Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Duty ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10

 

Ichiro frowned at his twin. “Why do we have to do this? It's stupid and I really don't care for my part of this little plan. Surely there is a better way. Can't you stab me or something, or better yet, can't I stab you?”

 

Jiro grinned and shrugged, “Sure but then one of us would really be wounded and we're going to need to be at our best to fight Uchiha. Besides it'll look real enough and you'll get over it. In the meantime some nice little old lady will cart us home and we'll be that much closer to Uchiha's home and his little wife.”

 

“I hate you,” Ichiro grumbled. It really was a stupid plan that would probably fail horribly and he'd be the only one not to come out unscathed. The things he did for family. “Oh fine, but try not to do any permanent damage if you don't mind.”

 

“Gotcha,” Jiro said with a cheerful salute, before turning to look out for little old ladies and sweet young women. They'd be the least likely to just leave his brother in agony on the road at least. Even he knew his plan was pretty lame, but there weren't many ways to get into a hidden village, so appealing to a big hearted old lady was probably their only choice.

 

Their intended target appeared an hour later and lo and behold they got a nice looking grandma and a young innocent looking woman, probably not more than sixteen. He turned and grinned at Ichiro. “Show time brother,” he snickered maliciously. Ichiro glared at him but didn't pull back as Jiro grabbed him and quite firmly slammed his knee up into his brother's tender groin.

 

Ichiro froze for a moment and then turned sickly white. With a smile, Jiro shoved him out onto the rode in front of their oncoming victims. The women paused about fifteen feet away as Ichiro stumbled out and immediately dropped to the ground gagging in agony and curling around his abused bits, though it looked enough like his stomach that it would work, Jiro decided.

 

“Ichiro!” he cried in `alarm' and fell to his knees at his brother's side. “What's wrong? Are you in pain?” He tried to look appropriately concerned as the two women scurried forward, though inside he was laughing like a manic. Ichiro was so going to kill him for this, but oh was it worth it.

 

Jiro looked up at the women as they stopped next to him and the old woman bent to place her hand on Ichiro's forehead, clucking in gentle concern. “Oh dear, he feels a little clammy. Has he been sick?” she asked in a sweet, gravelly voice.

 

“No,” Jiro said putting on a panicked look. “He just said `my stomach' and then fell down. I knew we shouldn't have eaten at that tavern. It really didn't look very clean,” he complained. “But Ichiro was really hungry and didn't want to wait, so we stopped.” He drooped dejectedly. “My grandmother is going to kill me! I'm supposed to watch out for him. He has such a delicate constitution and all.” Ichiro was glaring balefully at him from beneath shuttered lids. Jiro just patted him in false concern and looked at the two women sadly.

 

“Is your grandmother close?” the girl asked shyly. “We could help you get him home,” she offered.

 

Jiro inwardly cheered. He couldn't believe it was working. “I'm afraid not,” he sighed. “We still have at least five days of travel and we really don't have enough money to stop and let him sleep this off,” he cried mournfully.

 

The little old woman frowned. “Well that's that then. You pick him up and we'll take you home with us. We live just over the rise there in Konoha. I just can't leave a sick man on the road. It wouldn't be right.”

 

“Oh we couldn't,” Jiro protested lightly, “But if you think it best….”

 

“It's okay,” the girl said reassuringly. “It's a really nice town and we could find a good doctor if he doesn't get better right away.” She smiled at him with rosy cheeks and big brown eyes that would have made him feel guilty if he wasn't clinically insane. This was really too perfect…and just a little bit sad really.

 

Jiro bent and scooped up his groaning brother, making sure to squash his hand into Ichiro's delicates, just enough to revive his agony and draw out another gag or two, in the process. Ichiro was so going to kill him for this, but as he hefted his brother over his shoulder and then followed the old woman and the girl through the tall gates of Konoha, he didn't feel all that worried. He had more important things to do than worry at the moment anyway.

 

***

 

Sasuke frowned as he walked at the slow, but steady pace Higashi had set for them. They'd reached the base of the mountain finally and he knew he should be thrilled that they'd made it, but instead he had a nagging itch at the back of his mind that was driving him batty. Something was about to happen, or something he should be able to figure out was in the area. Had he been out of practice as a ninja for seven months and already lost his edge?

 

“You look like something is eatin' at ya boy,” Higashi finally muttered, breaking the odd silence.

 

“You're right,” Sasuke murmured with a sigh. “I have a feeling, but I can't figure out what it is. It's just a something that I can't pin down,” he said shaking his head impatiently. “It's really familiar.”

 

“Maybe because you're close to home,” Higashi offered with a shrug. “Could be your body feeling the familiar aura of its homeland and you just don't realize it yet.”

 

“No, though that's certainly part of it, I'm sure. No this is something I should be able to figure out; like a trip wire or a flying kunai. It's so familiar….” He growled in frustration and clenched his hand in his hair, looking around. “What in the hell is it?” he finally yelled.

 

Ironically he was answered by the hiss and tiny breeze of a kunai whizzing past him and thunking into a tree behind him. He was reaching for his kunai pouch when an obnoxious and blessedly familiar chuckle flitted down through the trees. Sasuke barely had time to look up and brace himself before a blond blur tackled him into the slushy snow. He grunted painful and looked up at one of the best sights of his life, Naruto grinning down at him.

 

“Fucking Bastard!” Naruto yelled, half serious and half laughing. “Do you know how long I've been looking for you?” He held the startled Uchiha in a tight embrace against the freezing ground. “Six and a half months, at least! That's how long! Where the hell were you?”

 

“Naruto,” Sasuke murmured with a big smile he couldn't hold in. He actually hugged the man back and didn't feel the least bit ashamed for doing so. Naruto stiffened briefly and then sank into the embrace, holding Sasuke tight, like if he let go Sasuke would disappear again. “Gods I'm glad to see you, idiot that you are.”

 

Naruto finally sat up, perched comfortably on the slimmer man's belly and grinned. “Miss me did you? I understand Sasuke,” he said with a knowing nod and a flirty tone. “After all no one does it to you like me, do they Sasuke?” He winked lecherously and laughed at the dark look he received. “Still a stick in the mud? Good to know that you haven't been altered much by your kidnapping.”

 

“I thought you were married boy,” Higashi's grumbled, breaking into the strange reunion between friends. “Remember the woman you've been pining after for months, desperate to get home to. You could have just said you wanted to get back to your boyfriend you know,” he teased.

 

“Ah damn!” Naruto said smacking himself in the forehead and jumping up. He hauled Sasuke to his feet and slapped him on the back hard enough to make his dark haired friend stumble a bit and glare at him again. “Should mention Hinata's condition, I guess,” he said.

 

“Condition?” Sasuke asked in alarm. “Was she hurt? Is she okay?” he asked grabbing at Naruto and shaking him.

 

Naruto grinned. “Sure she is. Actually you're gonna be a father you lucky bastard!”

 

“Pardon?” Sasuke asked blinking. “How is that even possible?” Hadn't Hinata been infertile when he left? Kuro had taken care of that after all.

 

Naruto smiled and sighed. “Now Sasuke, when a girl meets a boy and they care very much about each other, sometimes they will kiss and touch each other in naughty places….”

 

Sasuke scowled and clenched his fist. “Moron,” he growled. “You know precisely what I mean. She was supposed to be infertile from those stupid potions.” He refused to believe that she'd slept with anyone after he'd disappeared and simply told everyone they were Sasuke's. She wouldn't ever do something like that.

 

“Well what did you expect with a question like that?” Naruto grunted in amusement. “You two spent two or three days joined at the hip, literally, I'm sure. I saw you for all of five minutes at the end of those few days and then you left. She started getting sick shortly after you disappeared. Thought it was stress though, so she had Sakura look her over. She had been really worried about you missing and they were already having a memorial for you. I guess I could understand why she though she was throwing up because of all that. Instead, she was pregnant with the last Uchiha heirs.”

 

Sasuke's mind nearly stuttered to a stop. “Heirs? As in plural?”

 

“Yeah twins. Funny huh? Don't know what you two did but it was effective.” Naruto grinned. He almost laughed at the astounded look on Sasuke's face, looking like he wasn't quite sure what to think. He clapped Sasuke on the back again and laughed. “Congrats man!”

 

Sasuke looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and then let his head fall back in a relieved, happy laugh. Hinata was okay, more than okay. “Twins. I'm going to be a father. Fancy that.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, grinning foolishly, despite his long time away from his lovely wife and his home. Naruto had a way of making people forget their troubles. It was a wonderful change from the desperation of the last seven months.

 

After a moment he realized that Naruto also hadn't quite answered his initial question fully. “How's my wife doing…really?” he asked softly. Even he could admit that she would have been affected by his disappearance. She would have grieved for him, sincerely, for a long time. She was just that kind of woman.

 

“Hinata is great, or at least as of six weeks ago she was. Once she found out that you were probably still alive she was a whole lot better. Started eating a lot more and getting out to train a bit. Her chakra is a little off and she can't move very gracefully, but she's trying I've heard. Getting freaking huge, according to Sakura, but still healthy. She has the best medics in town checking up on her after all,” Naruto murmured with a smile. “Tsunade has taken a personal interest in her and she sends Sakura over at least once a week to check on her too.”

 

He suddenly turned to Higashi and smiled. “So I'm spilling out all his personal life crap, like I know you, and we haven't actually met have we? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha shinobi extraordinaire, you?”

 

“Higashi,” the old man murmured, a bit bewildered by the situation. Naruto was an odd character indeed; all bouncy and chatty, as it were. Of course he wasn't quite used to anyone like Naruto, since he didn't get out much himself anyway.

 

“Nice to meet you, Higashi. Guess you really helped my friend out, if he actually stood your presence long enough to travel with you. He's a bit of a stuck up prick at times,” Naruto said with a grin, sticking his hand out in greeting.

 

Higashi took it and then began to chuckle. “You're a bizarre fellow Naruto. Can't see you two as friends actually. You don't quite seem like the types that would get along, if you don't mind me saying it.”

 

“Oh we hate each other as much as we like each other. It confuses the hell out of everyone that we spend so much time together. Guess we're kind of like unofficial brothers,” Naruto mused. He shrugged after a moment and grinned wide.

 

“Closer than that,” Sasuke murmured with a small smile and a sidelong glance at his friend. “We're rivals.”

 

Naruto turned his grin on Sasuke, but the look softened just a bit at the surprising declaration. Naruto wanted a family more than anything, and having Sasuke admit that he could see Naruto in that capacity was something he'd cherish forever. “Yeah that works I guess,” Naruto said softly. “Rivals.”

 

“Naruto,” Sasuke murmured after a moment, his smile fading. “You told me my wife is healthy, but you still haven't told me how she is.”

 

Naruto's smile fell and his eyes lowered. “Kind of hopin' you wouldn't ask that again.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. He glanced uncertainly at Higashi until Sasuke waved off his friend's concern. Finally Naruto shrugged and shook his head. “For a while…we were worried she'd just kind of fade away. As the weeks and then months started passing she started to look more desperate…hopeless even. Her eyes lost their shine, you know that twinkle she just always had, and she barely smiled. She was really withdrawn, even more than she was as a child. We figure it was the thought of your children that kept her going though. She's a little better since I reported finding your trail, like I said before, but she needs you, not a faint hope.”

 

“Hinata,” Sasuke whispered, his frustration with the situation showing in his soft voice. “How long to get home?” He needed to be there now. He was so close to home and Hinata, so close yet not enough.

 

“At the snail pace you were walking at a minute ago?” Naruto asked, lip sticking out in thought. He finally shrugged and scratched his head, saying, “About three days I guess. At your true pace you could be there by tomorrow morning, at the latest. We're pretty close to the village here.”

 

“Damn,” Sasuke sighed. He didn't want to leave Higashi behind after all he'd done for him, but he wanted to see his wife and assure her that he was alive and healthy. He wanted to hold her and love her, and then tell her he loved her. Sasuke growled and jammed his hand into his hair in frustration.

 

“Just go on ahead boy,” Higashi said gruffly, waving him on. “If I find the village, great, if not, well then it was nice meetin' you.”

 

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but Naruto stopped him. “Go on ahead Sasuke. I'll give the old man here a ride and we'll see you a little later tomorrow.”

 

“I couldn't…” Sasuke argued hesitantly. Oh he really wanted to, but he just didn't feel comfortable ditching the nice older man like that. Higashi had done too much for him for the last couple of months. Still….

 

“Oh shut up,” Naruto muttered. “Go. Higashi here can just come with me. We'll be fine. I'll tell him funny stories about you, maybe introduce him to Ero-sennin. Go tell you wife that you love her.” Naruto grinned at him and nodded in assurance.

 

“I agree,” Higashi said firmly. He patted Naruto on the shoulder and smiled a little at Sasuke. “Blondie and I will be just fine on our own. Seeing your wife is more important that waiting around for an old man any day. Go!” he said shooing Sasuke off.

 

Sasuke smiled and nodded. “Alright, I will. Thank you. See you both tomorrow?”

 

“If you can pry yourself away from Hinata, sure,” Naruto said with a slight leer. “We'll see you when we see you. Got a lot of lost time to make up for bastard.”

 

“That I do,” Sasuke agreed, leaping up into a tree and waving back at them as they faded out of sight. “That I do.”

 

***

 

“I should kill you,” Ichiro growled from his pallet by the fireplace. His two `saviors' had settled him there, and then cooed and clucked over him until he was ready to kill them both with his bare hands. Both women were extremely smug when his shivering and gagging had magically stopped after two bowls of broth and a slice of bread. They declared that he just had food poisoning after all and he'd be right as rain in the morning. Of course they couldn't know that he'd uncurled from his painful pose because his balls had finally returned to their normal, not throbbing in screaming agony, position.

 

“And you probably will later,” Jiro said waving off his brother's fury nonchalantly. He could hear the snores of the old woman and the soft breathing of the girl in the next room. “But it got us in here and they're fast asleep now. I say we tie them up and use this as our base of operation. We need a place to take Uchiha's wife anyway.”

 

“What's that supposed to mean?” Ichiro asked suspiciously. “Since when are we taking his wife too? That'll just piss him off. I'd rather sneak up on him.” He shifted and winced at his tender bits protested faintly. He bitterly remembered that the point of their plan was that neither of them was supposed to really be injured. Ichiro was positive that his balls hadn't understood that part of the plan.

 

“Like we would be able to sneak up on him anyway,” Jiro snorted. “Father's flunkies just got lucky on that count and overwhelmed him in battle. However, if we kidnap his wife and bring her here, we could set some traps to throw off his guard and then take him down. He'll be coming into a playing field that we set, rather than one of his choosing,” Jiro reasoned.

 

Ichiro looked a little impressed for once. “And here I thought I was the smart one.” He sighed at Jiro's smirk and shrugged. “Alright, so we'll go with your plan again, but only as long as my balls are kept out of it. The three whacks after we got here were entirely uncalled for.”

 

Jiro snorted, “It's not my fault you kept `getting better' so fast. You're a horrible actor you know. If you'd just pretended to be sick, I would have been nicer,” he reasoned `innocently'.

 

Ichiro sneered and bunched his fist in frustration. “Fine,” he snarled. “I get it. Now let's get on with the plan so we'll be that much closer to going home where I can kill you.”

 

“Don't forget about Father. We promised we kill him together,” Jiro reminded with a smile.

 

Ichiro grumbled, flopping back onto his make shift bed. Why did he have to be a twin? “Yes, of course. First Father and then you.”

 

***

 

Sasuke stood in the doorway of his bedroom taking in the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. His lovely wife, pleasantly rounded with his children, lay on her side, sleeping peacefully. He let his pack slide to the floor and slowly walked to the bed. The moment was so surreal he felt like touching her would break the spell and he'd wake up, once again, in an alien land, cold and alone.

 

Instead he just sat down and studied her; taking in all he'd missed and realizing his imagination hadn't done her justice over the last half year. Her lovely dark hair spread gently over the pillow and across the pale skin of her relaxed face. Long lashes brushed sleep flushed cheeks; delicate lips lay partially open, her soft breath moving evenly in and out.

 

His eyes slid slowly down and he felt a rush of pure masculine pride at the swell of her formerly tiny waist. He could feel the tiny, but intense chakra of the two babies and grinned foolishly. They would be a perfect beginning in the resurrection of his once mighty clan. His father had chosen his wife well and he silently thanked the man for his foresight. Suddenly he felt the need to tell her just that. She was his match, his soul mate in every way.

 

“Hinata,” he murmured in a soft, deep voice. He reached down and slid his trembling hand over her swollen belly. “I'm home love.”

 

Her lips closed and turned into a small frown. “I miss you Sasuke,” she murmured softly.

 

“You don't have to anymore,” he told her softly, reaching out his free hand to run his fingers over her soft cheek. “I'm home now, really home.”

 

Her eyes blinked open and she gasped in surprise. “Sasuke?” she asked softly, sitting up and staring at him. “Sasuke?” She looked confused and pain filled her eyes, probably as she tried to figure out if he was really there.

 

“Yes love,” he said standing and then kneeling in front of her on the bed. “I'm home.”

 

“Oh my god!” she gasped, a small hand snapping over her mouth in shock. “Sasuke…Sasuke!” she whispered. Her eyes teared and she threw herself into his arms, sobbing. “It has been so long! I had almost given up on…. Even after Naruto said he thought you were still alive, I doubted it a little. I'm sorry! Where have you been?”

 

He held her tightly and stroked her hair. “I was very far away from here. I tried to get home earlier but winter in the mountains slowed me down.” He tightened his hold slightly, almost afraid that the moment would still fade into a dream. Let it be real for once! “I'm so sorry I got captured Hinata, more than you can know. But I'm even sorrier about something else.”

 

She looked up into his face curiously, her eyes glistening with tears. “What is that?” she asked softly, stroking his cheek as if she didn't quite believe he was really there.

 

He smiled gently into her tear streaked face. “I'm sorry I never told you how much I love you. I love you more than anything else in life. It kept me moving for all the months I was trying to get home. I wanted to tell you, needed to tell you.”

 

“Oh Sasuke,” she whispered, her voice hitching. “I have loved you for so long. Losing you was nearly the end of me.” She traced her hand over her belly. “If it hadn't been for the babies you left behind, I couldn't have….”

 

He leaned down and kissed her, covering her hand with his. The kiss was gentle and light, merely meant to stop her painful words. Finally he pulled back and looked down into tear filled eyes. “But you did just fine and I'm here now. Let's concentrate on that, alright?”

 

She stared up at him for a moment and then nodded, smiling softly. “Yes. That would be much nicer.”

 

He smiled and pressed her back into the bed, spreading both hands over her belly. “You look so beautiful like this. I could hardly believe it when Naruto told me you'd gotten pregnant in those last few days I was home. And twins even.” He laughed softly and looked up into her face, eyes shining with love and pride. “Thank you Hinata.”

 

“For the babies?” she asked in soft amusement. “Don't forget you were there too.”

 

“I was, wasn't I?” he said with another laugh. “Memories of those few days haunted me the whole time I was away from you. I couldn't wait to home and see you again; hold you again.”

 

“Then hold me,” she murmured, a soft blush on her cheeks. “Hold me and love me like you used to.”

 

He blinked and then looked down at his hands on her belly. “Can we even do that right now? I mean with the twins in there…. I can wait Hinata.”

 

“I can't,” she said tugging him down until he sprawled half on her and half on the bed, trying not to squish her high belly in the process. “It'll be fine. Tsunade assured me it wouldn't be a problem if you returned before their birth and we wanted to do this.” He smiled in relief and leaned down to seal her mouth with his own. Who was going to argue with the assurances of the Hokage after all?

 

Not Sasuke. He knew better.

 

 

A/N: So I know the racking of Ichiro is kind of stupid, but I was hoping it would be a little amusing at least. I needed a way to make his ailment look real, without actually taking him fully out of commission. Of course you guys might be thinking `a kick to the balls tends to put a guy out of commission!' I thought about just having Jiro punch him in the stomach, but franking cheep shots are more amusing, sorry guys. If you all think that part is stupid (and it is) just ignore it in favor of the rest of the story. I need to finish it because I'm seriously out of steam on this one. Hope it doesn't show much.

 

***