Chapter 12 Strength and Love
“I’ll be taking this, thank you,” Naruto yanked off the pendent. He couldn’t believe the retrieval team, who were supposed to clean up after Sasuke, Sakura, and his mess with Gonzo, Shauna, and Bo, hadn’t taken care of them. They had seemed like such second rate criminals.
But, they had died trying to get the pendent back, and Naruto had just escaped with his life. His arm was badly broken, his leg had deep gashes, and there was a gaping hole in his stomach, that was slowly trying to heal with the help of his red chakra. He had a migraine like no other, and he ached everywhere. With no chakra left, he would be lucky to get back to Sasuke alive. He needed to destroy the pendent to free Sakura, but he couldn’t do it with no chakra. Sasuke’s chidori would do the job.
Hinata, I will come home for you. I won’t die out here. I will not leave you a widow. Naruto’s love for his family pushed him forward. He had total faith in his strength to make it home.
“Lady Tsunade!” Shizune burst into the Hokage’s office.
“What is it?” Tsunade asked impatiently. She had too much paper work for distractions, and wasn’t that what Shizune always preached?
“Sasuke and Naruto ran off after hearing rumors of Sakura out on the perimeters of the village, as you already know, but now Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji, and Tenten are missing! None of them showed up for work today.”
Tsunade swiveled her chair to look out the window. “I wouldn’t be so concerned.”
“Why is that?”
“I have a feeling they all went to see if rumors of Sakura’s appearance is accurate.”
“I’m afraid I have more bad news.”
Tsunade waited patiently for Shizune to continue.
“As you know, we have lost contact with the retrieval team for months. The retrieval team we sent to take out Shauna, Bo, and Gonzo have turned up dead. The criminals and the pendent are missing.”
“Guys, what if we are going on another goose chase?” asked Ino as she pushed off from a low branch.
“I don’t think so. The way Naruto rushed out like that. I’d bet Sakura’s really here, and I’m thinking she’s probably possessed or something,” Hinata replied.
“What makes you say that?” asked Tenten.
“Think about it,” Neji cut in. “If she wasn’t she’d already be in the village with the guys. Something is holding them up. What else could it be?”
“Ya, well, I hope we can help.”
“I love him, and you are just going to have to deal with that Sasuke,” Sakura told him.
“You can’t mean that. Sakura, what were you going to tell me before we were ordered to defend the village?” Sasuke asked.
“I-” she hesitated, glancing over at Mitsume.
“Finish him!” he ordered.
Turning back to Sasuke, the hope in her eyes had vanished. They were back to the black green they had been when he had first seen her. “Sasuke. Die!”
She lunged with kunei in hand. Slashing his chest, Sasuke scrambled away from her. He tried to staunch the blood flow with his hands; it was a deep gash. Sakura made her way over to Sasuke.
“Sasuke,” she whispered. She held the kunei out, aimed at his heart. “You are-”
“Sakura!” a familiar voice called out, stopping Sakura short. Turning, Sakura saw Naruto holding the pendent they had been assigned to retrieve all those months ago. “Sasuke, this is what controls her. Destroy it with your chidori!” Naruto threw the pendent, but Mitsume caught it.
“Nice try, but I’m not that easy to get rid of.” Mitsume held the pendent over his head. “Sakura, destroy them now!”
Sakura turned her attention back to Sasuke, but the sound of shattered glass could be heard through out the land. Sakura fell to her knees, unconscious. The spell had been broken.
Neji and everyone else appeared with smug looks on their faces. “Looks like we got here just in time,” Kiba commented.
Neji and Kiba raced after Mitsume to finish this fight once and for all.
“Sakura, wake up. Come on, open your eyes,” Sasuke’s voice found its way into Sakura’s subconscious and pulled her into the hospital room.
Upon seeing Sasuke’s face, she reached for him. “Sasuke,” she sobbed into his chest as he stroked her hair. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said.”
“So, you remember everything?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“It wasn’t you, don’t worry about it.”
“But, I hurt you. I could have killed you.”
“But you didn’t.”
They held each other and rocked for several minutes, just relishing in the moment of togetherness. Sasuke breathed in Sakura’s scent. She had been so pale, so white, so close to death so many times. But, he wasn’t going to let it happen again. He was going to protect her.
Sakura buried her face in Sasuke’s muscular chest. It had been so long since she had hugged him. Looking into his onyx eyes, she leaned up and kissed him, savoring his sweet flavor. He kissed her back with such vigor and love.
Someone cleared their throat. Turning, but not breaking apart, they found Tsunade in the doorway. “I thought you’d like to meet someone,” she said, turning to usher in Shizune, who was a bundle in her arms.
“Sakura, meet your son,” Tsunade told her as Shizune lowered the sleeping baby into Sakura’s arms.
“When? I don’t remember,” Sakura shook her head as she gazed upon her beautiful son, her and Sasuke’s son.
“You’ve been unconscious for about a week. In order to save the baby, I had to deliver him as soon as you were brought in, otherwise he would have died,” Tsunade explained. “He was well taken care of, Sasuke was with you both as much as was allowed.”
With that, the two left the happy family alone to talk.
“Sasuke, what I wanted to tell you that day was that I was pregnant with your child,” Sakura told him.
Sasuke smiled. “He’s beautiful. He’s has your eyes.”
“Ya, but he has your everything else,” Sakura said, “Which makes him even cuter.”
“I love you both.”
“And we love you.”
They kissed again.
“But, I think we should give him a name.” Sakura thought a moment. “How about Hari?”
“It’s perfect.”
Later that day, Sakura and Sasuke walked out of the hospital with Hari in Sakura’s arms. Outside, the whole village seemed to be waiting for them, cheering when the doors opened.
Sasuke stopped Sakura just outside the door. “Just a second.” He dug around in his jacket for something and dropped the keys. As he bent down to pick them up, he gazed into Sakura’s eyes and pulled out a black, velvet box. Opening it to reveal a huge diamond ring, he said, “Sakura, I promise to love, cherish, and protect all the days of my life, through good and bad. I want to make a family with you, with more kids other than Hari. Will you marry me?”
Sakura’s eyes sparkled with tears. “Yes!”
Sasuke slipped the ring onto her left ring finger and gave her another kiss. The crowd of onlookers went wild. Cheering and clapping for the happy new family.
