a simple observe and report mission."
"Yes."
"How?" His lone eye narrows at the woman in the chamber. "Did you leave them unsupervised, Sakura?"
She rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "Well..."
"We discussed this," disapproves Kakashi, measuring his tone carefully as if he wants to scold her but knows better than to.
"I was hungry, Kakashi sensei. Craving tomatoes!"
Said man sighs. "A notorious scientist dead all because of tomatoes. Since when do you crave them anyway?"
"A-"
"You know what? Don't answer that."
A hand goes up. "Uh, unsupervised? I am insulted, Kakashi sensei."
"But you see the point I am making?" he says in a fit of pique. "A man is dead without a contract on his head. Again."
"He was getting on my nerves with all that hissing."
"And he insulted my wits," adds Naruto.
"And he insulted Naruto's non-existent wit," agrees Sasuke.
"Hey!"
"And tried to get in my boyfriend's pants, apparently," Sakura puts in her two cents.
Kakashi's brow raises. Sasuke shifts. "That is still in debate."
"So, you see, sensei, we didn't have a choice."
"You got into a direct confrontation with the target of an observation mission," he deadpans.
"Only because he caught us."
"How did he catch a bunch of highly trained assassins, pray tell?"
Ire radiates off the questioner, despite the (increasingly less so) calm tone. Four eyes turn in the direction of the blonde man. Kakashi's lone eye follows.
"Fine!" Naruto throws his hands up in surrender. "I may have eaten his dinner."
"You ate his dinner."
"...Yes?"
"That's it!" exclaims their boss, the bridge of patience snapping. "You three are suspended, ad interim!"
"Tch."
"Eh!?"
"What!? But Kakashi sensei!"
"No buts. Leave my office."
"Uh.. sensei?"
"You too, Sakura."
Naruto crosses his arms, turning in his radio and gun and grumbling to Sasuke, "He's just frustrated because he ain't gettin' any."
"A simple deduction," agrees Sasuke, doing the same.
"There's no need to be mean guys. It could just be that Hanare-san found his Icha Icha collection. She was cleaning yesterday, after all."
"You guys know I can hear you, right?"
"We did the world a favor killing that person and you suspend us for all our trouble," Sasuke says.
"One of you ate the target's food. It was supposed to be a stealth mission. How can it possibly go this wrong?"
"I was hungry!"
Kakashi slaps his own face.
"And who's fault is that?" Sasuke demands.
"Hm.. now that I think about it, Kakashi sensei, you've been overburdening us with difficult work lately."
"Yes! And that's why I couldn't eat. See? Its his own fault. He's suspended us for his own fault. How unfair..."
Sasuke crosses his arms. "And made my pregnant girlfriend camp outside."
"Which I'm fine with -" Sakura begins to roll her eyes.
"You're pregnant, Sakura?"
Abruptly, all conversation in the room comes to a standstill.
Sakura flushes as the man examines her from the opposite side of the desk. She isn't showing yet, but she will be soon. "Well.. I wanted to wait until your birthday to make the official announcement."
"...I see."
"Are you actually sulking, Kakashi?"
"I thought I was more special to you guys than that," he says, doing just that.
"Of course you are!" insists Sakura. "That's why we wanted to surprise you, ya big goof!"
"Oi, don't worry her, old man."
"I'm not that old," grumbles Kakashi and they collectively exhale a relieved sigh. He's fine.
"We were thinking of the best present to get you," she continues. "But nothing was going to top Naruto's." Said man grins mischievously, earning a raised brow from the silver-haired man.
"And he didn't want to save us the trouble by just adding our names to his present," Sasuke piles on.
"Gee, I feel cherished," deadpans Kakashi.
"Basically, Kakashi sensei," grins Sakura and the other two's eyes glint knowingly - even Sasuke's, which raises questions in itself, but Sakura is already talking. "We decided to name you our child's godfather."
The silver-haired leader promptly forgets how to speak and it would be rather entertaining had they themselves not been so overcome by emotion on the occasion.
"Y-you guys..." stammers he.
Sakura laughs, but her eyes are soft. "What better gift to give the man to whom we owe everything?"
His lone eye widens. The black office chair swivels to turn away from them and Kakashi performs an action that looks suspiciously like he is wiping his eyes. Then, he turns and goes around the table to gather the expecting couple in a hug. Sasuke accepts for about two seconds before pushing him off. "Old age is making you sentimental, Kakashi." But his eyes are soft too.
"Yep," he nods, smiling underneath the mask. He is not phased and too happy to bother defending his (not so old) age.
"Does this mean our suspension is cancelled?" hopefully ventures Sakura.
"Ah..." he falters. "Well.."
Sakura sighs. "Was worth a try."
Sasuke snickers.
"Come on, Naruto. I'm making the dinner tonight."
"..."
"Naru- eh?"
The blonde man is found sitting in a corner with his knees to his chest.
"Oi, Naruto," calls Sasuke. "What are you sulking for?"
"You guys left me out of the hug," he whispers, eyes on the wall.
"Are you serious?" mumbles the Uchiha.
"And we're still suspended," adds Naruto, burying his face in his knees.
"Now look what you've done, Kakashi sensei!" Sakura chides.
"I don't really think its my-"
"Forget it. Get up, dobe. Or we're leaving without you."
Naruto scoots deeper into the corner. "I knew it. You don't love me, man."
The dark-haired assassin sighs. "Not this again.." He goes and squats beside his best friend, speaking as if to a particularly sensitive child. "Sakura's making ramen especially for you and I'm going to help her. Now, would we do that if we didn't love you?"
He slowly looks up, blue eyes peeking from beneath the sleeve of his orange jacket. "I guess not..."
"Then lets go home."
Sakura walks over to join them. "I'll add extra Naruto special toppings."
Behind them, the silver-haired man mumbles under his breath, "Who would believe these three are deadly assassins?" But his eyes crinkle with pride and affection and he thinks he indeed has helped raise some good people.
*
News apparently travels a little slower than they gave it credit for, because it is not before two weeks that three of Orochimaru's people come searching for the brats who dared kill their leader. They need to be utterly careful, however. Because if someone has actually succeeded in killing him, they will be a dangerous opponent.
But revenge must happen, right?
When they find them and break through their front door guns ready, the domestic scene laid out is not one they expect. A woman (hair dyed pink, of all colors) is frozen midway between serving meals to a blonde man whose chopstick is on pause halfway to his mouth.
Its a rather prosaic scene really, for people who happen to be dangerous assassins and they almost think they have the wrong house when another man walks out from the next room. This one has raven hair and his left palm is curled around a remote controller for one of those PlayStations.
Karin immediately recognizes him. After all, he is the man she has infatuated herself with. While the other two appear to be weaklings, utterly incapable of killing Orochimaru-sama, her doubts are gone when Uchiha Sasuke appears, because she knows he is very much capable of it.
"Who the hell are you?" demands he, annoyed.
He doesn't even remember her. Typical. Karin doesn't let it faze her. "You killed lord Orochimaru."
The pink-haired woman puts down the bowl and the blonde his chopsticks. "Oh. You're the revenge guys," he says and his hand flies to the back of his head in a sheepish gesture. "Yeah, about that.. you see, it was, sort of, um, an accident. Sorry. We weren't supposed to kill him."
Suigetsu sputters. "Accident? You actually expect us to believe that?"
"Well, yeah. 'Cause its true, ya know."
Before he can reply, the pink-haired woman stomps forward and they expect her to foolishly try and attack, but she shoves Suigetsu and his partner apart and walks right past them to examine the door.
"Great," grumbles she. "Now I have to spend more money on fixing a fucking door. You couldn't just knock?" demands she, turning around.
The question is so ridiculous, Suigetsu is actually stumped.
All the while, the dark-haired one stands to the side and is carefully watching the three of them. Something about this man tells Suigetsu he is the one responsible for the death of their leader.
"Did you kill Orochimaru-sama?" he bluntly asks.
"It was an accident!" interrupts the blonde, voice bordering on exasperation and Suigetsu finds himself actually questioning if he is serious.
He is admitting to having done it, but ridiculously claiming it to be an accident. How is it even possible to kill that man by accident?
But then he carefully takes into account all three of them. Their postures aren't as tensed as they should be for people facing an enemy attack. In fact, the blonde one is eyeing the table as if he means to return to his food and the pink one who has now rejoined him has her hand on her hip, face resigned to whatever course this confrontation may take.
For the first time, the thought occurs to him that these people may be much more dangerous than they appear. The dark-haired guy is obviously the boss and the only one who currently seems to have the wherewithal to take this face-off seriously.
"You idiots have just admitted to killing Lord Orochimaru," Suigetsu calmly states, drawing his Sig Sauer out. Juugo completes the sentence for him. "And that is all we need to know."
In the second that it takes them to charge, they find themselves at the open end of two loaded guns. The dark-haired man and the woman stare them down with narrowed eyes.
"Don't even -" warns the girl, gesturing with her Glock .45 to put their weapons down. "- think about it."
The earlier calm is replaced with deadly calculation.
"So you aren't a joke after all," comments Suigetsu, now warily regarding them. He was right. They are dangerous. No one has ever beat him to his gun.
It is at this point the blonde man approaches them. "Put down your guns. All of you."
It is a polite request that has Suigetsu frowning. How is this man an assassin? To his surprise, he sees his companion falter and slowly, both the guns aimed at him lower.
"All of you," the blonde repeats.
They stare at each other for a long moment.
The other two, even the dark-haired one, clearly seem to respect this man. They didn't even question him. Perhaps he isn't reading the entire situation correctly. Pinky and Dark Hair are tense, but make no move to disregard their companion.
Abruptly, there is a gasp from the woman and the two men are instantly by her side. She covers her mouth and stumbles to the washbasin, puking her dinner out.
"Sakura?"
"Sakura-chan?"
She waves a dismissive hand. "Fucking vegan shit-" There's more sounds of hurling. "- and that stupid box of cheese -" The sounds repeat.
"And the soda," adds the blonde.
"And the ramen with that ketchup - urgh I ate too much."
"Tch. I told you it was a bad idea, but no. You had to go eat the entire thing. Together."
"I was hungry!" she protests, then glares behind her at the man holding her hair back. "Which is your fault, by the way."
"It takes two people to make a baby, Sakura," he sagely informs her.
Suigetsu is at his limit of insult-bearing. Two of the three people they came to kill are blatantly turning their backs on them and its rather irritating to see because clearly, they don't even perceive them as threat enough to warrant complete attention. It makes him feel more insulted than even Karin can.
To top it off, it seems the pink-haired lady - Sakura - is pregnant with the dark-haired one's child and this is the kind of sensitive information one keeps from the enemy to avoid being taken advantage of. Either this detail does not make her vulnerable, or they have complete faith in their ability to fight off just about anything.
He suspects its both.
"Enough of this!" growls he. The moment he points his weapon at the couple, the blonde man's touches his temple. The goofy face has morphed into an utterly serious one.
"Lower the gun."
Karin doesn't get the chance to put her gun to his head before he swaps it out of her hands like child's play. Blue eyes once again fix on him in silent daring. Instinctively he knows if he had fired at them, even a fluke shot, he'd be dead on the ground. Begrudgingly, Suigetsu lets his arm fall back to his side.
He lowers his own gun, but the serious expression does not change. "We did not mean to kill your boss," he repeats. "But for the scum that he was, I won't do more than apologize. However, if you hurt my friends, I will kill you."
There's enough truth ringing threateningly in that statement to make them take pause.
"Why are you here?" Sakura asks, joining them now that she is done cleaning up.
"To take revenge," Karin snaps, irritated for some reason. Well, actually, there are plenty of reasons.
"Yes, but why do you want revenge? What do you owe the man?"
"What's it to you?" she demands. "Just up and die already!"
"Karin."
The sharp voice stills the entire room. Karin blinks, caught by surprise. So, he remembers her after all.
"I would be really careful with my words if I were you," Sasuke warns.
"Huh? You two know each other?" the blonde man demands.
Dark eyes slide toward him. "I saved her life once."
Suigetsu slaps his fist. "Oh! You're the guy from the forest of death Karin keeps fawni-"
Her hand snaps out just in time to cover his mouth and she growls, "You talk too much, Suigetsu."
"You all talk too much," Sasuke says, meant equally for both his foes and his companions. After some suspended silence he adds, "That Orochimaru is a handful, isn't he?"
They blink. Karin recognizes the beginning of a grin on her companion's face. "You can say that again," he snorts.
"He won't be missed," Jugo agrees, to her surprise.
Dark eyes move to her in scrutiny and he finally says, "Karin, I don't know how you got involved with the likes of Orochimaru, but if you hurt my girlfriend or Naruto, I will not hold back."
"You guys don't need to do this," said blonde, Naruto, interjects. His voice is soft, but full of conviction. "I mean, this is obviously something you don't want."
"Eh? And you would know that because?"
"Because if you did, you three would be dead by now," replies Sakura.
Karin stares at Sakura in mild disbelief. "Us three?"
"Isn't that a little over-confident, Pinky?"
"Call it what you want," she shrugs, then looks at Suigetsu. "You wouldn't have stood around chatting if you really wanted to kill us."
He seems to consider it a moment, then faces Karin. "Pinky may have a point."
"Call me that one more time," Sakura challenges.
"Guys," Naruto interrupts once more. His tone has taken on a solemn note. "We shouldn't be killing each other for revenge." He looks up at each of them. Karin shifts under this particular gaze. "You are obviously too strong to have simply been the mad scientist's lackeys."
"We were his henchmen," Jugo is quick to respond.
"Not always by choice, if I know Orochimaru well enough." Sasuke's eyes meet Jugo's. "I've seen you there before. At his lab."
The giant man nods. Karin has never seen him quite so calm or responsive, especially when it comes to his time at the laboratory.
"You were a subject," he continues and Jugo replies, "You remember."
"You were in a fit of rage and about to give my position away when I stopped your hand. Then I realized you were out of it."
Jugo shifts, a little uneasy at the reminder of his bipolarity. Suigetsu whistles from beside them. "Man, you stopped the nut job's hand?"
Karin smacks him on the head. "Be more insensitive, you fucking idiot!"
"Ow! I was just sayin'..."
"So you helped two out of the three people who are here to kill us? You know shark teeth too?"
"Nope," said man replies. "But he has my respect now. I have never known anyone to stop Jugo's rampage before."
Karin looks at both of them. One clearly admires Sasuke to the point of worship already and the other also seems to have developed some liking for the man. She groans in frustration. "This is the most confusing mission ever!"
"I say we drop it," Suigetsu suggests. "Jugo is clearly too calm to be of any use anyway."
"I will not fight Sasuke," he states.
"See? Useless."
"I will not hesitate to kill Suigetsu though," he adds.
She slaps her forehead in agitation. "As much as I want to allow that, I can't -"
"Ouch."
"- Lets just.. ugh. Lets just go back."
"To Orochimaru?" Naruto asks.
"He is quite dead for that. No. We'll search for some other -"
"You can join us," he offers. The room is stunned and then the volley of people collectively demand, "What?"
Naruto isn't fazed. "You don't have anywhere to go with Orochimaru dead. I can talk to Kakashi sensei to let you join our organization. At least your talents could be put to good use. Besides, all three of you seem to like Sasuke over here - obviously your taste isn't as rotten as it seemed - so we can get along."
"Naruto, what are you-"
"I would like to work for Sasuke."
And of course Jugo would say that. He probably sees his late best friend, Kimimaro, in him. Karin can't blame him. She herself finds the offer tempting enough, but then her eyes fly to the pink-haired woman leaning against the table. Her palm is subconsciously resting on her stomach where she carries the child of the man Karin so admires.
Both men are turned toward her protectively and she can't help but think how lucky this Sakura is. Especially since she now knows Naruto isn't as goofy as he looks. She suspects he is as dangerous as Sasuke himself can be. After all, he clearly has the Uchiha's utter respect.
"If Naruto says so, I'm fine with it," he says and Sakura nods beside him.
"Maybe not," Karin finally replies. "We'll find our way. Although, I speak only for myself. The rest can choose their own paths." Her eyes slide first to Jugo, then Suigetsu. A part of her knows they want to take up their offer. Who doesn't want to work for the White Fang? Another part of her, surprisingly, thinks she'll be left alone again.
"I'm sticking with you," says her silver-haired partner however, shocking her. Suigetsu grins at her. Jugo looks between Sasuke and his girlfriend and then eyes her stomach before replying, "I'm staying too. We make a good team."
"Its decided then."
That being said, they begin to back away and turn around. Jugo's eyes linger on Sasuke for a half second more before he follows.
"Sorry about the door," Suigetsu throws over his shoulder and Sakura sighs and waves a dismissive hand.
Karin looks at Sasuke for a long few seconds, then at Naruto who says, "The offer's open whenever you want in."
"Thanks," she mumbles, joining her teammates. "Nice meeting you."
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the blonde ready to return to his food already. She shakes her head in amusement and starts to walk away.
Their feet freeze in their tracks however, when they hear a loud shriek. Spinning around, they hear another.
Naruto and Sakura stand behind Sasuke as if he were some kind of defense wall and peek at whatever has them shrieking. Karin squints to find it, entire body tense and ready to fend off an attack. She doesn't see anything at first, but then a familiar insect crawls out from under the chair, making both people jump and shriek again.
"Sasuke! Get rid of it!" Naruto screams.
"Eeeep! Make it go away!" Sakura cries.
"If you guys would stop pulling my shirt, I may be able to move," replies the dark-haired man, annoyed, but shifting warily himself.
"That's a cockroach!" shivers Naruto and at the insect's next advance, jumps onto the chair.
"Its coming!" yelps Sakura.
"I can see that," barks Sasuke, backing away from the creature a bit. "This is so childish. The leader of a group of assassins afraid of a cockroach."
"Oi! If you're so brave why don't you pick it up and throw it out?"
Karin blinks and next to her, Suigetsu says, "Somehow, I'm not even surprised blondie's the leader and not Sasuke."
"Hold on, don't rush me. I'm doing it!"
"Hurry, Sasuke!"
"Protect my ramen!"
Amusement spreads on their faces as they take in the scene before them. Naruto standing on the chair instructing a wary Sasuke to kill an insect with Sakura practically on his back now.
"Who would believe those three are some of the most deadly assassins of the world?"
*
"So, you dealt with them?"
"Yes."
"And no one got hurt?" His eye protectively slides to the pregnant girl, searching for any bruise or mark that shouldn't be there.
"Nope."
"And Sasuke earned more admirers, believe it!"
At this, his visible brow raises.
"That he did. Specially that big guy. Did you see how he was looking at him?"
"Sure did," nods Naruto, then tries to imitate said man, adopting a blank expression and fixing his eyes over intensely on his friend. "'I want to work for Sasuke.'"
"Darling, you sure earn fans quickly."
"Tch. Shut up."
"But you're on a roll! First Orochimaru, then his henchmen."
"And woman," Sakura raises a finger to put in her observation. "Whew!" She wipes invisible sweat off her forehead. "I sure have a lot of competition."
"And seeing as Naruto already stole your first kiss," Kakashi remarks.
Both men fall into a fit of coughs at that and Naruto yells, "Gah! Don't remind me of that!"
"And second," he adds, mischievously smiling beneath the mask.
They both make choking sounds. Naruto covers his ears.
"What about the one two years ago?" Sakura 'innocently' wonders.
"It was a mission!" Sasuke snarls, glaring at their mentor/boss and his girlfriend.
"They say third time's the charm."
"Oh, dear lord, kill me now!"
"You're doing this on purpose," accuses Sasuke.
Sakura grins. "Its a good thing you're not bisexual, darling. That, at least, narrows it down to one gender."
"But you never know.."
"Damn it! The gay jokes again. Cheap shot, Kakashi sensei!"
"I'm leaving."
"What? Without your girlfriends?"
"Fuck you."
The silver and pink haired people share a high five and wink playfully.
"That is so yesterday," Naruto growls, following after.
Sakura and Kakashi blink twice, then burst into laughter.
*
They are taking coffee (and juice) at a cafe when abruptly, Sakura gasps. Both heads snap to her in concern.
"I think.. I think she just kicked."
She takes their hands in hers and places them upon her stomach. When nothing happens for a few seconds, she asks them to talk to the unborn girl.
Her stomach gives a jerk and the three of them gasp collectively this time. Sasuke's eyes go utterly soft and a wide grin of joy overtakes Naruto's face.
"Sasuke? Darling, are you.. crying?"
"No," he firmly answers, but caresses her showing belly and leans into her. At this, Naruto's own eyes soften and something like pride blossoms on his features. He shares a long, meaningful look with Sasuke, a silent conversation of long time friends, practically brothers, and they both smile.
Then, Sakura stands. "Okay, lets go!"
At their confused expressions, she clarifies, "Her godfather needs to be kicked too."
They barge into his office without ceremony, too excited to wait for his lazy ass to put away the orange book and answer.
This time, however, a bunch of people they very much recognize are seated before him.
"You guys.."
"Yo," Suigetsu lifts a palm in greeting.
"We decided to take up the offer," Jugo informs.
"H-hey," Karin says.
"Nice!" grins Naruto. "This will be great, believe it!"
"Hi," waves Sakura after her body slightly jerks.
Sasuke, too, nods in greeting.
"You guys, what did I teach you about knocking when I'm in a meeting?"
That brings them to their reason for doing as accused. They file over to Kakashi and Sakura holds out her hand expectantly.
"What?"
"Kakashi sensei, give me your hand."
"Why?"
Impatient, she takes it herself, placing it on her stomach and looks to her left. "Naruto, say it."
"Believe it!" he exclaims excitedly and in response, the baby girl kicks. Kakashi's eyes widen, then go soft. "She appears to be growing healthily."
"Yep. And she responds to my catchphrase, believe it!"
The baby kicks again and this time Sasuke's hand is also present to feel it. "A fact we must live with," he remarks. "Our daughter better not catch other aspects of Naruto too. He is practically going to be her other father anyway."
"Hey, what's wrong with my other aspects!? And I'll be the coolest uncle ever, believe it!"
She kicks again. They all stare in wonder at Sakura's stomach.
"Have you decided on a name yet?" Kakashi asks, not moving his palm away, in case he misses the next kick.
"We are considering," Sasuke replies, eyes briefly flitting to Naruto as his palm joins in. "There's options, but Sakura likes a particular one."
"Sarada," says she, tentatively. "What do you think, sensei?"
"She will carry any name perfectly," he responds. "Believe it." Another kick follows. "Yep. Looks like she really does respond to that phrase."
"Because its awesome!"
When they finally break away, Naruto looks at his best friends. "She is going to be so lucky, you guys. We'll give her the best family ever, right Sensei?"
Kakashi's lone eye crinkles. "Right."
A knock sounds on the open door and all pairs of eyes turn to see who it is. A girl stands at the entrance, holding a bunch of files to her chest.
"Hi. Is this a bad time?"
"No. Not at all, Hinata. Come in."
She places the files on the desk. "Here are all the documents you asked for, sir. Also, Asuma sensei wants to know if you can make it to his wedding."
"Oh yeah. What's the date again?"
"30th of March."
"Sakura, when are you due?"
"About the same time."
Kakashi sighs. "Oh, well. Tell Asuma its.. debatable. After all, I have to be present for the birth of my goddaughter."
Hinata smiles. "I'll let him know that." She looks at Team 7. "Congratulations, you both." Sakura and Sasuke smile in return. "Thank you."
"And you too, Naruto," she adds.
He grins. "Thanks.. Hinata, right?"
She nods and turns to the momentarily forgotten bunch seated on the chairs opposite Kakashi. "Welcome to our organization, the Hidden Leaf." Politely smiling at everyone in the room, she takes her leave. Naruto's eyes follow her buttocks as she does.
"Well, I never would have guessed," remarks Kakashi, catching on. "You have eyes for someone other than Sasuke."
"She's hot. Why am I only seeing her now?"
"She works at the head office with Kurenai."
"And you know her," Naruto points out. "And she's hot. And I'm single."
"Hinata is too simple for your... peculiarity."
"What's that supposed to mean?" demands Sasuke, offended on behalf of his best friend.
"It means that Naruto would probably overwhelm her with his hyper-energy," explains Sakura.
"You know her."
"No need for accusations, darling. I couldn't introduce Hinata to you either. You're Naruto's wingman."
"That's not an excuse."
"Well, she might still be in the building. I'm gonna go get her number," Naruto turns. His eyes fall on the book neatly kept on Kakashi's desk. "Hey, you're still reading the stupid thing? I gave you that two months ago."
"Re-reading," Kakashi answers.
"Huh.." mutters Naruto as they walk toward the door. "I didn't think he'd actually love my gift so much after yours."
"He wears an eye patch and thinks he's a pirate," deadpans Sasuke.
"Not to mention Kakashi sensei is a closet pervert. Your latest edition of the Icha Icha Paradise was secretly probably the best gift anyone's ever given to him."
"I am kind of awesome then, aren't I?"
Kakashi's face drops into his palms. The door shuts behind his students with a final thud. The remaining three pairs of eyes stare at him.
"Where were we?" he clears his throat, straightening.
"So.. are these guys like, a thing?" Suigetsu wants to know. "I mean with those two guys and that pregnant lady.."
"No," sighs Kakashi. "They're just... a tightly knit bunch."
"Could have fooled me," he mumbles.
"And to think, they're our organization's most dangerous assassins," Kakashi's visible eye crinkles.
***
Well guys? What do you all think? Please let me know.
I wanted to cook up something light and fun. I hope I managed somewhat. Its a little unedited, but I loved writing it.
I so want to write another in this AU. Lol. I'll see where my imagination takes me next. Also, I'll be updating this book more regularly now.
I hope you guys enjoyed this :D
If you have any requests, PM me and I'll see what I can do :)
Happy reading and see you next time!