Old Friends

~~~~~~~~~Chap. 13

Sasuke could only stare in shock, jaw hanging low. All color had drained from his
face at the news. 'It's not true. He's lying. I don't believe it; not one bit. No!'
"Usuratonkachi. You're a guy; guys don't get pregnant. What's really wrong with you?
This is because of you being sick, isn't it?" He waved his hand to indicate the
rounded belly of the other teen.

Naruto blushed; he didn't want to have this conversation right now. "Sasuke, I was
sick BECAUSE I'm pregnant. The old lady said it's called 'morning sickness'. Stupid
name, if you ask me. Sometimes it lasted all day. I'm going to have a baby, and it's
all due to that stupid fox demon. He made it happen." Naruto scowled thinking of the
fox, but brightened when he thought of what the results were going to be. He was
going to be a parent, a REAL parent. Fushigi was going to have a sibling. He smiled
at that thought.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, watching the blond. Damn Itachi! HE was the one who was
supposed to revive the clan, not Itachi. How could his brother do this to Naruto?
Naruto was his! By the look on the dobe's face, though, Naruto didn't know that. The
blond had this stupid, dreamy expression on his face, and a small, happy smile.
Thoughts of Itachi shouldn't be able to make Naruto look like that. They should make
him angry, or at least scared. After all, Itachi was with Akatsuki, who wanted all
the jinchuurikis in order to remove their demons. Sasuke somehow had to get that
through the baka's thick skull.

"Dobe, the Akatsuki will come for you again. What makes you so sure my brother won't
hand you over as soon as you have that kid? He'll have his heir, and they will have
their demon. Sooner or later, he'll tire of you. What do you think is going to
happen then, eh, Dobe?" Sasuke asked his questions in an indifferent manner, the
better to get Naruto to really think things through.

Naruto sat on the floor, a slight frown marring his visage. He glanced up at the
younger Uchiha. "It isn't like that. Itachi loves me; I know it." A blinding smile
lit up his face. "Besides, we're going to have a baby, Sasuke! A BABY!! Doesn't
that mean he loves me? The fox wouldn't have done this if he didn't think it would
work out between us. Even he isn't that cruel." He dropped back into a pensive
state. Sasuke was right, though; Akatsuki would be back for him. Hopefully not
before he gave birth, but he would have to prepare, regardless. Tomorrow, he was
going to see Tsunade-baba, and find out what he was allowed to do that wouldn't
endanger the pregnancy.

Sasuke watched him carefully. The blond seemed to have reached a conclusion. "Well,
Dobe? Have you decided what you're going to do?"

Naruto turned curiously dull blue eyes on the young raven. "I'm tired, Sasuke. We'll
talk more tomorrow, alright? Good night."

Sasuke watched him rise and walk to the room he shared with Itachi, shutting the door
quietly behind him. Sasuke knew his words troubled the blond; now, if only the boy
would make the right choice.

~~~~~~

Naruto rose before dawn. Neither of the Uchiha brothers were awake yet. He dressed
quickly, and slipped quietly out of the house. He needed time alone to think. Sasuke
had made some good points. What if Itachi was with him because he knew beforehand
that Naruto might be able to have a child? What if that was the only reason he was
with him? Did Itachi really love him, the same way he loved Itachi? If Akatsuki came
back after he gave birth, was Itachi going to hand him over so they could take the
demon from him? The thought that this was a possibility scared the young blond. If
true, Naruto didn't want to live. He would rather die, than live knowing Itachi
didn't love him and never had. Lost in contemplation, he hadn't been paying attention
to where he was walking. He crashed into someone, knocking them both down.

"YOU! It wasn't enough you stole my son all those years ago. Now, you've taken my
home! Because of you, my house was destroyed! We should have handed you over to them
then I wouldn't be homeless, and neither would my neighbors! Dirty Fox!!" The old
woman he had run into was screeching at him. Once she had climbed to her feet, she
spit on him before storming off.

Naruto sat in the dirt, shock clearly on his face. As a child, he had become used to
being blamed and abused for the deaths and destruction caused by the fox demon the
night of his birth. Being blamed now for damage caused by the Akatsuki was too much.
Were the villagers going to blame him for every little thing that went wrong in their
lives now?! His eyes teared up; it wasn't his fault, damn it! He scrambled to his
feet, and vision blurring, took to the rooftops to avoid the crowds.

~~~~~~

An irate Itachi woke his brother. "Where's Naruto? What did you say to him last
night?"

Sasuke rubbed the sleep from his eyes; what was Itachi talking about? How should he
know where the baka went? "I just asked him what he's going to do if the Akatsuki
comes for him again? He seemed only to be focused on having that baby. He didn't
tell you where he was going this morning?" At his brother's negative reply, he said,
"Maybe he went over to Iruka's again."

Itachi thought about it; nodding in agreement, he left Sasuke to get ready for the
day.

Iruka was just leaving his apartment when Itachi arrived. "Is Naruto here?" Itachi
asked. He had stopped at Ichiraku's before coming to see the chuunin, but the blond
hadn't been seen today.

Iruka was surprised by the question. "No, I haven't seen him since before the attack.
Did you check the ramen stand? Or maybe, he went to see Tsunade-sama." He locked the
door. "I have to man the mission desk this morning. Let me know if you need help
looking for him. Ja ne!" He sped down the stairs, headed for work, leaving a
frustrated Uchiha in his wake.

Itachi decided to check out all of Naruto's old haunts from when he was young. He
didn't know if the blond would still go there, but it was worth a shot. He searched
along the river. He checked the training grounds. The top of Hokage Mountain had
always been one of the boy's favorite spots. No Naruto. He finally went to the old
apartment Naruto had spent his childhood in. The building was rundown, but still in
use. The landlord informed the raven that no one had rented that apartment since the
'demon brat' left. Itachi flashed his Sharingan at the old man, who was unfazed by
it, and headed up the stairs. As he neared the door, he felt a faint chakra signature
like someone was trying to hide it and doing a poor job. Naruto. He opened the door.
In a corner of the bare room was the blond, curled up and weeping softly.

Itachi approached slowly. "Naruto-kun? What's wrong? Why are you here?"

Watery blue eyes lifted to meet onyx. "I want to go home. I'm not welcome here in
Konoha. When can we leave?" Naruto tried to wipe away the tears that were still
falling. He didn't like being this weak; Itachi must be disgusted with him. He could
no longer look at his lover; to see such a feeling on the raven's face would be too
painful.

The Uchiha was furious; somebody had hurt Naruto. Again. If the teen wasn't with
child, he would leave today, right now. However, Naruto needed the care and knowledge
of the Godaime. Only she could ensure a safe delivery, due to their special
circumstances.

Stoic mask in place, Itachi lifted the boy to his feet. "We will leave after our
child is born. Until then, you are not to go anywhere without an escort. I won't
have your life or the baby's endangered." He stared hard at the blond, willing him to
understand. "Where were you going this morning, Naruto-kun?" he asked softly.

Glancing at the older man, Naruto quickly looked away. "I want to be able to train.
I was heading to Tsunade-baba's office to find what my limits are."

"Why are you not there now?" He understood the need to train.

Feet shuffled nervously. "The villagers, they blame me for Akatsuki's attack. That I
should have been turned over to them before they caused any damage. They still blame
me for Kyuubi; now they blame me for the Akatsuki. I once wanted to be Hokage, but I
know now the village will never acknowledge me. I could die defending this place, and
the people would probably celebrate the demise of the demon. I can't win."

"Naruto, let us speak to the Hokage. Then, we can decide what to do with the rest of
our day." He hugged the blond, who nodded against his shoulder. Forming a seal, they
disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

~~~~~~

The day was well advanced when Sasuke deemed it time to get out of bed. He hadn't
heard anyone come in and wondered briefly if his brother had found the blond. He
showered and fixed something to eat before letting the unknown whereabouts of Naruto
get to him. Had the baka run away? He checked his brother's room and found all of
Naruto's possessions still there. Maybe he went to train. Fushigi was in her crib,
quietly playing with some toys. Sasuke was surprised she hadn't gotten him up
earlier; her diapers were soaked through. The teen changed her and stripped her wet
bedding, throwing it in the laundry to be washed later. Putting some baby supplies in
a backpack, he picked up his niece and went in search of his dobe.

People who had previously greeted Sasuke and Fushigi kindly, now glared at the child
while at the same time, smiled at him. It set him to thinking about Naruto. The
villagers were acting towards Fushigi the way they had to the blond when he was young.
Did they somehow associate her with the demon fox? Why? because she was Naruto's
daughter? That was absurd! They weren't really even related! Sasuke decided it was
time to put a stop to all this nonsense. The next person to give the little girl an
evil look got an ear full, as did most of the villagers on the streets. He was not
quiet in his displeasure. He not only blasted the person regarding Fushigi, but
shamed him for the treatment Naruto had received all his life. He let them all know
that if they hurt the blond in any way, they would be facing the wrath of two Uchihas
plus the Hokage's.

His elevated voice, so unusual for the stoic young man, alerted others to his
presence. Soon, ten young people had joined him, facing the villagers. The former
members of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai were not happy to learn Naruto had returned,
only to be mistreated again. They also let the people of Konoha know that they would
be looking out for Naruto. The killing aura eminating from the eleven teens was so
strong, it brought ANBU from all over the village to see what the problem was. Upon
learning what had happened, most went back to their posts. One left to inform the
Hokage, but met her hurrying to their location.

"Uchiha, what is the meaning of this?!" She was not pleased, not pleased at all. She
had been instructing Naruto and Itachi on what the boy was and was not allowed to do,
when the blast of killing intent hit them. She had ordered the two to remain in her
office while she checked out the situation personally. Now she was glaring at a
fuming younger Uchiha, surrounded by others just as angry. "Well? I'm waiting."

Sasuke was too upset to speak civilly. He was saved by Lee; the green-clad shinobi
stepped forward to explain. "The villagers have been cruel to Naruto again, and now,
by association, Fushigi is receiving the same treatment. We will not allow it. He is
our comrade, and she is his child. People will treat them with respect, or deal with
us." The expression on his face was mirrored by the other teens. It left no room for
compromise.

Tsunade smirked, privately glad that Naruto's departure had not lessened the feelings
the others held for him. She watched in amusement as Kiba removed the child from the
Uchiha's arms and set her on Akamaru's back. The girl squealed in delight and gripped
large handfuls of thick white fur. Sasuke seemed to relax; the Godaime took this as a
good sign and headed back to her office. She still had work to do, speaking with the
two young men notwithstanding.

The teens all went about their business, Kiba staying with Sasuke, letting Fushigi
ride the huge white dog. "So," he started. "You found Naruto. How is he, and where
has he been all these years?"

Sasuke frowned before answering, "He's been with my brother. They're in looove." He
said the last word sarcastically. He still had a hard time believing the dobe had
fallen for his aniki. "They are living at the Uchiha estate with me. Naruto is
pregnant." He didn't notice the other nin stop in his tracks.

"Wait...What?? Naruto is...pregnant?! How!? I mean, he's a guy!" Kiba wore a
comical look of incredulity. "What about Itachi? Why didn't you kill him? Why isn't
he locked up?"

Sasuke sighed in resignation. He had known sooner or later he would have to answer
these questions. "Look, Kiba. This isn't generally known, okay? So don't repeat it.
Itachi killed the clan because they were going to try to gain more power, which would
have resulted in more deaths. Specifically, mine and Naruto's." He ignored the gasp
from the dog nin and continued. "It involves the Nine-Tailed Fox. What do you know
about the demon, anyway?" He stared intently at Kiba, who appeared thunderstruck.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the Inuzuka said, "All I know is that the
Yondaime defeated it somehow, and died. How is this related to you and Naruto?"

Glancing at Fushigi to make sure she was otherwise occupied, Sasuke stopped and turned
to Kiba. "Yondaime defeated the fox demon by sealing him in a baby, a boy." He gave
the other a significant look, willing him to put two and two together. He smirked as
he saw comprehension light up the Inuzuka's eyes.

"That red chakra!! He sealed the kyuubi in Naruto! No wonder the villagers always
hated him!" He quieted, a pensive look on his face. "But how does that involve you?"

"The clan wanted to extract the demon from Naruto and put it in me. Removing the
demon would kill the dobe, but putting it in me would have killed me, too. Only a
newborn can handle the demon's chakra; I was too old. Itachi didn't want the only two
people he truly liked to die, so he murdered them. All of them. He knew no one would
believe him, so he ran. We found records that prove Itachi spoke the truth. The
Hokage has given him a pardon. I couldn't kill him once I learned all this." He gave
a rueful laugh; he thought about all the years he had wasted hating the prick. Yes,
his brother was a prick; he could have told Sasuke all of this sooner. Instead, he
had just called him weak and told him to hate. Bastard.

Kiba digested this information silently. Then he grinned. "So, Naruto is going to be
a mommy, thanks to the fox, I bet. I can't wait to see him. It's going to be so fun
to tease him. Is he still a little runt?" He rubbed his hands gleefully, imagining
the meeting.

"Shut it, Dog Boy. You're talking about Fushigi's daddy and the one to revive my
clan. He's also my best friend. Be nice."

Kiba smirked. "What ever you say, Uchiha. I'll just have to wait until the baby's
born, then. That way, if he wants to attack me, I won't have to hold back." He
snickered, picturing Naruto with a large belly. "Ne, how far along is he, anyway?
You never said."

Sasuke gazed up at a passing cloud, calculating. "It took us almost a month to get
back to Konoha, and I guess he was a month along when we found him. So I think he's
two months or so. He's not showing yet, if that's what you're wondering. He grinned
at the dog nin, also thinking what a pregnant Naruto would look like. Things were
sure going to be interesting in the near future.

The two walked down the road in companionable silence, following Akamaru carrying a
black-haired, blue-eyed little girl.

~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Not very exciting, but necessary. You know what to do: Read and review, please!