Worth Saving You

Sasuke rushed through the woods, following the faint chakra pulse of the distress beam. It had a Konoha signature to it, he recognized them from his own time in the leaf, what felt like forever ago at this point. He would have ignored it, but he knew Itachi had been sighted in the area, and if Konoha nin found the older Uchiha they would probably engage him, as foolish as that really was, which would explain why a distress beacon was activated. He just hoped that his team could get there before Itachi finished them off and left.

When he hit the clearing though, his mind ceased to function. It was clear that whatever had happened here had been intense, violent. There was blood everywhere, and shredded scraps of cloth and something looking suspiciously like human flesh. He allowed himself to shudder a little.

There wasn't anyone in the clearing anymore, or at least he thought so until he saw something shift, inside of a barely standing barrier field. He scowled, walking over to it and glancing inside. His breath caught in his throat, as he saw his two former teammates there, bleeding and broken, not moving. He panicked a little, and activated his sharingan. The barrier was weak enough in the end that it was easy to break.

He could tell Sakura was dead by her chakra patterns, or lack thereof, but he breathed a sigh of relief to find Naruto's was still there, faint and arrhythmic as it was. There was something odd in it as well, something he hadn't felt last time. He scowled. Sakura being dead now messed up his long term plans, but it was probably for the best. She was a strong, devoted ninja now though, and would have made a fine genetic partner for reviving his clan.

Sasuke stood, eyeing the blond boy now. He could just leave him here, but Sasuke didn't like that idea somehow. He bent down again with a grimace and tossed the boy over his shoulder. He signaled to the somewhat confused looking members of his team and took off. He didn't owe them an explanation, after all.

X


When Sai returned to the clearing, huffing loudly, a clean-up team hot on his heels he froze. There was something wiggling inside of his chest that he couldn't quite place. Sakura was there, but she was dead, still and cold. He could tell without even going over. That wasn't what bothered him the most though. Naruto was gone, gone. Naruto had been his mission, keeping the boy safe and alive, with his bijuu intact. Sai couldn't afford to fail this mission, for more reasons that just duty to Konoha, though that did weigh heavily on the boy's mind.

The cleanup team went to work immediately, examining the bodies clearly, and identifying them. Along with Sakura there were two enemy nin, the pattern of their robes indicating that they had been affiliated with the Akatsuki, though they didn't match the identity of any known members. Sai set his jaw, scanning the clearing for any indication of where Naruto had gone. He didn't find any though.

X


Naruto was nauseous when he woke, but he was somewhere warm, surrounded by softness and a clean, familiar smell. His head and his stomach both pulsed slowly with pain, and the throbbing in his head only doubled when he tried to open his eyes, the light blinding him immediately as he slammed them back closed, burying his face in the pillow beneath his head. He let out a little whimper at the deep ache, and his body stiffened as he heard someone shift close to him. He quickly gauged his surroundings from what he could sense without moving. There seemed to only be one person in with him, and those seemed like good odds to him.

He came up fighting, his body screaming at him as he jumped to his feet, only to stumbled, dizziness overtaking him. He got a glimpse of the other person though, male, thin, sharp teeth and unhealthy looking skin. He shuddered as he heard a curse from the man, and suddenly found cold, clammy skin on his as he was caught, laid back onto the futon he'd woken from. He struggled a little, wanting to run but not being able to gather enough energy to overcome the pain and exhaustion he still felt.

"Hey, the kid's awake!" The man's voice was unpleasant and grating, but Naruto heard the answering grunt from outside the room, and movement. He stilled, not sure what to do. If it were just him he would try to fight his way out right now, but the lingering and strangely toned chakra he felt pulsing weakly inside of him made him hesitate. He knew the kyuubi wouldn't let them die if he could save them, but Naruto couldn't take that chance, not now. He gave up with a sigh, relaxing against the man's hands, still pushing him down.

He cracked his eyes again, blinking to accustom himself to the light, and not a moment to soon. The door beside him slipped open, and in slid the person he least expected to see. His mouth hung open for a second. It was Sasuke. The Uchiha looked down at him cooly.

"I see you're awake, Uzumaki. I found you in a clearing. Sakura was there, she was dead and you were halfway to joining her." Naruto felt conflicting tugs in his chest. On one hand he might be able to beat Sasuke into coming home now, back to Konoha, since there was obviously some part of the stoic boy that still cared. That only led him to wonder why Sasuke might go out of his way to save him, when he'd tried so hard to kill him more than once before. Naruto swallowed heavily, his throat dry.

"Sasuke...?" His voice cracked, and he felt confused suddenly, a sense of displacement hitting him like vertigo. He didn't know where he was, or when he was, the time before this a blur. Sakura was dead? When had that happened? He tried to sit up, but the man's hands were still on him and he whimpered slightly. Sasuke glowered.

"Suigetsu, let the boy go. He may be dangerous, but I have a feeling he won't be right now." Naruto was infinitely glad when those hands pulled away, and he could sit up, though the movement did make him dizzy, a little bit nauseous. He coughed heavily, the movement wracking his body. Sasuke was by him in a second, moving him slightly and rubbing his back. It helped, in a way, and Naruto looked up at his former teammate gratefully. The Uchiha almost smiled.

"Sasuke, come back with me..." Naruto winced a little as the words sprung forth. He knew it wouldn't be that easy, Sasuke had fought so hard to leave and Naruto was in no condition to beat sense into the boy right now. He was surprised when the hand on his back didn't pull away. Sasuke just sighed.

"You know there's something I need to do, and I can't even think of returning before then." Naruto nodded.

"Itachi?" Sasuke tensed, but still didn't pull away. Naruto let his head fall a bit. He was tired now, an almost insurmountable weight on his shoulders. Sakura was apparently dead, and Sasuke still wouldn't return. The only family he'd really had lay in shambles and he didn't have the emotional strength to deal with that fact right now without falling apart.

Sasuke pulled away then, standing, and Naruto felt the absence like a physical void in his chest. He almost reached up and pulled the boy back to him, but settled on following Sasuke with his eyes instead, empty and pleading. Sasuke turned back to him, their gazes crossing, before he turned away again.


"You're in no condition to leave right now. I will see that you're taken care of well until you're better. I will return. For now, Karin, I trust you can see to his condition?" The girl nodded, and walked over, assessing him brusquely before laying a hand on his arm.

X

Sasuke sat by the fire, plotting their next move silently, or possibly just brooding, when Suigetsu dropped himself heavily next to him. He smiled toothily at the boy, who met his eyes before looking back into the fire. Suigetsu yawned.


"So who's the hot little blond?" He knew that would provoke a reaction, and it did. Sasuke glared at him coldly, as if in warning, before his eyes returned to the fire once again. Suigetsu's smile widened.


"He's a former teammate, but he's also the container of the kyuubi, the one my brother seeks. By holding him we may well draw Itachi to us rather than having to trail him further." The logic was cold and sound, well thought out, but Suigetsu guessed there was more to it than that.


"He's in pretty bad shape though, do you think he'll be okay? Won't he slow us down?" Sasuke's jaw tightened visibly, and he gritted his teeth.


"He will be fine, the kyuubi will heal him, he always does. It doesn't matter if we slow some for now, Itachi will find us eventually, we have the thing he wants most." Suigetsu opened his mouth again, but Sasuke stood before he could speak.


"I'm going to bed, I've set up some sentry jutsu that should wake us if anything happens while we sleep." And with that he was gone, and Suigetsu decided he'd just found a new source of entertainment.


He waited until their leader retired to his room before he pushed inside, going over to where Karin was scribbling things onto a scrap of paper, one hand held over the blond boy's stomach. He grinned at her.


"Karin, how goes it? I've been sent to check the status and all." She socwled coldly at him, but sighed.


"There's something odd about the boy's chakra, it's like there's more than one signature there, there's at least two completely different types. It's puzzling, one definitely doesn't seem human..." Suigetsu rolled his eyes.


"That's because he's the kyuubi can, stupid. He has a big scary demon inside of him, that's why Sasuke wants to keep him." The sound that Karin made when he said that was priceless, and he almost didn't duck the punch she threw at his face. He grinned widely, before his eyes fell on the blond.


The boy's face was set in a deep frown, and while he'd seemed relaxed and compliant enough before, now he just looked limp and dead, his eyes squeezed closed, but even so tears leaked out the sides a little. Suigetsu faltered. Maybe he shouldn't have said that in front of the kid.

X

Sasuke noticed something was definitely wrong the next day. Suigetsu looked almost guilty, and Karin looked entirely too pleased with herself, though she was trying to hide it for some reason. That wasn't what he felt though, and he knew that was Naruto. He was used to sensing the way the boy felt, when they'd been on the same team the blond had been mercurial and wild sure, but he was also good at closing his feelings off to some degree.


He let his cold gaze fall first on Suigetsu, who was very pointedly not looking at him, then on Karin who seemed to be taking too much joy in their teammate's suffering. Juugo looked normal at least. He sat down by the fire where rice was cooking in a cast iron pot. He frowned, sliding over a bit until he was next to Karin.


"Do you know what's wrong with him yet?" Karin blushed a little, and fiddled with her fingers.


"Well, his chakra isn't really normal, but besides that I can't find anything wrong on a cursory scan. I'm guessing it's just a cold or something. If he doesn't get better in a few days, I can find something to give him for it." Sasuke nodded. That might explain why Naruto was acting a little out of character, if he really was sick. He bit his lip.


"We travel today, as soon as we get packed up. It should be around three days until we hit the next outpost, if Naruto is still feeling ill when we arrive I will let you look him over again."

X

The trip was rough on Naruto, who found himself unable to travel as fast as he might have in the past, feeling tired and slightly nauseous the whole time. Juugo had offered to carry him at one point, and he was almost tempted to take the help before Sasuke vetoed the idea without giving a reason.


When they got to the next outpost, Naruto was feeling downright horrible. His body felt entirely too hot and he was having trouble keeping down his food. Sasuke had been forcing the team to take a pace slow enough for him, and it had taken them an extra day and a half because of it. Still, they were all glad to have real shelter again, and restock their supplies. These outposts were sealed with special codes, so they didn't fall to ransackers and scavengers like some of the larger bases.


Sasuke had brought him to a bedroom as soon as they'd arrived, and commanded him to lay down until dinner was ready. Naruto couldn't argue with that, he was too tired and hungry to boot. He spread out on the clean, dry futon with a happy sigh, and tried to quiet his mind. It wasn't easy, something that seemed vaguely important nagging at the back of his mind. It kept slipping away though, as much as he tried to catch it.


Sakura was dead, that came as a shock to him. He could remember the edge of a battle, some mission, and danger, warning lights going off in his mind, but everything was so blurry after that, he couldn't figure out what had happened. All he remembered when he tried to push it was pain, burning searing horrible pain, like his insides were being ripped out.


He bit his lip harshly to bring himself back, still so weak from the journey and he hadn't been able to keep down a decent meal in days. He felt hot now too, and he knew he must be sick. Why Kyuubi wasn't healing him was a mystery. For a second panic flared in his mind, that maybe the fox was gone, but no, that woman on Sasuke's team had seen the fox on her chakra scan.


His thoughts were interrupted then, as Sasuke pushed his way back into the room roughly. He scowled at Naruto's unusually pale skin, and bit his lip as he set the tray of rice and fish- cooked bland and light -beside the futon, pulling up a cushion to sit next to him. Naruto shivered a little at the contact, but leaned into the cool feeling of Sasuke's soft skin against his, closing his eyes.


"I take it you're still feeling sick, Uzumaki? I'll get Karin to look at you again but if she can't fix you I'm taking you to a medic in the next town tomorrow." Naruto wanted to protest, knowing that wherever they were it probably wasn't good for Sasuke to go prancing around out in the open like he was. His speech dissolved quickly into a fit of coughing though, and Sasuke scowled as he got up.


Naruto felt his stomach sink as he watched the Uchiha leave. Naruto almost considered getting up and following him, suddenly not so comfortable with being in this strange base alone in his condition. He couldn't seem to get himself up though, only succeeding in getting halfway off the futon before he felt the ache in his stomach, and he was coughing again. He winced, and didn't hear Sasuke come back in, Karin on his heels. Naruto jumped when he felt the Uchiha's hand on his back, hauling him back up onto the bed with a scowl, a tough of roughness in the action.


"For Gods' sake dobe, get back in the fucking bed, You're obviously not well enough to push yourself right now, you're not healing properly. Karin, look him over again. Something definitely isn't right here, he isn't healing like he should be." The woman knelt beside Naruto, and the tingle of her chakra on his skin as she scanned him made him uncomfortable, drawing memories of that night, and what that other man had said, about Sasuke only wanting him for Kyuubi.


He winced a little as he shifted, wondering again if maybe the demon wasn't there anymore. The thought almost gave him comfort, it would serve the utter bastard right. He smiled weakly at the thought, but he was distracted by a confused gasp from Karin. Sasuke leaned in beside the woman, and Naruto scowled at the way her face flushed slightly at the contact, but he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.


"What?" Sasuke's voice was more worried than Naruto had heard it, pretty much ever, and that made him happy for some reason. Karin's forehead knit a little, and she bit her lip.


"There's something wrong with his chakra, there are two distinct signatures, like before, but there seems to be another one, some sort of a mixture. It's like... a node almost, the other chakras are all tied up around it, I think that's why he's not healing. I can't do much about that though, I mean I could try but-" Sasuke cut her off quickly, his tone clipped.


"No. I'll take him into the village tomorrow, we can have him looked at. He's too valuable, to the mission I mean, to let this job fall to anyone but a professional." Sasuke leaned in closer then, moving around Karin to lay a hand on Naruto's forehead again. It was cool, and comforting, and Naruto leaned into the contact.


"Karin, make him something that will help him sleep, and sent Suigetsu into town to make us an appointment first thing in the morning. I'll take him over after dark if his condition is holding tomorrow." The woman nodded and left. Naruto let his eyes slide closed, a little startled when Sasuke's cool hand didn't withdraw, just turned over as it slowly warmed against him.

X

Naruto was nervous as he pushed through the fading light towards the village, leaning heavily on Sasuke. He'd slept most of the day, and he'd managed to keep down the rice porridge the Uchiha had brought him when he came to wake him up. Still, even with heavy cloaks covering them he felt oddly on edge about being so out in the open here.


It seemed his worry was misplaced though, people in the town seemed to know Sasuke, distantly, and respect him enough to steer clear of him with simple nods of greeting. They got to the doctor's house quickly, and pushed into the small clinic that was built on the ground floor. An old man with greying hair smiled at them as they entered, and exchanged easy greetings with Sasuke. This perplexed Naruto a little, but he didn't have much time to ponder it.


The doctor got right to work, the familiar tingle of scanning chakra tickled against Naruto's skin as he felt his body start to get shaky again. The doctor wore the same perplexed expression as Karin as he pulled away, and Naruto watched anxiously as the man stood, pulling a piece of coated paper with a seal on it from a shelf before returning, channeling his chakra through it before setting it on Naruto's stomach.


Sasuke frowned as he watched the seal bubble with red chakra for a moment before settling, the symbols on it different than before. Naruto looked nervously between the doctor and Sasuke, waiting for one of them to tell him what this meant. The doctor just frowned and stood, repeating the test with the same result before locking eyes with Sasuke.


"Uchiha-san, can I talk to you outside please. This is quite unusual." Sasuke scowled, and stepped behind Naruto.


"I'm sure that Uzumaki here can be trusted with whatever you have to tell me about his condition, I do think it concerns him a great deal after all." The doctor paled a little, but the Uchiha stood firm, and Naruto silently thanked him for that. The doctor sighed, his shoulders falling a little as he held the seals out in front of him.


"I take it you are aware of the chakra fluctuations he is experiencing? There are three signatures inside of him, and they differ greatly. One is definitely not human, but there is another one. It's- well, it's human. I'm afraid somehow this boy has a human fetus developing inside of him.


"It seems to be pretty healthy from what I can tell, but the chakra pathways around the-the... the womb if you will, they're damaged. I'm guessing a jutsu did this, but I've never seen a jutsu like that before. There was a lot of damage I think, but I can't be sure without more tests."


Naruto was confused, watching the line of Sasuke's muscles tense and the other boy turn away with a scowl. He wasn't sure what he'd just heard. He had a tiny baby living inside of him, healthily? He just wasn't sure how to feel about that. He knew he had to keep the child, if there really was one, safe for as long as he could. The doctor cleared his throat in the stretching silence, and Sasuke turned, leaving the room.


Naruto sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and trying his hardest to get up, to follow Sasuke. His mind was racing, and his heart too. He didn't want to be left here alone, in a strange town with some doctor who'd just told him the most surprising news of his life. He felt clammy fingers wrap around his wrist then though, the dizziness swimming in his head threatening to pitch him over if he tried to stand.


"Uzumaki-san was it? Please wait, don't leave. I want to be sure. I can give you something for the pain and the nausea, you should feel a bit better, and some vitamins if there really is something." Naruto wanted to pull away, but he couldn't deny that he was curious, and if the doctor could make him feel better then even if Sasuke did leave he could go home. That hurt a little, but he could manage it. He smiled weakly.


"Alright then"

X


It was later when Naruto limped back outside, and it was pitch dark. Everyone seemed to be inside now, from the village. Naruto jumped in surprise when he turned, and came on a familiar face. It was someone from Sasuke's team, the large, quiet one. Naruto spared the man a little smile, holding up a small paper bag that now held his medicines.


Juugo was silent though, just leading him back to their base through the darkness. The man disappeared as soon as they were inside though, and Naruto wandered in the general direction of where he thought his room had been. He was understandably a little confused, he hadn't exactly been in top mental condition when he'd been through here last time.


He stumbled upon the kitchen though, it was thankfully empty, and he decided that would do. He would just see if he could make some tea and possibly even something to eat. He needed something to take with the pills.

Naruto still didn't really understand how or why something like this would happen- could happen -and to him. He had a feeling he knew the jutsu though, he'd learned it a long long time ago. He didn't know why he would have used it though. Unless something really really bad had happened.

He rummaged through the cabinets looking for tea leaves, and they weren't that hard to find. He set out a cup, trying to keep busy while the water boiled. He didn't notice Sasuke pushing the door open until the other boy was standing right there next to him. He didn't jump though, somehow he had expected Sasuke to come find him then, he'd even been hoping for it. He smiled weakly again, confused by the whole situation and not really able to process everything right now. Sasuke's voice was cool when he spoke, but Naruto could sense the emotion beneath the surface, not as skillfully hidden as usual and that heartened him a bit.

"So is it true? Are you... with child?" Naruto nodded dumbly, as the kettle finally whistled behind him. Sasuke watched as he poured the water over the leaves scattered at the bottom of the worn little pot. Then the Uchiha's hand was suddenly on his wrist.


"How, Uzumaki? How did this happen?" Naruto shook his head, not trusting himself to speak right then as he swirled the pot gently in his hand. He didn't look at Sasuke's face, not being able to take the disgust and morbid curiosity he knew he would find there. He couldn't explain it himself, not really. He just sighed, setting the teapot back onto the counter and fishing another cup from the cupboard. He knew Sasuke wasn't leaving anytime soon, so he figured he might as well make him a cup of tea to, there would be more than enough.

Sasuke's hand was back on his arm though, as soon as he put the cup down.

"Naruto. How. Did. This. Happen." Naruto flinched. It had been so long since Sasuke had said his name, especially like that. Dobe, Usurutonkatchi, Uzumaki, but never just Naruto. Still, he turned to face Sasuke with a heavy sigh.

"Look. I don't remember, but there was this jutsu, I learned it back when we were kids. I shouldn't know it, but I do, I mean I'm not sure but I must know it, it's the only way..." He trailed off, blushing now, on the verge of tears. He stared resolutely at the counter. Sasuke's hand tightened on his arm.

"What jutsu? What does it do?"

"I-it, well... it takes an unborn child, if it's in danger, and transfers it. It's like a body swap thing. I thought it might be useful, but I've obviously never cast it before. I don't know who..." He trailed off again, his eyes slowly widening as the connections finally snapped into place in his head. He remembered Sakura pulling him aside, telling him there was something important he needed to know. She was pregnant, though she said she couldn't tell him who the father was. He remembered after that fight then, when he was with Sasuke again, the Uchiha's cold voice telling him that Sakura was dead.

He looked up, his wide eyes meeting Sasuke's, which were swimming with something conflicted. It was Sakura's child inside of him, he hadn't been able to save her but he saved her baby. He felt tears falling down his cheeks then, both bitter and sweet. At least he'd been able to do something for her, in those last moments. He knew he wouldn't have dared to use that jutsu unless it was life or death. He closed his eyes, looking away from Sasuke then.

"So you saved it, you saved Sakura's child, am I right?" Naruto just nodded, then his brain did a double take.

"But how did you know Sakura was pregnant? She didn't tell anyone, she said she needed to keep it safe from them. You haven't seen her in ages anyways, that doesn't make any..." Naruto's eyes sprung wide again, flitting up to Sasuke's face, the mask there cracked around the edges now, with hope. Sasuke nodded.

"It was mine Naruto. I found Sakura during a mission she was on, it was surprising to watch her train, she is- was -so much stronger. I came while everyone else was sleeping. I asked her, and she accepted. I know I might not survive the final battle with that man, and before that happened I needed to fulfill my other obligation in life. I have to provide an heir, at least one, I can't let the bloodline just die out with me."

Naruto was silent, torn between anger, surprise, and a bit of wonder. He couldn't say he wasn't proud to be carrying this child either, it was not only the last thing left of Sakura, who had become a good friend over time, but this child was also Sasuke's dream. It was a bit bitter, the realization that Sasuke would stay by him now. He didn't want the Uchiha to leave, but he also didn't want his friend to stay because he was some sort of package, again he would only be valued for what was inside, not for himself. Still, Naruto knew that he would take what he could get.