After the pain

Disclaimer: No I do not own any of the main characters, how ever Jewel is mine, although by the end of this I may not want her any more. None the less she is technically mine even if it was my twisted muse who came up with her.

WOW !!! over 50,000 hits on fan and 15,000 total on adult!!! Thanks everyone for reading, Love ya all!!!

I don’t have time to answer everything before I leave for vacation to Chicago so I’m just going to answer a few of the most asked questions.

1. About Kakashi, well we’ll have to see what happens with his love life or lack there of. (Muses can be so fickle.)
2. Fluffy stuff next chapter, promise!
3. Whereabouts and the doings of Gaara next chapter.
4. Yes Kyuubi can do back flips, he is very talented and back flips are only one of many.
5. Just to note, being shot in the toe REALLY HURTS! Pellet guns can take out teeth quite nicely(if painfully) And barring a plane crash I will finish this fic.

Okay... now for chapter 16, this is what many of you have been waiting for, Jewel is fully introduced and explained and the back ground on how Naruto and Kyuubi’s problems started.

P.S. Josh… I need your e-mail address before I can e-mail you bud.

Okay everyone Enjoy! See you when I get back.
Sorry for any spelling errors there wasn’t time to get this beta’ed.


Chapter sixteen.

It was past midnight but Kankuro was still in the Kazkage’s office.

In fact he was trapped behind his brother’s desk surrounded by over half a dozen people who were all talking at once, and despite his best efforts it had been so for over an hour.

Now the puppet master actually had a lot more patience then either of his siblings, but he was fast reaching his limit.
Slowly he got to his feet, menace seeping into his every motion.

“Silence.” His voice was even and deadly, much like the tone his younger brother used when he was displeased.

Much to his satisfaction it had the desired effect as all present closed their mouths and some even took a couple steps back.

“Let me see if I have this right.” His deep voice purred. “Every one of you are telling me that without my sister here to hold your hands, your departments can’t do anything?”

He heard several audible gulps as he stared at each on them in turn.

“Kankuro-sama,” An older man finally spoke out. “Temari-sama is in charge of each of our departments, everything from scheduling to supplies. She made sure everything was in motion while she was away, but now that her absence has extended we have reached the limit of our resources.”

The painted jounin couldn’t believe he was hearing this.
Were these people completely helpless? Or just incompetent?

“And does her assistant not know how everything is done?”

He received strange looks from all present. Then a female medic stepped forward clearing her throat gently.

“Temari-sama doesn’t have an assistant, she does everything herself.”

Kankuro was floored, he had often wondered why his sister always seemed to be doing paper work and directing…. Well just about everything.
But he had always assumed she was just a workaholic and had never questioned how she chose to spend her time.

“Look people I’m tired so I’m sugar coating this for you people who haven’t figured it out yet.” He growled. “Temari is MISSING and until Gaara calms down enough to let this bloody sand storm drop we can’t continue our search for her. And there is always the possibility that she is dead.”

There were several gasps from the puppet masters audience.

“So just to clarify, you people had better get used to doing things for your selves! Because I can’t guarantee how long it will take to either FIND her or REPLACE her.”

With that said he pointed to the door.

“Now get out, I want to get some sleep before I have to come check up on your asses.”

With much grumbling and glares thrown his way the office slowly emptied.
Once the door closed he sat down and slowly massaged his temples.

“SHIT Temari! How could I not know how much you do around this hole?’

From the sounds of it his Onesan was responsible for supplying half of Suna with provisions, as well as half a dozen other things he had never even thought of.

‘So now I have to wonder if you chose to do it all your self or if the decision was made for you.’

Green eyes moved to the dark window, it wasn’t visible from his vantage point at night but he could still hear the sand wall that swirled around the village.

‘Gaara, how much longer are you going to keep this up?’

* * * * * * * * * * *

On the far northern border of Sand, a bewildered Konoha messenger decided to camp for the night, having traveled along the sand wall for yet another day, trying to find an end to what he had at first thought to be merely a sand storm.
But the entire boarder seemed to be blocked off.
The chunin had a feeling that it wasn’t natural but he had no way of confirming that suspicion.
And there was also nothing he could do about it so he decided to wait out the night and then head back to the main road and hopefully by then whatever it was would let him pass.

* * * * * * * * *

“What makes you think I’m good enough to help raise your child? I wasn’t good enough to raise my own.”

Temari could only stare at the blonde man standing in front of her.
She was stunned speechless, her slightly sleep logged mind was now wide awake.

‘Naruto has a kid?’ Seemed to be the only thought that she was able to focus on.
His question to her was, for the moment completely forgotten.
Then because he looked like he was about to turn and leave she walked back to him.

In the dim light her silver eyes caught and held his, but the normal brilliant blue had turned dull. The sparkle was gone, replaced with pain.

Still unsure of what else to say but desperate to keep him from leaving she asked the one question that she had.

“You have a child?”

If possible the fox vessels eyes dimmed even more.

“No, I did.” Came his strangled reply.

He didn’t want to talk about it, Temari could clearly see that.
Having been in the same position only that morning she recognized the signs.
And yet Hinata had been proven right, it did help to talk about it.
And aside from the more negative emotion that had suddenly sprung to life with in her that hinted towards jealousy, the kunoichi wanted to know what Naruto was talking about.

She had never heard anything about him ever having a serious relationship, let alone being a father but then she had not been to Konoha for years and her brothers had never shared any stories to that effect.

“What do you mean by ‘Did?” She asked her voice soft.

He couldn’t believe that he had opened his mouth about that particular topic at all.
It was stupid, he had never told another living soul about that time in his life, and he wasn’t about to start.

“Naruto…. Please?”

He flinched when her hand gently cupped his face so that he would look at her again.
She was standing so close that they nearly touched.

“What happened?”

Her eyes held sympathy and an openness to understand, not the disgust he had always expected to come with that question.

And before he could think better of it he started talking……

* * * Flash back * ** Six years ago * ** *

Nineteen year old Naruto scrubbed his hands through his hair as he headed home.
He had just finished giving his report from his last mission.
He had been on the road for four weeks and was looking forward to a hot shower and a soft bed.

‘I wonder if Jewel is at home or on a mission.’ He mused.

‘If she’s home will you, as you say ‘break up’ with her?’ Kyuubi asked his voice hopeful.

Naruto sighed. ‘Will you get off this kick already Furball. I am not breaking up with her.’

‘She is not an appropriate mate Kit.’ The demon growled.

The young man snorted at that. ‘Come off it, you’re the one who pointed her out in the first place.’

Naruto wasn’t sure how many times he was going to have to point that out to his tenant before the fox gave up his prodding to be rid of his girlfriend.

‘I pointed her out as a fun playmate, nothing more.’ The nine tails shot back. ‘She is NOT mate material, she is unstable.’

‘Unstable huh? That’s a new one.’ The blonde chuckled.

‘This is no laughing matter Kit, I would not want to see her with kit’s should she conceive.’

‘Please,’ Naruto rolled his eyes. ‘Jewel likes kids, besides that’s not going to happen despite what you think of human birth control, people around here have been using it for years and it has worked fine for the last eight months as well, which I seem to have to remind you every time we have this stupid conversation so get over it already.’

Kyuubi ignored the reference to the many times this conversation had been repeated over the last half year.

‘Your luck can not hold out forever, and she does not like offspring, she tolerates them. You are seeing what you wish to in her and not what is really there. The white eyed female would have been a better choice then this one.’

Naruto sighed again as he pushed open his apartment door.
‘Will you get off the comparisons already, Jewel doesn’t have a blood limit so get used to it. We happen to be in love and nothing you have to say is going to get in the way.’

After a few choice words Kyuubi stopped talking and Naruto was glad.
He had been having the same argument almost word for word with the fox for over four months and it was really starting to wear on the young man’s nerves.

Once or twice he had thought of talking to Jewel about what Kyuubi had said but his navy haired girlfriend didn’t really like talking about Kyuubi’s opinions.
About the fox’s abilities and powers sure but not his opinions.

But Naruto could understand that, the demon could be VERY difficult to talk to and sometimes even he didn’t like the demons opinions.

Shrugging off the whole conversation just as he had the last hundred times it had come up the blonde shinobi headed for the bathroom to shower.
It was still fairly early in the evening so he figured if he hurried he have time to see if his girlfriend was in town and maybe take her out for dinner.

Half an hour later he was leaving his bedroom, now dressed in clean clothes and feeling a lot more human when his door opened to admit the very woman he had been about to go looking for.

Jewel was a very striking young woman she stood five foot ten on flat feet but still wore heels when ever she was off duty.
Her navy blue hair was cut short, not quite touching her shoulders and parted so that her bangs hung over the right side of her face.
Her cobalt eyes were lined heavily with black makeup while her lips only sported a light coating of gloss.
The matching black halter top and knee length leather skirt showed off her curves perfectly.

“Hey D… Jewel, I was just coming to look for you!” Naruto exclaimed.

He was more then thrilled to see her, he had missed her a lot and had almost slipped by using an endearment rather then her name in greeting, something that the beauty hated.

Naruto was by her side in a second and wrapping his arms around her waist lifted her off the ground as he whirled her around the room.

“I really missed you!”

“Put me down.” Was her only reply.

Puzzled because she didn’t hug him back he did as he was told.
That’s when he realized she was holding herself stiffly in his arms.

“Is something wrong?” He asked as his hands slid up to her shoulders.

Jewel shrugged away from him.
“Don’t touch me.”

He was about to protest but the cold look she gave him stopped him in his tracks.
He knew that look she was upset with him for some reason.

He quickly searched his memories for something he might have done before he left that she could still be angry about.
Jewel did tend to NEVER forget anything that upset her, but the blonde came up blank, as far as he knew he hadn’t said or done anything that was out of line.

“What’s wrong?” He asked again when she turned and walked further into the apartment.

She didn’t say a word as she bypassed the living room and he followed her into the kitchen where she rummaged through the one cupboard until she found bottle of sake and a cup.

Naruto sighed silently. ‘So much for a pleasant evening.’

When Jewel went for her alcohol stash before talking to him it meant he was probably going to be dodging things before their ‘talk’ was over.
Several minuets ticked by while the stunning blue haired woman slowly and deliberately poured herself a drink then downed it in one gulp, then refilling the cup before finally turning to squarely face him.

“I hate you.” She growled.

‘Its going to be a very long night.’ Naruto inwardly cringed; arguments that started with that phrase always took forever to clear up.

‘Tell her you hate her too!’ Kyuubi hissed. ‘The conniving bitch is…’

‘SHUT UP FURBALL! You’re not helping.’ Naruto cut him off before returning his attention to his irritated girlfriend.

“So are you going to tell me why you hate me this time?” He asked quietly stuffing his hands into his pockets as he leaned back against the counter.
He had discovered that the less he said or did the sooner she came to the point.

The second helping of sake was downed, while she glared at him with her dark eyes
the cup was refilled once again.

“I’m pregnant.” She spat at him while drumming her painted nails on the counter top.

Naruto blinked, it took him a second to understand what she had just said.
Then with a joyful whoop he snatched her up and spun her around the apartment.

“That’s so awesome!” He exclaimed when he finally came to a stop.

“So when did you find out? How far along are you? Can they tell if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” His excited chatter was cut off when the kunoichi’s fist connected with his gut.

Taken by surprise the blow doubled him over for a moment.

“I knew it! You did this on purpose!” Jewel accused as she pulled away from him and headed back towards the kitchen.

“You bastard!” She hissed before reaching for her sake.

The cup never reached her lips.
Naruto snatched it out of her hands before she could drink it.

“I’m not sure what you’re mad at but you should know that you can’t drink alcohol in your condition, it’s not good for you or the baby.” The blonde admonished as gently as he could while he dumped the sake down the sink.
He never touched the stuff himself.

“You’re not only stupid, but insane if you think I’m having this kid!” Jewel shouted as she reached for the sake bottle.

Again she was intercepted as Naruto snatched it up and hid it behind his back.

“What are you talking about Jewel?” He asked as calmly as he could.

He was hoping that he had misunderstood her last statement.

“What the fuck do you THINK I mean! I’ve never wanted a kid and I sure as hell don’t want yours!” She shrieked as she took another swing at him.

Naruto heart twisted painfully in his chest as he dodged her fist.
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
How could he have been so wrong?
This also meant that Kyuubi had been right all along.

‘Stop thinking about that Kit!’ The demon snapped from inside his head. ‘It doesn’t matter right now; you have to calm the female down. Regardless of her inadequacies she is carrying our offspring and we can’t jeopardize that.’

Naruto agreed with his tenant and got rid of the bottle in his hands just as his irate girlfriend started pounding his chest with her fists.
Her blows didn’t hurt him in the slightest but he captured her wrists to stop the movement.

“Jewel, Honey you have to calm down.” He told her as he tried to stop her struggles without bruising her skin.

“Don’t call me Honey you asshole!” She shouted, but her voice sounded wobbly to Naruto and on closer inspection he found her eyes to be bright with unshed tears.

He could understand if this whole tirade of hers had been brought on by uncertainty.
Hell, if she gave him a moment to breath he would be freaking out a bit himself, and there was nothing he wanted more then a family of his own not even being Hokage.

Releasing her hands he wrapped his arms around her instead, pulling her close to his chest trapping her arms in between their bodies.

“Just calm down so we can talk about this okay.” He spoke into her hair as she struggled against his hold. “Please Jewel; you caught me by surprise getting upset wont help anything.”

Finally the woman in his arms stopped fighting his embrace and actually leaned into him a bit.

“This was not supposed to happen.” She quietly mumbled into his chest.

His heart took another blow at her words even if he admitted that having a baby right then had defiantly not been in the plan.
Jewel was a year his junior and he had often had to remind himself that not all girls were like Sasuke’s wife Uta and ready to start a family at seventeen.
But he was pretty sure that once he got her calmed down the two of them could talk everything out.

She didn’t put up a fuss when he guided her back to the living room where he sat down on the couch and pulled her onto his lap, glad for once she wasn’t objecting to him cuddling with her.
Naruto took a few moments to just hold her close while he tried to figure out where to start.

Luckily Kyuubi helped him out.

‘I don’t recall detecting a change in her scent; ask her when she discovered she was breeding.’ The demon directed.

Naruto agreed that it was a good place to start; the fox had detected both Uta’s pregnancies only days after conception.

“When did you find out?” He finally broke the silence by asking.

Jewel sniffed. “Yesterday, I wasn’t feeling good the last couple of days so I took a home test.”

Naruto was torn between being glad she hadn’t been going through this alone for very long and feeling guilty that he hadn’t been there for her when she did find out.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” He quietly apologized.

‘She must have conceived that last day before we left then.’ Kyuubi commented.

‘Mmmm… that would make her four weeks along then.’ Naruto replied.

The two males would have discussed what to do next but Jewel interrupted by sliding off Naruto’s lap and onto the couch.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m not keeping it.” She stated her voice quiet.

Even as her words pierced his already aching heart Naruto wanted to grab her and pull her close again, but knowing that she wouldn’t allow that he reached for her hand instead.

“Jewel…”

“Don’t touch me!” She snapped, interrupting him while moving down to the end of the couch. “You’ve done quite enough already.”

She was glaring at him once again.

“Now I have to try to get some time off so I can get this taken care of, and the jounin promotions are coming up in a month.”

Forgetting what he had been about to say a moment before Naruto tried to decipher what she was talking about and what it had to do with the promotions.

“Why are you worried about time off now? You should be able to put in some more training and light missions for a while yet.” He reasoned aloud.

The navy haired woman shook her head.

“You really are thick aren’t you? I’m not going to have an abortion here! People would find out about it and I sure as hell don’t want anyone to know about this.” She snapped.

“If I didn’t have guard duty the next two days I would have left already.”

Naruto nearly choked as she slashed through his last hopes that she wasn’t serious.

“Yy..you wouldn’t have.” He protested, badly shaken.

“Oh yes I would! Then I could have kissed your ass goodbye and never would have had to tell you a thing.”

The kitsune vessel was sure he had never felt so much pain in his life, not even when Sasuke had put his hand through his chest all those years ago.

‘Steady Kit.’ The Kyuubi muttered although the demon was seething inside. ‘Stay focused, you can’t afford to dwell on your feelings right now. We have to make the female see reason.’

With a deep breath and a nod of agreement Naruto shoved his emotions away as he moved to kneel in front of Jewel and captured her hands in his.
This time he didn’t release her when she tried to pull away.
Keeping his grip firm but gentle he brought their hands down to rest on her lap.

“Jewel please listen to me.” He pleaded.

Midnight eyes meet his briefly before dropping to focus on her lap as well.

“Look I know you’re a little freaked out right now, we didn’t plan this at all so I know how you feel. But we need to think calmly about all this before we make any decisions.”
Naruto was a little surprised to hear himself sound so calm, his insides were in knots.

“What do you mean WE? My decision to terminate the pregnancy or not has nothing to do with you.” She snorted, the sound turned to a gasp as the girl felt the grip on her hands tighten.

“Nothing to do with me!” His eyes narrowed.
“That is my child’s life you’re talking about throwing away.” The blonde shinobi growled. “It has EVERYTHING to do with me.”

Unused to the cold authority in his voice Jewel shrank back into the sofa in an effort to put some distance between them, despite the fact that he still had her hands imprisoned.
The movement was not lost on the young man so he took a few deep breaths and loosened his grip slightly.

“Look, all I’m saying is that both of us need some time to wrap our heads around all of this and come up with a plan.”

Silence fell for a few minuets as he waited for her reply.
Finally she nodded slightly.

“I guess, I just don’t want a kid, never have.”

Naruto might not share her feelings but he knew many ninja who did, at least she sounded a little more reasonable now.

“I can understand that, but will you at least consider a few other options before you make a final decision?”

“What other options?” She asked sullenly.

Inwardly Naruto signed in relief; maybe this could be worked out after all.
He hoped so any way.

“If you really don’t want it, I can raise the baby on my own.”

She gave him a horrified look but he lifted a hand to keep her from speaking.

“Listen, I know it would mean taking some time off but if you really don’t want anyone to know about it then we can always arrange to go somewhere until it’s born.”

He gently rubbed his thumbs over the back of her hands while she stared at him in shock.

“What I would really prefer to do would be for us to be a family and raise him or her together. If you don’t want to be married that would be okay I guess.”

Stunned silence ensued as Naruto waited for Jewel’s response to his somewhat unorthodox proposal.
Her mouth moved several times before she finally found her voice.

“You have got to be kidding me! Why the hell would you want to do that?” She finally asked her voice shaky.
“Do you have any idea what you’re even talking about, there is no way you can have a career and a family, its impossible!” She stated more firmly.

Naruto’s heart by this time was starting to go numb from all the jabs she was sending his way. He was also starting to realize that Kyuubi might have been right about her, in some ways at least.
But as the demon had already pointed out none of that mattered, right now he had to fight for what he wanted.

“A career isn’t everything Jewel, and quitting the ANBU would be easy, that way I could stay closer to home.”

Jewel looked horrified. “You would quit the ANBU! WHY?!”

Naruto sighed, they had never talked about this kind of stuff before he rationalized, and that’s why she was so surprised.

“Look, my family would come before everything else in my life.” His hands once again tightened on hers, willing her to understand.

“If I had to I would quit being a shinobi all together.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized what he had said, but when he did, it also became clear to him that they were true.
He wouldn’t take them back.
Dreams changed and at that moment having his own family far out weighed his desire to be Hokage one day.

The woman before him sat wide eyed, barely blinking as she stared at him as if she had never seen him before.
The blonde wasn’t able to read her reaction to his speech.
He had never seen his girlfriend at a loss for words before and it was scaring him a little bit.

Finally her mouth opened, it once again took a couple tries before any words came out.

“You’re serious aren’t you?” She whispered. “You really want this kid?”

Naruto nodded his eyes shinning with sincerity and hope.
“I do, and I want you too if you’ll have me. I love you Jewel.”

Kyuubi’s exasperated sigh was ignored as Jewel once again broke eye contact and looked away.

“Maybe your right Naruto, we should probably think about this for a while before we decide anything.” She finally admitted softly.

Naruto inwardly sighed with relief, it wasn’t much but since Jewel seldom relented on anything it was a start.

“I should head home.” She announced suddenly getting to her feet, forcing Naruto to stand as well to get out of her way.

He was disappointed that she didn’t want to stay with him for the night.
But he also admitted that some space would probably be a good thing at the moment.

“I’ll walk you home.” He offered guiding her towards the door with a hand on the small of her back.

“Promise me that you won’t tell anyone about this.” She demanded before he could open the door.

Naruto wasn’t very happy with the request, he really could use a good talk with Iruka or even Sasuke about everything, but in this instance he was willing to do anything to keep the woman next to him happy.
So he nodded.

“I promise, not a word.”

That seemed to satisfy her because she allowed him to escort her out the door.
The walk across town to the house Jewel shared with three other women was silent with each of them lost in their own thoughts.
The kunoichi said goodnight at the door and she was through it before Naruto could kiss her goodbye.

With a single hand sign Naruto teleported back to his flat.
As soon as he was certain that he was alone he collapsed into the nearest chair.

“Kyuubi…..” His voice wobbled, he was completely at a loss as to what to do.

‘Just breathe Kit.’ The demon advised first before saying anything else.

Naruto hadn’t even realized that he had been practically holding his breath for the last little while. Closing his eyes he slumped down in his seat and tried to focus on drawing air in and out of his lungs.

‘Much better.’ Kyuubi approved a few minuets later.

“You tried to tell me earlier didn’t you?” Naruto asked; his voice tiered.

‘That she was breeding? Yes, but that does not matter now.’ The demon replied.

“What do I do Kyuubi?”
Fear was starting to seep into the young man’s being as the enormity of the situation finally started to sink in. He really wished that he could go pound on Iruka’s door and spill everything and get the older man’s advice.
But as much as he wanted his adopted fathers help, he had promised not to tell anyone about it. Kyuubi of course didn’t count because he was already part of Naruto and knew everything anyway.
When the kitsune didn’t answer for a time the blonde got worried.

“You’re mad that I didn’t listen to you aren’t you?” He asked quietly.

The demon snorted. ‘That is now a moot point Kit, saying ‘I told you so’ will not help this situation. I was in fact trying to think of a way to keep that female grounded enough to get her and the kit through this breeding in one piece.’

Naruto frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

‘As I suspected she is not taking well to the prospect of having a kit, luckily this wasn’t planned or she would have more then one in her belly. But that is beside the point, she is flighty like a bird, she can never stay in one place. Her temperament is also very high-strung. She will require careful handling.’

Naruto shrugged. “She always has needed special attention, that’s nothing new.”

Kyuubi sighed and in his minds eye he could see the creature shake his head.

‘Perhaps you were not listening to her earlier, she has no wish to carry our offspring to birthing, so it will take a great deal of work to convince her other wise and then look after her health. Unwilling birthing females tend to get ill easily.’

The young shinobi shuddered as his tenants words finally hit home.
Kyuubi was right about Jewel being high maintenance as it was. The thought of trying to keep her in a relatively good mood for nine months was very daunting.

“So back to my original question, what do I do?”

The Kyuubi’s reply was immediate and firm.

‘Anything! Anything to keep her happy until the kit is birthed, offspring are precious and even if it will gain no useful skills from its dam it will still be very powerful.’

Naruto nodded even though he only agreed with the first part of what the demon had said.
The two of them had spoken from time to time about the potential abilities Naruto’s children would have thanks to the fox’s influence since the two of them had chosen to merge.

But Naruto had never really cared what the kitsune had to say about finding and ‘appropriate’ female. As far as the blonde was concerned he just wanted to find someone to love that would love him in return.
He had been sure that Jewel would be the one, but now for the first time he was beginning to have his doubts.

‘You should get some sleep Naruto you will need to be rested to deal with everything tomorrow.’ Kyuubi interrupted his thoughts but suggesting.

The shinobi blinked in surprise.

“Did you just call me by my name Furball?”

For as long as the two had talked the young man was sure that the demon had never called him by name.
It was always Kit, young one or human.

‘Hn, it doesn’t seem appropriate to call you Kit when you’re expecting young of your own.’ The fox grumbled defensively.

For the first time that evening Naruto relaxed and even chuckled slightly. Maybe everything would turn out all right after all he thought as he got to his feet and headed for his bedroom to get ready for bed.
After all he had Kyuubi to help him out.

* * *

The next two days did not go very well, Jewel was back to being angry at Naruto and nothing he said or did seemed to make any difference.

On the afternoon of the third day the two had an all out yelling match, it was the first time the young man had stood up to his girlfriend and insisted that she change her mind.

Jewel meanwhile accused him yet again of getting her pregnant on purpose.
When he suggested that they talk to someone about it, either a medic or the Hokage the young woman completely lost it and threatened to kill herself if he so much as breathed a word to anyone.

Just the thought of her committing suicide because of him terrified Naruto and he tried his best to make up with her by promising to remain silent, and also to stop pushing her to keep the baby.
He didn’t like it, both males wanted to grab her and lock her away until the child was born, but that was not an option. He did his best but they parted on barely civilized terms and Kyuubi had his paws full trying to keep Naruto calm and rational through the rest of the day.

But the time the young jounin got off duty late that night the fox was considering suggesting that Naruto break his promise and go to the Hokage for help after all, females understood other females better then a male ever could.

But after the two of them discussed that option they both agreed that it was too risky, at least at that point.
And because of the argument earlier in the day they decided that it would also be wise to wait until morning before trying to speak to her again.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this exhausted.” Naruto mumbled as he unlocked his apartment.

He didn’t bother turning on the lights, he had excellent night vision thanks to Kyuubi and he was headed straight to bed anyways.

‘Why is the light on in the bathing room?’ Kyuubi asked.

“Hmm? Oh must have forgotten it this morning.” The blonde muttered.

But as he reached for the knob a sickeningly sweet smell assaulted his nose.

“What the…?”
Panic set in as soon as he recognized the smell, with a bang he pounded through the door.
The bright lights momentarily blinded his eyes but his nose wasn’t so lucky and it was assaulted by a wall of scent.

Blood, fresh blood that was all too familiar.

“JEWEL!!!!”

His vision cleared and all he could see was red, in his panicked state of mind it seemed to be every where, and lying on the floor in the middle of it all was the body of the girl he loved.

He was on his knees beside her in less then a second, gathering her limp body into his arms.

“God, Jewel…”

‘KIT! Her heart is still beating!’ Kyuubi exclaimed, he being slightly less affected by the situation then his host.

A quick feel of the pulse at her throat confirmed a very weak beat.
Thanks to years of training Naruto’s cooler mind set took over.
A quick scan found a gash in her left wrist.

‘Seal the wound.’ Kyuubi ordered even though it was now barely leaking blood.

By focusing some of the fox’s burning red chakra into the pad of his thumb and running it gently over the cut he was able to cauterize it and stop the remaining seepage.

“We have to get her to the hospital.” Naruto muttered as he gathered her closer.

‘There is no time for that Kit.’ Kyuubi growled, before asking. ‘Do you trust me?’

“Of course.” Came the immediate reply.

‘Good, slit your wrist.’

“WHAT!?”

‘Your blood has healing properties if combined properly with my chakra.’ The Kyuubi explained. ‘Make her ingest it, I’ll do the rest.’

It Naruto a second to decide what to do, but the last couple of years of being merged with the demon inside of him as well as the battles they had faced together had established a trust that over rode any misgivings.

A moment was all it took for his to completely release the power inside his body.
Red chakra swirled around the small area as Naruto’s physical features changed.
As soon as his teeth had morphed into jagged fangs he sliced through his right wrist and used a ring of chakra to keep the cut sealed until he had it close to Jewel’s lips.

‘Don’t hesitate.’ Kyuubi warned before Naruto had a chance too.
The shinobi nodded and shifted the woman in his arms so that she was in a better position then released the ring so that his blood drizzled into her mouth.

“This is way too vampireish.” He mumbled, but the demon ignored his words.

Time was measured by the amount of times the kitsune directed his host to pause in his feeding of blood while the fox used his power to infuse every cell of the females body to the point where he could manipulate her system into accepting the foreign blood as her own.
When the demon was satisfied that she was stable he told Naruto he could stop feeding her. The cut on the blonde’s arm was healed almost instantly.

“What now?” He asked as he sat cross-legged with the pale body of his girl friend in his arms.

‘You may take her to your medic’s if you wish, but there is really no need. She will survive with rest.’

Naruto nodded silently, his sorrow filled eyes fixed on Jewel’s face.

“And the…” He couldn’t finish the sentence before his throat closed up.

‘The offspring is strong, he will survive.’ Kyuubi assured him.

Naruto let out a ragged breath. “You’re sure?”

‘Of course, he is already his fathers get. I would say that it is only because the female carried him that she is still alive.’

Naruto’s frown deepened. “What do you mean by that?”

‘Although it has barely started to develop the kit already had tremendous power, not unlike a demon child. I believe that when the female lost consciousness it was strong enough to slow the blood flowing out of her body.’

“That’s impossible!” Naruto stuttered, to shocked to say anything else.

The fox snorted. ‘You forget, he also carries some of my traits, it is more then possible.’ He assured his host.

Naruto was still to upset to argue so he just accepted Kyuubi’s word and decided to ask a different question in an effort to distract himself.

“You said HE, is it really a boy or are you just referring to it that way?”

Kyuubi’s voice softened to a more soothing tone. ‘It is indeed a male, his heart already beats strongly.’

That confused the blonde slightly.
“Isn’t it a little early for there to be a heart beat?”

‘For a human, but not for a fox.’ Came the reply.

Naruto made a strangled sound in his throat but the kitsune interrupted him before he could say anything.

‘Do not fear, the kit is fully human, it just appears that thanks to my influence he will develop more quickly, at least at this stage.’

Naruto wasn’t really sure how reassuring that was; he was still a little bit too shell shocked to absorb everything at once.

‘If you would like to check its well being for yourself I could assist you.’ Kyuubi offered when he realized that his host needed to be distracted from what had just happened.

“You can do that?”

‘Of course, unlike you I do not need your medic’s training to do so simple a task. Place your hand on her belly and close your eyes, I will do the rest.’

Naruto did as instructed.
As soon as his lids closed he felt Kyuubi’s power flare through him, a moment later he could feel the echo’s of a tiny heart beat reverberate against his palm.

He knew that it had to be his imagination but it also felt like something brushed lightly against his hand, a presence.
He never noticed the first tears that fell from his closed eyes.
His son was alive! He felt his heart swell in both relief and joy.

“Beautiful.” He whispered before he slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the woman in his arms.
A small amount of color was starting to return to her features.

‘I can’t loose him, not after all this.’ He silently vowed.
He heard Kyuubi give a rounding cheer but that only reminded the young man of the trial he still had ahead of him when Jewel finally regained consciousness

More tears filled his eyes, despite everything she had done he loved them both and he didn’t want to have to choose one over the other, but he knew it very well might come down to that and the knowledge broke his heart, even if he already knew what his choice would be.

He closed his eyes again as he gathered the mother of his child closer as the first sob racked his body.
For him there really wasn’t a choice, he would protect his child with his life if need be even from his own mother.

The Kyuubi wisely pulled back, not saying a word as his host cried his heart out over the family he wanted but wasn’t sure he would be allowed to have.

* * * *

When dawn finally lit the eastern sky the first fingers of light slowly crept into Naruto’s bedroom to illuminate the two forms laying in the over sized bed.

When the young shinobi had finally pulled himself together in the wee hours of the morning he had bathed the woman in his arms, working all dried blood from her hair and body. After drying her off he wrapped her in an extra blanket before tucking her into bed.

He had then gone to work cleaning his bathroom.
It took him a while as blood seemed to cover almost every surface.
Much to his relief however it soon became apparent that the red substance was in fact smeared, rather then sprayed. Causing it to look like a lot more the there really was.

Once he was satisfied that the room was as clean as possible he showered himself before joining Jewel in bed.
But he didn’t allow his eyes to close even though he was physically and emotionally exhausted. Instead he held her close and watched her sleep, afraid that if he slept she would be gone when he woke.

‘Perhaps I should speak with her.’ Kyuubi quietly suggested when it became apparent that Naruto had no intention of dozing off.

‘And what would you say to her?’ Naruto silently asked. ‘I don’t want to scare her.’

‘Maybe she should be a little scared, that female has never had any respect for you.’

‘I know what you’re thinking Furball, and forget it! I am NOT going to threaten her.’

‘It would be the quickest and probably the most effective way to get what we want.’ The fox argued.

‘Forget it, we’re both adults and I’m sure we can come up with a solution that we can both agree on,’ Naruto knew he sounded a lot more confidant then he really was and judging from the disgusted snort from Kyuubi, the fox knew it too.
But the demon didn’t say anything else.

It was nearly nine o’clock before Jewel showed any signs of life.
Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings.

“How do you feel?” Naruto asked gently, even though he wanted to grab her and shake her until she told him why she had done something so stupid.

Her dark eyes blinked several times as if trying to figure out what he had asked.

“Am I still alive?” She finally asked her voice slightly hoarse.

Naruto nodded as he leaned over her slightly, watching her closely as he spoke again.

“Barely, if I had come home any later you might not be.”

Her navy lashed closed again and for a few minuets the two remained silent as they lay side by side.
Finally Naruto couldn’t stand it any more.

“Why did you do it Jewel? How could you try to take your life like that?”

Sapphire eyes flashed open and sparkled angrily despite her weak state.

“You told the Hokage and everyone what happened!” She accused.

Naruto was shocked at her words.

“What are you talking about? I haven’t told a soul, I swear!”

She glared suspiciously up at him.
“Why should I believe you?” She spat before she attempted to roll away form him.

The blankets as well as her body’s weakness from loss of blood slowed her down so it was very easy for Naruto to pull her back into place.

“I have never lied to you Jewel, I swear. I might have thought about going to talk to someone, to ask for advice but I swear I didn’t.”

He wondered what had suddenly changed over the last couple days so that she no longer trusted him.
They lay staring at each other for a few moments before Jewel demanded that he get out of her way so that she could sit up.
He complied but stayed close enough to help her is need be, knowing that she would probably still be very weak.

But it turned out that she wasn’t as hard pressed to move as he had expected.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have healed her that much.’ Kyuubi remarked.

Naruto didn’t bother to reply as he was too focused on Jewel and trying to figure out a way to make her understand and believe him as she started to work her way towards the edge of the bed, holding the blanket she was wrapped in tightly to her body.

“Jewel you have to believe me.” He pleaded, not knowing what else to say.

“NO I don’t!” She shot back. “Besides it doesn’t matter now.”

He grabbed her arm to keep her from getting off the bed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

With a toss of her head she turned to give him a smug look.
“If there’s no problem there’s nothing for you to tell is there.”

It took him a moment to figure out what she meant and when he did he felt anger start to swell up inside of him.

“You slit your wrist because you thought that even if you lived the baby wouldn’t!”

The smirk she gave him was more then enough answer for him.
His grip tightened and he pulled her back towards him.

“Well I’ve got news for you Jewel.” He informed her, his voice uncharacteristically cold. “MY son isn’t so easy to kill, in fact he is alive and well, just like you.”

It was Jewel’s turn to be puzzled, and when the meaning of his words registered she went berserk, screaming and thrashing about as she tried to get away from the hold he had on her.
Unable to still her movements Naruto finally resorted to grabbing her arms and rolling so that he could pin her body down with his own until she stopped struggling.
Which didn’t take long, Naruto’s size and weight were on his side and she wasn’t completely at full strength.

“Get off ME!” She hissed once she discovered how futile her fight was.

“Not until you calm down enough to talk about this like a rational person.” He stated firmly.

He knew he wasn’t hurting her because he actually had most of his weight on his elbows and was only caging her with his body.

“Calm! Rational! How could ANY sane and rational person be CALM when they have a MONSTER growing inside of them!?” She shrieked before trying to throw him off again.

Naruto grabbed her flailing hands and pinned them above her head.

“What the hell are you talking about now? You’re not making any sense woman.” He growled even as he wondered if she was going insane.

Jewel stopped moving as quickly as she had started.
Her eyes and voice turned as cold as ice.
“Come now Naruto quit being so naïve, you have a demon inside of you, as everyone knows. You’ve merged with it, that makes you the monster the whole village always knew you were.”

Naruto pulled back as if he had been slapped, although none of her blows had ever hurt him as badly as her words just did.
But Jewel wasn’t done yet.

“You’re a monster, and if any woman is ever stupid enough to give you a child it will be the same thing. And I for one will never subject this village to having to deal with a second monster.”

Naruto couldn’t fathom where that kind of logic could possibly be coming from, he was hurt by her words but he could also feel himself start to get angry again.

“I can’t believe that you actually believe what you’re saying.” He told the glaring woman. “Yes, I’m a demon vessel and Yes, I do combine with the fox at times for more power when I need it. But that’s me! It has nothing to do with my kid’s; they would be no different from anyone else.”

The last statement was greeted by a chuckle from Kyuubi. ‘Nice cover up Kit.’

The blonde didn’t get the chance to answer.

“You really think I’m going to believe THAT?” Jewel spat. “It would be YOU all over again, and I refuse to have anything to do with a thing like that.” With a mutinous set of her chin Jewel laid back and glared at him.

Naruto frowned as flashes of his childhood came to him, of how people treated him before he entered the academy, and many even after. The occasional beatings, curses and glares thrown at him where ever he went.

Was he wrong to think that it would be different for his son?
He gave his head a shake, of course it would, he had grown up alone and with out friends or family. Now it was different, he was a respected ANBU and he had people who didn’t care that he had Kyuubi sealed inside if his body.

Life for his child would be worlds away from what it had been for him.
He said as much to Jewel who only laughed mockingly.

“Well you go ahead and believe that, but you can find another girl to test it with because this girl is NOT going to allow a creature to grow inside of her.”

A low threatening growl sounded from Naruto’s throat, causing the young woman to give him a weary look.

“Well guess what Jewel; I have news for you too. You might have gotten pregnant by accident but there is no way in hell I’m going to let you throw my kid away like a piece of trash.” Naruto was struggling to keep his voice as even and normal as possible.

For the first time he was starting to realize just how shallow a person his girlfriend was, just like Kyuubi had said, and he wondered why she had gotten involved with him in the first place if she really thought he was a monster.
But those were questions for another time.

“Now we can do this how ever you want, whether it’s move away for a while of stay in Konoha, but either way you’re going to have this baby. After he’s born you can go to hell if you want too, I really don’t care any more. I just want my son!”

Jewel gapped at him, too stunned by his demands to reply just then. The girl had never seen the more forceful side of Naruto and it sobered her immediately.

But Jewel was nothing if not resourceful, and she had the advantage of knowing every button to push when it came to her lover.
She had made it a point to learn every one of his quirks and weaknesses.

It only took her moments to come up with a new angle for her argument, since it was obvious that for once he was not going to bow to her demands.
Her voice changed from angry to a whimpering tone while her whole demeanor turned to that of someone who had been severely wounded.

“I’m surprised at you Naruto; I never realized how selfish you were.” She stated quietly.

Puzzled Naruto pulled away from her. “What are you talking about?” He wasn’t sure what had prompted the sudden change in her and he didn’t know how to proceed.

Jewel sighed heavily. “I guess I have gone about this the wrong way. I just assumed you would see things my way.” She blinked rapidly as tears formed in her eyes. “I just never thought you could be so insensitive.”

Releasing his hold he moved away from her completely and moved to sit cross-legged beside her instead.

“I don’t think I’m being insensitive.” He defended. “I think it’s the other way around.”

Jewel remained lying in the same position he had held her in, her hands resting by her head. The only movement from her was her now trembling lips and the tear that trailed down her cheek.

“Yes you are, you’re only thinking of yourself and what you want you’re not thinking of the little one at all.” She accused.
Her hand moved down to rest on her still flat stomach.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Naruto shouted, her actions both confused and angered him. “I’m not the one who just tried to kill him!” His whole body started shaking with rage, his fists clenched and unclenched as he fought to control himself so that he wouldn’t do her bodily harm.

More tears fell from her eyes.
“I did what I thought was best, I couldn’t stand the thought of a child of mine growing up the same way you did.” A sob shuddered through her body. “I didn’t think I could live with myself so I was going to go too.”

Naruto’s anger left him as quickly as it had come to be once again replaced by confusion.

“But what about all that stuff you just said?” He asked.

Jewel rolled onto her side and curled into a ball.

“I was angry, I didn’t think about what I was saying, it just came out. After all the fear and pain I went through to try to make this right I was angry that you made it all a moot point.”

Naruto was starting to get a head ache from trying to compare her previous actions with what she was saying now and trying to figure out which one was the truth.
None of it made any sense and he had a hundred questions bouncing around his skull.

Finally he was able to voice one of them.
“How could you possibly think that either one of you dieing would make anything right?”

A heavy sigh left her
“Think about it Naruto, no matter what you have done with your life of how many friends you have now, there are still a lot of people who hate and fear you. You remember the stories you told me about when you were young?”

He nodded.

“Whether you believe it or not the same thing will happen to any kid you ever have.” She stated her voice sad.

“No way!” Naruto denied. “It would be way different. I was alone, my kids wouldn’t be!”

Jewel’s eyes closed tiredly.
“It wouldn’t matter; the same people are still around as when you were young. They would simply transfer their hate to an easier target and their kids would follow their example, it would never be safe here for your kids.”

Naruto felt a wave of dread wash over him at her words. He had never considered the possibility of his enemies switching their attention from him to his son.
And he did have enemies, not counting the people of the village who still hated him the Akatsuki were still after him to try and gain control of Kyuubi while a number of sound ninja were still after him for killing Orochimaru, not that anyone from Leaf knew that he had killed the snake sannin.

He heard Kyuubi growl in his head and was able to pull himself together. Giving himself a shake he reminded himself that other shinobi had about the same dangers facing them, like Sasuke who had to watch out for his psycho brother every day, and yet he and others had managed to raise their children safely in Konoha.

“Things are different know Jewel, you don’t have to worry about anybody hurting either one of you.” He assured her even though he sounded more sure then he felt.

Jewel shook her head sadly her eyes down cast. “You’re wrong, no one would want another you around. That’s just the way things are.”

“Things can change.” He stated firmly.

“And if they don’t?” She asked, a shiver running through her body.

Naruto sighed and reached over to give her calf a reassuring squeeze.
“We can always move I guess.”

“You mean just give up on the shinobi way of life? Turn our backs on everything we’ve ever believed in?” Jewel’s voice had a slightly panicked quality to it.

Naruto thought about it for a moment.
“Not necessarily, we could always get transferred to Suna or something like that.”

Jewel sighed heavily yet again.
“I wish I could be as optimistic as you are. I still think there will be people who would stop at nothing to prevent a thing like this from happening, who don’t want a smaller version of you around.” She whispered.

“You let me worry about that.” Naruto told her. “I’ll take care of everything.”

“I wish I could be as certain as you.” Came her sad reply.

Not being sure of what else he could say to assure her that everything would be fine Naruto slide off the bed as he announced that he was going to go make something for breakfast.

In truth he needed a minute to himself, he was starting to see the truth in her words and it scared him. Suddenly he wasn’t so sure that he could live up to his promise to keep anything bad from happening.
After all he hadn’t been able to win the counsel over yet, they were still determined to stop him from becoming the Rokudaime ever since he had defied orders to help Sasuke return to Sound to save his fiancé. They were still watching him very closely.

Then there was Sasuke, he hadn’t been able to stop his best friend and rival from leaving in the first place.
The fact that he had eventually gotten him back wasn’t the point.
The simple truth was that as hard as Naruto tried there were things he just couldn’t change or prevent, as much as he wished it was otherwise.

Despite what some people thought, he was only human.

As he left the bedroom lost in thought he didn’t realize that his uncertainty was showing on his face, nor did he see the victorious smirk that spread across Jewel’s face when she saw it.

Once in the kitchen he slumped against the counter allowing himself to slowly slide down to the floor.
As all of the ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ crowded into his mind.

‘Stop thinking like that!’ The Kyuubi ordered, interrupting the flow of negative thoughts. ‘If you start thinking you will fail, you will.’ He stated firmly.

Naruto pulled his knees up to his chest.
‘But what if she’s right? How can I knowingly subject my own flesh and blood to the type of shit I went through?’ He asked the demon quietly. ‘Parents are supposed to protect their kids, not put them in a bad situation on purpose.’

The fox sighed; he knew that his host had insecurities that not even he could alleviate with words. But the demon also knew something the boy had completely over looked, or rather hadn’t thought to look for.

The female was lying through her teeth and the Kitsune wouldn’t stand for it.
He could detect a lie or negative intentions in a human a mile away.
That’s how he knew that Naruto’s original belief that people around him now thought differently about him then they had in the past was correct.

But he also knew that talking would do no good now. The blonde would never believe that the female was deliberately playing on his weaknesses despite what she had just done. So the demon had to come up with a way to reveal the charade.

Naruto had finally gotten to his feet and started rummaging through his fridge for breakfast foods when a plan formed in the Kitsune’s mind.

‘Kit, I think I should talk to the female.’ He announced suddenly.

Naruto nearly dropped the carton of eggs he was holding.

‘What! You mean personally?’

‘Yes, I have some questions and it might also help is she hears my view on things.’

Naruto mauled the idea over for a moment.

‘But I thought you were angry with her, I don’t want you to hurt her Kyuubi.’

The demon growled. ‘Angry I may be, but it is beneath me to injure a breeding female.’

His voice softened slightly. ‘Besides as far as I am concerned this kit is as much mine as it is yours, I will see no harm come to it. And it might set her mind at rest to know that.’

After some consideration Naruto agreed.
‘I’ll let you talk to her, but only if she is okay with the idea.’

Kyuubi agreed so the blonde headed back to the bedroom.
Jewel was stretched out on the bed when he entered; although she was still only wrapped in a blanket he hoped it was a sign that she was feeling better.

“Jewel?”

She lifted her head at the sound of her voice and raised a questioning brow.
Naruto shifted nervously, he had never told anyone that he and Kyuubi could switch places at times, except for Gaara of course but the sand-nin could do the same thing so it was a moot point were he was concerned.

“If it’s all right with you….um.” He bit his lip before blurting out the rest. “Kyuubi would like to talk to you.”

Jewel blinked owlishly at him for a moment before she laughed mockingly.

“That’s a new one.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh please, you really expect me to believe that the demon can talk to me like you and I are right now? What kind of an idiot do you take me for?”

‘Can I answer that question?’ Kyuubi asked his voice deceptively sweet.

‘I don’t think so Furball.’ Naruto replied silently.

Aloud he tried to explain.
“Actually Kyuubi and I can sort of switch places so that he can talk to other people.”

Jewel rolled her eyes. “Ya right, don’t try to pull that one over on me Uzumaki Naruto, if it wasn’t for the fact that there have been people who have seen you use the Kyuubi’s power I wouldn’t believe that you even have that thing inside of you. I certainly have never seen any evidence of its presence.”

Naruto was trying to decide if he had just heard her contradict herself for the second time that morning or if it was just him not paying attention when Jewel pushed up into a sitting position.
Folding her arms across her chest she gave him one of her superior looks that had always annoyed him.

“If you and that THING can really do the whole trade places thing like you say, then why hasn’t it ever tried to talk to me before?”

‘Let me take it from here.’ Kyuubi offered.

Naruto was only too happy to oblige the demon; he was starting to get another headache from trying to keep up with his girlfriend’s logic.

‘Just keep it low key okay, we don’t need to have the neighbors freaking out on us.’ He cautioned the fox.

‘Understood.’

Jewel smirked when Naruto hung his head.
He was always so easy to confuse. But she was a little annoyed at his weird way of trying to talk to her again. Not that she was worried; she always got what she wanted in the end.

“Really Naruto, you should think things through before trying to pull one over on me.” She snorted. “Talk to Kyuubi indeed.”

“Did it ever occur to you woman, that I have had no desire to address you before this day?”

She frowned, Naruto’s voice suddenly sounded different. It was deeper, darker.
She was about to reprimand him for fooling around when his blonde head suddenly snapped up revealing instead of blue, eyes of crimson.

The young woman gasped, slightly taken aback by the sudden change of color. But it wasn’t until a red aura started to surround his body that she really started to worry.

“You have not answered my question female.” He hissed as his canines suddenly became more pronounced and her eyes were drawn to his right hand which he flexed as he brought it to eye level, showing off the fact that his fingernails had transformed into wickedly sharp claws.

The aura started to take shape around his body until he appeared to have pointed ears and nine waving tails behind him.

“Enough with the drama Naruto cut it out.” Jewel ordered.
The blonde’s transformation was giving her the creeps.

“Now even I didn’t think you were this unintelligent.” The transformed young man scoffed before a grin split his face.

An involuntary shiver cursed through her body as the sight of all his jagged teeth make him look even more menacing.

“Naruto…”

“You will address me properly female.” He snapped. “You may call me Kyuubi.”

Jewel gulped as he came towards her, menace oozing from ever fiber of his being.
As much as she wanted to she couldn’t deny that the person in front of her was NOT Naruto. She had never once been afraid of Naruto even if she had pretended to be a time or two. But this being terrified her.

Kyuubi knew the instant that the female in front of him fully understood who he was.

“Seeing as I loath associating with you, I will make this brief.” He announced moving to stand at the foot of the bed.

He was very satisfied to see her scramble back to the wall putting as much distance between them as she could while trying to keep her wrap in place.

“As much as I despise your person my host does not, so I will not harm you.” He stated, not wanting her to panic and alert others of his presence.

He watched her eyes widen even more as she continued to stare at him.
Satisfied that he had her undivided attention he continued.

“However I want it clear that the true reason I am addressing you is because of the kit you carry, the fact that you are an inferior female no longer has any bearing. My presence within my host should make up for any short comings you may have passed onto the offspring.”

It took Jewel a few moments to decipher exactly what it was he was talking about but was still too terrified to speak as the demon continued.

“You will see to it that the kit is born safe and healthy.” Red eyes narrowed. “If you value your life.”

‘Hey! Kyuubi you’re scaring her!’ Naruto objected from within the reassesses of his own mind.

The kitsune ignored him.

Jewel finally found her voice even though it came out in a whimper. “I want to talk to Naruto.”

Kyuubi snorted. “Why? So you can twist him to your every whim with your lies?”

She gasped and shrank back even more. “I….I don’t do that.” Came the weak protest.

“And I suppose that the reputation you get for being his partner isn’t the only reason you stay with him either.” Kyuubi growled.

‘Kyuubi.’ Naruto warned his tenant. ‘That’s enough.’

‘Not nearly.’ The demon replied, turning his attention back to the female before him.

“That’s not true!” Jewel snapped, having finally gained back some of her nerve.
After all, the creature had promised not to harm her.

Kyuubi growled, his tails whipped back and forth in anger.
“Perhaps not completely.” He conceded. “There is also the fact that you love to control my host, I’m sure it gives one as insignificant as you an illusion of power.”

Jewel sputtered in rage at his accusations, her eyes sparking like fire as she moved forward onto her hands and knees.

“You have no right to talk to me like that you filthy beast!” She screamed. “The two of you shouldn’t even be on the loose! And as for your DEMANDS, I really don’t give a shit what you want; I am not giving birth to another monster!”

Kyuubi watched with narrowed eyes as she started to awkwardly scramble off the bed. But he did nothing to stop her furious tirade, as far as the fox was concerned his host needed to see the truth once and for all, even if he could feel the pain it caused the young man.

“No one wants another demon around especially not me! And if I have to slit my own throat to make sure of that, so be it!” She spat as her feet touched the floor.

It was then that the demon struck. Moving faster then the eye could see he appeared in front of the girl and grabbed her by the throat lifting her off the ground with one clawed hand. Jewel struggled franticly, her hands tried in vain to pry the fingers from her neck.

Kyuubi slowly drew her closer until their noses nearly touched.

“Even my kind would never stoop so low as to threaten a kit.” He hissed before slamming her body back onto the bed.
His aura flared dangerously as he followed her down, pinning her body down with his own despite Naruto’s violent protests.

“Only someone as brainless as you would make me repeat myself.” The demon rumbled. “You will do nothing to jeopardize the kit.”

When Jewel glared at him he smiled viciously before continuing.

“If you are still considering taking you own pitiful existence at the same time let me warn you. Should you die, I will follow you to hell and drag you back to the living world.” That statement had the double effect of stunning Naruto into silence while Jewel stared at him in terror.

“Do NOT try me on this woman, for if I am forced to retrieve your soul…..” He paused as he released his hold on her neck and traced his claws lightly down and along her collar bone. “Your life will be mine to do with as I please.”

A whimper escaped the girl’s throat.

“I think we can all agree that my host’s proposal is the best for all concerned, after the birth you will be free to go as you please.”

With that said Kyuubi pushed himself back off the bed.
Once he was standing his lips curled in a grin that was just as menacing as the first on he gave her.

“I trust we will not have to speak of this again.”
He eyed the females trembling form for a moment, her lack of a reply satisfied him.
His job was done, red eyes closed and the haze surrounding his body began to dissipate.

‘What the hell do you think you were doing?!’ Naruto demanded as he switched with his tenant.

‘What was necessary.’ The demon replied before curling up as if to go to sleep.

‘I’m not done talking to you Kyuubi.’ The blonde growled.

‘And I’m not going anywhere Kit.’ The fox snorted. ‘Why don’t you care for your female, she seems a little upset.’ The amusement was clear in his voice. ‘I will still be here for you to yell at once you are done.’

Naruto’s head jerked up, his eyes focusing on his girlfriend’s prone figure.

“Jewel!” He was instantly at her side, kneeing on the mattress. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry he promised not to hurt you.”

Worried by her lack of response he checked her throat for any damage caused by the kitsune. He was surprised to see that there wasn’t a single bruise or scratch anywhere to be seen.

“Jewel talk to me sweetheart.”

Her wide sapphire eyes started to fill with tears. It tore at Naruto’s heart to see her so upset; carefully he pulled her into his arms cradling her against his chest.
The emotions cursing through him were a mad jumble, everything from anger, despair, relief and uncertainty.

He had no idea what to do; Kyuubi had revealed things that the fox had never bothered to bring to his attention before.
He wasn’t sure if he should be grateful for the revelations the demons conversation with Jewel brought out or furious that his last illusions and dreams concerning his relationship had been so brutally shattered.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Jewel stirred.

“Naruto….?” Her voice was a faint whisper as she clung to his shirt.

“I’m right here Jewel.”

“Is that thing really inside of you?”

“Ya he is, I’m sorry that he scared you. I promise I won’t let him out again.”

Kyuubi snorted at that but the blonde ignored him.
Jewel then started to cry, finally giving into the shock and fear caused by the encounter with the nine tails.

‘At last real tears.’ Kyuubi remarked sarcastically. ‘I was beginning to think she was incapable of shedding an honest tear.’

Naruto chose not to reply, but the remark cut the young man deeply.
How could he have been so wrong about the woman that he loved?

After what seemed like hours Jewel fell asleep against him and he moved to lay down with her still in his arms, he had no idea what would happen once she woke up.

* * *

Much to Naruto’s relief Jewel did not wake up screaming mad as he had been sure she would. The only objection she voiced was to his close proximity.
She had never liked cuddling, saying it made her feel claustrophobic.

It wasn’t until after Naruto made breakfast and she had eaten it without a word that the young man’s relief turned to worry.
Jewel was not the silent type, but despite his best efforts he couldn’t get her to talk to him.

It was his day off so they spent it undisturbed.
She didn’t object when he asked her to spend the night, and even allowed him to pull her close before they fell asleep.

The next day he reluctantly walked her home before reporting for duty. He didn’t want to appear controlling but the thought of what she might do when left alone had him terrified.
Training that day did not go well as he was too distracted to focus.
After spending most of the day basically being a punching bag for his friends and trying to avoid answering the various questions being thrown at him Kyuubi finally got fed up with him and offered to teach him how to put a protection spell on Jewel so that she couldn’t harm herself even if she tried which the kitsune was very confidant she wouldn’t after his warning.

Naruto reluctantly agreed after returning for Jewel and finding her in seemingly good spirits, it was more for his own peace of mind he decided and when the fox mentioned that it would also help protect her and their son in case any of his enemies found out about their relationship and tried to harm her, he was all for it.

After the couple went out to dinner Jewel agreed to spend the night again providing sleep was the only thing on the agenda, as she claimed exhaustion from working while her body was trying to recover from her suicide attempt.

The spell was put in place while she slept, leaving Naruto feeling much better about her safety, but feeling a little guilty for having done so without telling her about it.

‘I would say this makes you even.’ Was Kyuubi’s comment. ‘Just try to relax and focus on the offspring.’

Naruto took his tenants advice and for a week and a half everything went well.
Jewel seemed to rebound and was more her usual self, if a little more subdued then in the past. They spent every night in each others arms, Naruto often staying awake long into the knight listening to the sound of his sons heart beat.
With the demons help he was almost able to see the developing fetus in his minds eye and he found it to be the most amazing thing he had ever encountered.

When orders came for a mission that would take him away from Konoha for over a week He was very reluctant to go.
Jewel however just teased him for being overly protective and sent him on his way with a sound kiss, the first since before she had told him about her pregnancy, and promised that everything would be fine while he was gone.

Two weeks later the fox boy returned eager to see both of them again, only to find that his girlfriend was gone without a trace.

A visit to Tsunade revealed that Jewel had resigned as a Konoha ninja and turned in her Hitai-ate.
None of her friends or family had any idea where she had gone; most of her belongings had been left behind.

She had simply vanished.

* * * * * * END FLASH BACK * ** * * * *

Temari was dumbfounded by the story Naruto told her.

“She just left? Did you ever find her?”

Naruto shook his head. His whole body seemed to droop in defeat.

“We looked, but not long after that was when Itachi attacked so the search had to be put off until we defeated the bastard.”

Temari nodded her understanding, she remembered that time.
It had been the first time she had seem Naruto unleash the Kyuubi’s power while fighting Kisame.

She remembered wondering at the time what could have caused the normally laid back Uzumaki to fight so viciously, but had assumed it was because Itachi and his Akatsuki were threatening his best friend Sasuke and the Uchiha’s new family.

Now she suspected that that wasn’t the only reason.
Moving closer the kunoichi hesitantly reached out and placed a hand on his arm.

“So you don’t know what happened to them?” She asked softly, remembering the words of Hinata earlier that day about feeling better after talking about things.

And the sand-nin was pretty sure that from the sounds of it that Naruto had never broken his vow of silence…. Until now.

“Oh I know what happened.” He replied hoarsely. “They’re dead.”

A wave of pain crossed his features as he said the words.

Temari gasped slightly. “How do you know?”

He closed his easy as he bowed his head.

“I felt it.”

Temari could only gape at him, not having any idea what to say.

“The only thing that kept me going while fighting the damn Akatsuki was this feeling; it was like a connection that Kyuubi said was the bond I had with them, probably because of the protection spell. Then a couple months later it vanished.” He supplied even though it sounded like he was talking more to himself then to her.

“But what if that was just the spell wearing off?” Temari protested.

She didn’t really have any idea why she felt the need to relieve his pain; she had enough of her own to worry about. But she ignored that little fact and focused instead on the man in front of her.

“You didn’t stop looking just because of that did you?”

Naruto’s lips curved for a moment into a sad smile, one that was reflected in his dull eyes once he opened them to look at her again.

“No I didn’t stop, I still haven’t.” Then once again more to himself he mumbled. “I probably never will.”

It was then that the young man seemed to suddenly realize what he was doing and a blush covered his cheeks, barely visibly in the dim light.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t be keeping you up for something like this, you need your rest.” With that he started to turn away form her.

Temari immediately latched onto his arm, stopping him.

“Wait Naruto I …….” Her voice trailed off, she really had no idea what to say.

He turned his face back to her, a sad but resigned look on his face.

“Its okay, it’s not your problem sorry to bother you.”

Temari’s stubbornness chose that moment to reassert its self; her grip on his arm tightened enough to hold him in place.

“Am I the only one you’ve told about this?” She asked, although she was pretty sure of the answer.

“I don’t usually bother anyone with my problems; it’s been a bad day I didn’t mean to dump this on you.”

Temari gritted her teeth.
If he apologized one more time she was pretty sure she was going to slap him.
She couldn’t explain where the urge came from but it was there none the less.

“I really think you should have told someone sooner.” She commented as gently as she could.

Once the words were out of her mouth she could have kicked herself for saying them.

“And have the counsel find out? That would have caused mass hysteria.” He scoffed.

Temari moved to stand directly in front of him.
“That’s not true!” She protested.

Naruto didn’t seem to hear her.
“Jewel was right about one thing, no one wants another me around.” He mumbled his voice shaky.

“Naruto…..” Temari had never really tried to comfort anyone before and words failed her yet again, so she decided to just go on instinct.

Reaching up she gently cupped his face in her hands.
His blue eyes that were normally so bright were now dark and haunted as they caught and held hers for a moment before he once again hung his head.

His body started to quiver as a sob issued from his throat.
“But I did….” He whispered his voice cracking. “I wanted him…. So much.”

Naruto’s big body started to shake as he finally broke. Tears streamed down his face as sobs wracked his frame.

Temari stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly as she fought tears of her own.

For a few moments Naruto struggled to control his wayward emotions, but as Temari pulled him close to her small frame in an attempt to comfort him, something no one had ever done in his life he lost the fight. Burying his face in her neck and wrapping his arms around her he allowed the tears to fall.

And for the first time in six years the sunny blonde Konoha shinobi allowed him self to grieve for the loss of his son.

* * * *

Several hours later Temari lay awake in bed watching the man in her arms while he slept.
She now had an idea of how Naruto must have felt at times during the last week when she had broken down or freaked out.

It was frustrating, not really being able to do anything more then offer a shoulder to cry on. The kunoichi couldn’t fathom the depths of the pain the usually sunny blonde had been living with for so long, and yet had somehow managed to always appear happy and carefree.

She had no idea how long she had stood, simply holding him close after he broke down.
But she couldn’t believe that after his tears had dried that he had profusely apologized for being so much trouble and would have taken off somewhere by himself if she hadn’t drug him into the bedroom and ordered him into bed, where she had climbed in as well and once again wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

He had resisted at first, insisting that he didn’t want to bother her with his problems, at which point she had told him to shut up and call them even.
Despite his initial protests Naruto was asleep in minutes and was soon resting against her right side with his head on her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her.

Even though she too was feeling drained from dealing with so many unfamiliar emotions Temari was having a difficult time falling asleep herself.

Her head was to busy trying to understand how someone could be as cruel as this Jewel women had been to simply walk away from someone like Naruto without so much as a note or an explanation.
After being together for so long then trying to kill herself just to get back at him didn’t make sense.

Because of what she herself had been through the last two days Temari could understand the initial fear an unplanned pregnancy could cause, but to go about it the way Jewel had was inexcusable.

The sand kunoichi really had the urge to kill something right about then but at the same time she was horrified that she had almost done the same thing, may have in fact tried to kill herself in that moment of hysteria if Naruto hadn’t been there to stop her and literally shake some sense into her head.

Her left hand slid down under the covers until it rested against the still flat contours of her belly.

“I’m sorry for even thinking such thoughts little one.” She whispered softly.

Once again Temari felt tears gather in her eyes ash she smoothed an unruly lock of hair away from Naruto’s haggard face.
He had saved her life, quite possibly twice in fact. As well as the life of her unborn child that in a matter of half a day had become more important to her then anything ever had.

Silently the tears started to stream down her face as she watched him sleep.
How ironic it was, she thought that the man who had saved her as well as so many other people, was in desperate need of being saved himself.

Pulling him closer Temari closed her eyes and for the first time in her life wept for someone else.

* * * * * * * * *

Well I did it!!!!! I leave for two weeks in…. 8 hours and I still have to finish getting ready and get some sleep first so I can be at the airport for 7 am.

Any way I am posting this last thing before I go, only thing good about the long flights is that I will hopefully have lots of time to write.

So I expect lots of reviews to read when I get back.
PRETTY PLEASE. Thanks love ya all.