Sacred Flower

Finally, it’s the LAST CHAPTER!!! I tried to make it long to make up for you guys as a grand finale. Now that it’s the end, I don’t know what to feel! Yay? Wah? How am I supposed to react? It was fun writing this…but now that this is out of the way, I can finally focus on my other story and hopefully finish that story quicker than this.

Now…for the last time…ON TO THE STORY!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- Month Nine -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

This was it. This was the month. Soon, the baby will come. It’ll come in four short weeks.

Sakura felt a bunch of anxiety build up in her heart. She knew what would happen, she’s seen it for herself, but she’s never experienced it firsthand. She knew where the baby would come out…she never knew how it comes out though. How does a baby fit through that part of a woman? The first time she’s ever been with Sasuke, his manhood stretched her wide and it hurt. Obviously, this baby will be bigger than that and she began to worry.

When Sakura didn’t feel anxious, she felt annoyed. She wanted this baby out!

“Sasuke, when will the baby come out? I feel fat and I’m as big as a house!” she whined.

“You’re not big, you’re beautiful and you always will be,” he said, getting up to give her a kiss. “This baby will come out soon, so how about picking out a name?”

“Oh my god, I completely forgot! I was so busy going to the toilet and eating, I forgot about names!” Her mood did a 180 and she was grinning, babbling about the cutest names for a girl and a cute, but manly, name for a boy.

Sasuke took on a secret project that Sakura didn’t know about. He seemed to spend countless hours in a spare room that was barely noticeable, doing god knows what. That room kept priceless family heirlooms of the Uchiha clan, but they weren’t worth much; they had sentimental value. All he told her was not to go into that room and she kept her promise not to look…until her curiosity won over her loyalty. Waddling to the door, she placed her palms on it…and she hesitated to push it open. Why was she hesitating? It’s not like Itachi was standing behind the door. She finally summoned up the courage to ease it open and when she did, she saw…

Nothing. The room was dark and empty. The thick, dark curtains were drawn and the walls were painted black and they were blank. There were obvious holes in the wall where there were shelves for the heirlooms to lay upon.

‘Huh…where are the heirlooms?’

Sakura dismissed it with a shrug and closed the door, not knowing that a jutsu was in place to keep her from the truth.

One day while the both of them were thinking about names, a knock came on the door. Sasuke got up to answer it, leaving Sakura to rest with her feet propped up by a few cushions. Sakura could distinctly hear the voices and they sounded familiar.

“Damn it, you were supposed to come when Sakura wasn’t home.” It was Sasuke.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t know when she’d be home or not…” That voice…it sounded like…Naruto?

“Are you boys done bickering? I’d like to get this over with so I can get back to my book.” Kakashi too? What was going on?

“Just hurry up. You know where to go,” directed Sasuke. Sakura chose that moment to get up and check things out for herself.

“Sasuke, what’s going on?” she asked. Sasuke stopped in the middle of the hallway. Kakashi and Naruto had already disappeared into the room Sasuke had told her not to go in.

“Well, now that you are aware, I suppose you should see.” Sakura felt some trepidation. What was he talking about? What was he keeping from her?

Sasuke led Sakura through the narrow hallway, one hand on the small of her back while the other just under her abdomen, supporting the baby and putting less strain on her back. When Sakura looked into the room, her uneasiness dropped and she stared in awe.

Sasuke had built a little nursery for their baby, with Kakashi and Naruto setting up a crib in one corner of the room while a bassinet was already made and waiting for an inhabitant.

“Okay,” said Naruto, reading the instructions. There wasn’t any need for the instructions; Kakashi had the outline set up. Now it needed a platform for the mattress to lie on and a few screws drilled in and it would be done.

“After creating the basic outline of the crib, find the red peg.” Naruto instantly spotted it and pulled it out. “Found it!” he triumphantly cheered. “Okay, now when you find the red peg,” he continued to read, “do not pull it out.” Naruto looked on in horror as all the hard work Kakashi had put into the crib fell like a house of cards. Kakashi’s lone eye trailed to Naruto and glared daggers. Kakashi then shook his head and started over while Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and stayed out of the way.

“Hey Sakura? How do you like the room?” Naruto asked. Sakura took a step into the room and looked around. The walls were painted yellow with orange ducks bordering all around the room. In one corner, there was Kakashi setting up a crib. In another, there was a pristine white bassinet and a rocking chair. In another was a changing table with little towels hanging off on the hangar and little shelves underneath the table for the baby powder and a few diapers and things. In the closet, Sasuke had already stocked up on diapers and formulas and towels and bibs. There were even little pacifiers for little mini-people and toys for the baby to play with.

Sakura felt overwhelmed. She needed to sit down. She nearly plopped down onto the cold, hard floor but Sasuke caught her and shifted her weight onto him and gently set her down. Sakura craned her neck up high to see every little detail.

“How do you like it?” Sasuke softly asked.

“I love it,” she whispered. She let a few tears leak out, so happy that Sasuke thought of something thoughtful. She could change the baby here and rock it in the chair and read to it and breastfeed it…

“There!” Kakashi announced. The crib was finished, complete with little pillows, blankets and sheets on the mattress and a little mobile hanging above the pillow. Sasuke nodded in gratitude and handed the man a small wad of cash. Sakura toddled over to the crib and stood over it.

She looked at the crib and delicately picked up the tiny pillow. She ran her fingers over the pattern of the fabric, which Kakashi had decorated with his own touches. On the pillow were patterns of shurikens, indicating that he hopes to live until he could teach their child to be like their parents, mature and strong. The mobile had two shurikens and two kunais, the kunais on opposite sides of each other as were the shurikens. There was a little doll in the middle that oddly resembled Kakashi, complete with the wild hairstyle, the mask and a headband covering the doll’s left eye.

Giggling, Sakura turned to Sasuke. “Sasuke, we need new sheets for this.”

“Well, what’s wrong with what we have now?” he inquired.

“These have ninja stuff all over them; it’s not appropriate for a baby!” she admonished.

“Well, it’s best that we go now,” spoke up Kakashi. Sakura had completely forgotten about him and Naruto!

“What? But Kakashi-sensei, I want to stay and see Sakura’s other reactions to the room!”

“Naruto, we’re going now,” Kakashi said sternly. Defeated, Naruto slumped his shoulders and walked out of the room, giving Sakura a weak goodbye.

“Goodbye now,” said Kakashi, crinkling his eye. Then he left in a puff of smoke.

Sakura continued to sit in the middle of the room with Sasuke holding her. She drank in the sight of the bright, pastel colours and the smell of baby powder. Everything was perfect; just the way she wanted it.

The Braxton Hicks are now occurring more frequently. They seemed to be scheduled, actually. Sakura would always get them in the night but they were never painful enough to awaken her. Sometimes, milk would leak from her breasts but she knew it didn’t mean any harm for anything. She would just stir and groan a little and cradle her stomach a little harder. She would awaken Sasuke when she did this; his ninja instincts always kicked in when something moved or something made a sound. When he was satisfied that they weren’t in danger and that Sakura was just going under again, he would rub her belly to make it stop, as if he had the magical powers to make the fake contractions cease. However, one night was completely different from those nights.

During the night, Sasuke woke up. Sakura was stirring in her sleep again, cradling her swollen abdomen and slightly groaning in pain. Sasuke was about to rub her belly better when he felt something strange.

‘Wetness?’

Oh no. No no no no no. It can’t be. Did he have a wet dream? The answer seemed to fit seeing that the wetness was splashed all over the front of his boxers and that he hasn’t had sex in a very long time, but that wasn’t the case. The wetness seemed to be mostly underneath Sakura’s hips. Sasuke froze, his brain quickly coming up with answers to explain this anomaly.

‘Maybe she just wet the bed. That could happen to pregnant women.’

‘This would be the first time she’s wet the bed idiot! There has to be a different answer.’ Sakura was groaning a little louder now so Sasuke started rubbing her belly to make the pain stop but it seemed to increase as her cries of pain became slightly louder.

‘Well, maybe it’s some sort of vaginal discharge. That could happen.’

‘It would still be an isolated incident! There has to be something else.’

Sasuke thought long and hard until he was sure he had it.

‘Is…is it time?’

Looking over at the clock, it read 4:54. As soon as he realized that she was in actual labour, he shot out of bed and got dressed, getting one of Sakura’s overalls and a shirt for her to quickly dress in for the hospital.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, disturbed by the cold hitting her back. She was met with the scene of Sasuke running around for things and a radiating pain from her back towards the front.

“Sasuke…what’s going on?” she asked tentatively, worried at the answer he could give her. Before he could answer, she felt some wetness around her and she could clearly see him grab her clothes and a bag they had prepared when Sakura went in labour.

“Sakura, I need you to put these on,” he said, throwing her the overalls and the shirt. Sakura was in the process of dressing when she doubled over in pain. Sasuke did his best to comfort her by rubbing her belly as he did during her Braxton Hicks. He helped her slip into the overalls because she only managed to get the shirt on herself before she cringed in pain. As soon as she was dressed, Sasuke slung the bag over his shoulder, focused most of his chakra into his arms to carry Sakura and the rest of his chakra to his legs for speed.

“Sasuke, slow down! I feel like I’m falling!” cried Sakura, holding onto Sasuke for dear life. She clung onto him harder when her contractions became closer.

“On second thought, hurry! It hurts Sasuke! I want this baby out!” she screeched. Sasuke sped towards the hospital with what little chakra there were in his legs.

“Tsunade!” he called. He didn’t know anyone at the hospital other than Shizune or Tsunade and had no idea what to do.

‘And they call you a genius.’

“Shizune!” he called. “Anybody?” Luckily, Tsunade popped her head out from a room. She was at the hospital to check up on something that the medical team were researching. Things were fine until she heard her name being called.

“What’s the matter Sasuke?” she asked but she didn’t need an answer from the young Uchiha before her. In front of her was Sakura being carried by said Uchiha and she had a pained expression on her face.

“It’s…it’s time,” Sakura managed to say despite the pain from the contractions.

“Get a wheelchair!” ordered Tsunade to a random nurse, gossiping away on something extraordinary happening in Konoha.

“Prep the delivery room! And…oh god, fine! I’ll do it all myself!” grumbled Tsunade. These medics were paid by hard-working shinobis who risk their lives everyday to bring some income to the village and this is how they repay said ninja? Slacking off and gossiping? Tsunade needed a drink really badly but she had to control her urges for Sakura’s well-being.

Shizune heard the commotion and knowing that the other nurses and medics wouldn’t do what they were told, Shizune grabbed the nearest wheelchair and raced to Tsunade with it, and then sped off to prep the delivery room, grabbing some other nurses and medics to help her.

“Okay Sakura, just sit down and relax,” coaxed Tsunade, helping Sakura into the wheelchair while Sasuke readjusted the bag and pushed her in the wheelchair.

“Sakura, I know it hurts, but you need to breathe,” said Sasuke, recalling what the fallen husbands of the clan would say to their wives.

“Just breathe honey. That’s it,” was what they would say. At the time, a young Sasuke learned that women needed constant comfort and reassurance to survive through anything, another reason to add onto his list of “why he focused on killing his brother before being tied down to some bitch with a few brats”.

When they got to the room, it was ready with several medics standing by and Tsunade helped Sakura get dressed in a hospital gown and onto the bed, transitioning form a sitting pose to a more laid-back approach.

“Sakura, I’ll be right back, okay?” Sasuke said, leaving to look for a phone. He had no idea what else to do at times like these so he’d call someone to help. But before he could take a step, Sakura held onto his arm like a vice grip.

“Sasuke, don’t leave me!” she cried. “I need you here with me…I need you.”

“Sakura, it’s okay, I won’t leave. I’m just going to make a few calls and I’ll be right back,” he assured her. Well, at least he got the “constant reassuring” part right about women. He’d never thought Sakura would be one of those women, especially with her strength and her mentor being the Hokage.

Sakura reluctantly let him go and he quickly found a payphone. He smashed it open and all the coins fell out and Sasuke used one of them to call one person: Naruto.

“What?” Naruto grumbled. “It’s 5 in the frickin’ morning. What do you want?”

“Naruto, it’s me. You know what to do.” And with that, Sasuke hung up and dashed back to Sakura’s side.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

It was just past 5 AM. Naruto was dreaming happily about Hinata and ramen. In his dream, Hinata was his wife, preparing a big bowl of ramen for him.

“Who’s the birthday boy?” she purred, placing down the bowl in front of him. Naruto was drooling just watching her make it. Now, he was drooling watching her seduce him with ramen. Naruto took one slurp at the ramen and it was the best he’d ever had. Hinata leaned in close to him, giving him a birthday kiss (and maybe more birthday things) when a phone rang, interrupting his wonderful dream.

“Aw dammit, who’d call now!?” Picking up the phone, he instantly began to lash out at whoever interrupted his awesome dream.

“What? It’s 5 in the frickin’ morning. What do you want?”

A chilled voice was heard; a chilled voice that was easily recognized. “Naruto, it’s me. You know what to do.” And then the caller hung up. Naruto knew it was Sasuke’s voice and hung up the phone. He sat in bed for a few seconds, rubbing his eyes when the words rang through his head.

“You know what to do.”

“You know what to do.”

Sasuke had come to Naruto just a couple weeks ago, briefing him on what to do in case Sakura went into labour. Sasuke would call Naruto at whatever time it was, which was most likely in the night, and if he got a call from him, Naruto was to make his shadow clones alert the rest of the rookie nine and whoever else was important enough not to miss this event.

Wait! Sasuke called, which meant…Sakura was in labour NOW! Naruto jumped out of bed, threw on his clothes and summoned his shadow clones to do his bidding. Naruto himself would accompany Sasuke at the hospital, knowing that the so-called Uchiha genius wouldn’t know what to do during a “crisis” like this. And it never occurred to Naruto that he himself didn’t know what to do.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

As soon as Sasuke made the call, he dashed back to Sakura’s side. She wasn’t any different now than she was five minutes ago: she was still screaming her head off and crying out, “I want the baby OUT!”

“Shh…it’s okay,” he assured her. “It’ll be fine, just wait a little while longer.”

“Sakura, you’re dilated about 8 centimetres. Just wait a little bit more and you can push all you want,” informed Tsunade. Nodding understandingly, Sakura did her best to resist the temptation of pushing the little life form from within out of her.

God! It hurt like hell! It was probably worth walking through hell and back just to go through it all without physical pain. Sure, it would be psychological pain, but she’s a ninja; she dealt with traumatic events all the time (i.e.: the shit she went through thanks to Itachi).

“Almost there Sakura,” informed Tsunade, “just one more centimetres left.”

Sakura could barely bottle up her frustration. “But I want it out NOW!” She cried and wailed through the whole experience with Sasuke by her side to calm her down. Grasping her hand firmly, he told her, “Just hold onto me and we’ll get through this.”

‘Where are you getting all these sappy words from? I honestly thought you were better than this,’ scolded his inner self.

‘Shut up,’ he shot back. ‘I owe Sakura for giving me a reason to live now. I owe her my loyalty, my love…I owe her my life.’

“That’s it!” cried Tsunade, “Sakura, use the force of the next contraction and push with all your might.” Sakura could faintly feel her abdomen try to exile the baby from her womb.

She opened her mouth and let out an ear-piercing scream, crushing Sasuke’s hand in her vice-grip. Sasuke had to squeeze her hand back to stop the bones in his hand from being completely shattered. Sakura’s grip on his hand significantly loosened and her screams died down. Now, she had to wait for the next contraction to push and hopefully get the baby out.

No sooner than five seconds later, her grip returned and the pain of the contraction overwhelmed her and she pushed with all of her might.

“Sakura, the baby’s head---it’s crowning!” Tsunade informed. Sakura’s grip went lax again and she tried to catch her breath.

“What does that mean, crowning?” asked Sasuke. Tsunade was about to answer when Sakura told him herself.

“It means that the baby’s head is peeking out, and now it feels like the whole throne is trying to make its way out of me!” She screamed the last few words as she felt another contraction and pushed with all her might.

“Okay, the baby’s head is out Sakura. You’re doing great,” said Shizune. The other medics in the room went to get a blanket and get the cleaning station ready when an obnoxious boy ran in with a million other people. Orange, purple, beige, green, and white were rushing into the room.

“Hey Sasuke! Where’s Sak--- ARGH!!! My eyes!!” screamed Naruto. “What the hell is that coming out of her!?!?”

“Naruto, GET OUT!” Tsunade and Sasuke yelled simultaneously. The other medics in the room pushed everyone that wasn’t needed out the door.

“Please wait outside for Sakura and Sasuke,” said Shizune, and she went back to her duties.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“Oh boy…” retched Naruto. Something was coming out of Sakura and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what it was. He had brought along Ino, Hinata, Lee, and Kakashi. He knew they would have the most interest in Sakura being in labour. His clones had gathered up the group in record time, all being directed to the hospital. As soon as everyone saw everyone else, the clones disappeared.

“Oh my Sakura!” cried Lee. He had been moaning in lament since he found out that Sakura was carrying Sasuke’s child, but he was happy for her nonetheless. “How it pleases me that you have found happiness.” A sharp scream was heard throughout the hospital. “And how it pains me to hear you in pain,” Lee finished.

“Lee, shut up,” said Ino. She was concentrating on hearing Sakura’s screams and if they died down for a long time, that would be her cue to rush in and see the baby.

Kakashi sighed, pulled out the infamous orange book and flipped through the pages until he found a particularly sensual scene that he’d been reading over and over again for the past few weeks.

“Kakashi-sensei! How can you read that dirty book while something’s wrong with Sakura!?” admonished Naruto.

“Naruto, nothing’s wrong with Sakura. She’s simply giving birth,” answered Kakashi, still reading his book. Naruto was about to retort when one last ear-splitting scream echoed in the hospital and was quickly replaced by a cry. All heads shot up and looked towards the delivery room.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“Almost there Sakura!”

Sakura was pushing with everything she had, cancelling out the pain by crushing Sasuke’s hand. The baby was almost completely out now, just a little more to go. With one last push, the baby was finally out and Shizune pushed Sakura’s stomach to dislodge the placenta. Sakura let out a deafening scream, soon to be replaced by a tiny cry. It quickly filled the room as a medic quickly wrapped the tiny thing in a blanket and handed it to the father.

As Sasuke received the child, his eyes went wide. It was such a tiny little thing, so fragile and delicate.

“What’s her name?” asked Tsunade. Sasuke looked up at her briefly before consulting Sakura about names. He gently handed the tiny girl over to her. “It’s a girl,” Sasuke whispered to her.

“I don’t know…” she mumbled, obviously exhausted about the whole experience. Opening her eyes, she examined her beautiful daughter. She was practically the essence of Sasuke, right down to the onyx eyes, the hair and even a grumpy, almost stoic, face.

Sasuke, however, had an idea about the name. She looked so much like someone he almost forgot…his own mother.

Sasuke had always looked like his mother, just as Itachi strongly resembled their father. People said that they were practically twins. They were wrong. They resembled a different person. Itachi had a more angular face and those determined eyes, like their father. Before the clan’s massacre, Sasuke was kinder, and more naïve. He had a rounder face with softer eyes which had hardened since the massacre. After that, he always had to look over his shoulder to defend himself from any enemies of the Uchiha clan.

A name spilled from Sasuke’s lips. “Mikoto…” he said, just above a whisper.

Tsunade’s head snapped up from the sink in shock. They were going to name their daughter after Sasuke’s mother?

“Sasuke? What did you say?” asked Sakura, quietly inquiring about what he said. She was close to passing out and she wanted to know what he said.

“I found a name,” he replied, “but I’ll tell you after you’ve had some rest. Sleep now, I’ll be here when you wake up.” Nodding, Sakura fell asleep as soon as he said the word. Tsunade came to take the baby and wash her and cut the umbilical cord.

“I think it’s a lovely name,” said Tsunade before she left to wash the baby before placing it in a makeshift crib, which was just a clear, plastic box covered in blankets. Shizune covered Sakura in a warm blanket and pushed the bed out of the room, a medic not far behind to wheel the baby into the nursery. Sasuke tagged along, wanting to know where Sakura and Mikoto were going.

“Sakura’s simply being moved to another room to recuperate, and little Mikoto will be put into the nursery, that’s all,” said a smiling Shizune. “Congratulations,” she added, “you must be well on your way to rebuilding the clan.”

Smiling in agreement, Sasuke held Sakura’s hand the entire time…until they opened the door.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“Hey, do you think we can go in?”

“Naruto, I-I think we should wait for someone t-to come out.”

“I agree with Hinata. We must not intrude!”

“…”

“Argh!!! Screw this, I wanna see the baby!”

“NO!” everyone screamed, keeping Ino away from the door. Kakashi didn’t take part in any of this; he simply read his book like an innocent little boy. Only, he wasn’t such an innocent boy. He was a grown man. A man who read dirty novels written by an equally dirty author.

“Let me go!” Ino hollered, struggling to get away from the grasps of what seemed to be a million hands.

When Ino finally gave up, she let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, why not?”

“For one thing, I don’t want to see that thing coming out of Sakura,” said Naruto, looking like he’ll get sick again.

“Sakura stopped screaming, which means the baby is out now,” Ino answered.

“We shouldn’t intrude on their privacy,” piped in Hinata.

“I agree,” said Lee, tears rolling down his eyes. “If my Sakura blossom is indecent and indisposed, we should leave her be!”

“But the baby!!” whined Ino.

“Ino, if you want to play with a baby so bad, maybe you should have your own,” Kakashi said. After all, it shouldn’t be that hard for Ino to raise a baby. Her breasts could feed a hungry hoard of newborn babies. “If you need more money, work here as a wet nurse, feeding other people’s baby.”

Grumbling, Ino plopped down in her seat, muttering all the way. “Stupid people…wouldn’t let me see…says I should be a wet nurse…”

Hinata, Naruto and Lee were about to sit down when the door flung open. Everyone but Kakashi shot up and bombarded whoever came out first with questions.

“Boy or girl?”

“What’s its name?”

“Sakura! Are you alright?”

“Can I hold it?’”

“BOY OR GIRL!?”

The person they threw the questions on got annoyed. “Out of my way! Go and ask Sasuke,” snarled Tsunade. “I have a lot of paperwork to do, so move!” Everyone broke up and regrouped around the bed that was being pushed out of the room. They began to bombard the questions on the sleeping Sakura but Shizune shut them up.

“Quiet!” she hissed. “Sakura’s resting. Ask Sasuke or wait until she’s awakened.” As Sakura was being led away, a tiny little box rolled out of the room with the form of a baby; Sakura’s baby.

Everyone peered into the tiny box, instantly drinking in the tiny form inside. The cute little button-nose, the dark hair, the tiny fingers and toes…

Sasuke said a bunch of things, which sounded like total gibberish. “Girl, Mikoto, she’s fine, no.”

“Huh?” Everyone pried their eyes off the tiny infant to stare at Sasuke in a questioning gaze. “What?”

“Your questions,” he simply replied. “Girl, Mikoto, she’s fine, no.” Everyone thought for awhile. Then it hit them. Their questions. Ino’s question on the gender was answered. Hinata’s question on the baby’s name was answered. Lee’s question about Sakura was answered. Naruto’s questioned about holding the girl was answered.

“Hey, why can’t I hold her!?”

“Because you’ll drop her, now shut up.” Sasuke left them alone and followed Sakura’s rolling bed.

“Congratulations,” whispered Kakashi, as Sasuke went by. Sasuke tilted his head in thanks and continued to walk whereas everyone else followed Mikoto’s cart to the nursery. Kakashi got up from his ass and started following the little girl, wanting to see the next batch of possible ninjas in the nursery. Once they got there, the girls were overwhelmed.

A dozen babies (or more) were asleep in their little blanket-covered boxes, a few were crying and nurses were soothing them and calming them down. There was a little boy who drooled in his sleep, and another boy with the most spectacular blue-grey eyes. Ino cooed over this, until Kakashi spoke up.

“My eye is blue-grey, how come you’re not cooing over it?” asked Kakashi, a hint of mirth evident in his tone.

“Because your eye is droopy,” said Ino robotically, saying anything that would make him shut up so she could continue staring at the little mini-people. Unfortunately, when she said anything to make them go away, she usually blurted out the truth of what she thought about whatever the topic was.

“Oh, that hurt my feelings,” Kakashi nearly whimpered, feigning sensitivity. “If you’re going to be this mean, you’d better not have a baby. God knows what that poor child will grow up as.”

“All I know is that they won’t be like you,” retorted Ino, her nose pressed up against the glass of the nursery. Each baby looked as cute as the last, each one wrapped in either a pink or blue blanket to identify their gender.

“Truly, the youth of Konoha starts at the hospital!” declared Lee. “All of these babies shall make a fine ninja someday!”

“Wait, what make you think that all of them will be ninjas? Why can’t they just be civilians?” asked Hinata. Everyone began to debate if more ninjas for the village were really necessary or not. As usual, Kakashi just checked out all the babies, sat down on the nearest chair, pulled out his book and began to read.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Sakura woke up to the feeling of the sun dancing on her cheek. The distinct smell of disinfectant made its way up her nostril. She looked over to her left to see Sasuke lightly dozing off, slumped over in an uncomfortable looking chair while holding her hand.

She let go of his hand to run her fingers through his hair. He gently woke up, knowing that they were safe in the hospital.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she smiled back.

Sasuke reached his hand out to caress her cheek. “Are you feeling okay?” Sakura mildly nodded before she began to get worried. “Where’s the baby?”

“Probably in the nursery,” he simply answered. “Don’t go see her yet. Stay here and rest.”

Sakura was about to argue to see her daughter before a nurse came in with a clear, plastic box covered with pink blankets. “Someone’s hungry,” she said in a sing-song voice. Scooping out the baby from its sanctuary of the box, she handed the little girl to her mother for feeding time.

“It’s so nice to see a family together. Some men don’t see their unborn child due to missions and such. The only times I’ve seen a family together is if they’re a civilian family. Congratulations.” She promptly left the room, moving on to other duties.

Sakura gently pushed away the edge of her gown and lifted her baby up towards the rosy peak of her breast. As soon as the little mouth of the girl came in contact with the nipple, she began to gently suck on the teat, eliciting the milk and nourishing her small body.

Sasuke watched every second and never in his life did he feel so thankful. He had a real family now; a family he made. The remnants of his family were just faded memories that tortured him all his life.

The girl removed her mouth from Sakura’s breast. She was finished nursing; now she needed a burp. Sakura placed the infant on her lap in a sitting position. Using her right hand, she held up the baby’s chin and using her left, she patted her back. When a small burp was heard in the room, Sasuke picked her up and placed her back in her little box for a nap.

“She’s so tiny,” whispered Sakura. Even though she worked at the hospital and sometimes took care of the babies in the nursery, she was still amazed.

“I know,” Sasuke answered, “little Mikoto is tiny.”

Sakura looked at him with wide eyes. “That’s her name? Mikoto? After your mother?” Sasuke simply nodded and brought the baby back into her arms. Sakura ran a finger down Mikoto’s soft cheek, breathing in her scent of baby powder and milk after being in the nursery for a while. Sakura could see why he wanted her name to be Mikoto; the little one looked so much like his mother.

Smiling, Sakura cradled the little girl closer to her chest. “Little Mikoto it is.”

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

“Hey Sakura! There you are!” shouted Naruto’s rambunctious voice. After much prodding, Naruto finally figured out which room Sakura was staying in. Much to her chagrin, Ino came into the room before they could send Mikoto back to the nursery.

“Hand her over!” Ino demanded. Sakura reluctantly gave Mikoto to Ino.

“Don’t drop her,” said Sakura, “and don’t rock her too fast. She doesn’t like that. And don’t-”

“Sakura, relax. I’m supposed to be your best friend!” exclaimed Ino. “Have some faith in me.” Much to Sakura’s surprise, Ino handled Mikoto very well. Mikoto even cooed a few times and giggle when Naruto poked her in the side. Sakura’s eyes softened and she physically relaxed, trusting her friends to take care of Mikoto.

“Congratulations,” said Ino. Naruto and Hinata quickly agreed with Ino that they should have a celebration.

“Congratulations,” piped in Kakashi. They didn’t even notice the man coming in!

“Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The next day, Sakura was discharged. The entire hospital came out to bid farewell and Tsunade called out, saying to take it easy and make Sasuke do all the work. With a giggle and a frown, Sasuke and Sakura waved goodbye with their hands full of Mikoto.

Sasuke carried Sakura in his arms while she carried Mikoto. Mikoto giggled every time the wind whipped through her mother’s hair, tickling her cheek. Once they arrived home, Mikoto quickly settled into the little nursery Sasuke had built in “secret”.

It was only 5 in the afternoon, so they decided to put Mikoto down for a nap and then go out while a shadow clone watched her.

They went to the local watering hole favoured by ninjas; after all, who could turn down cheap alcohol? Especially if it’s a place that only wanted money? Ninjas needed some sort of distraction from the traumatizing missions they went on every day. You could stay for as long as you want, as long as you kept slapping down the money.

Once they arrived, they heard cheers for the both of them and they saw so many familiar faces. It looked like the party had already started.

“Nice job Uchiha!” called out a man. Sasuke only smirked in pride.

“Plucking the petals off our little blossom, naughty you,” purred a woman. Sakura shot her a dirty look and she went scampering away to find another man to rut with tonight.

Naruto flagged them down and brought them over to the table he was sitting in. Everybody was there, including Kakashi with his ever-present book and Tsunade with her sake bottles. Lee greeted the couple declaring, “The springtime of your youth is now, Sakura and Sasuke. Cherish what you have and love each other all through eternity!” It was followed by a river of tears from his eyes. Guy clapped for his student, silently letting the tears flow freely down his own face. Everyone else just shifted over, putting more space between themselves and the green-clad men.

The girls quickly pulled Sakura into their group while the guys nabbed Sasuke. Both were bombarded by questions. The girls giggled and chattered non-stop, giving Sakura a slight headache. Some of them seemed to have had a few drinks, seeing how they slurred their speech.

“Sakuraaa,” Ino began, hiccupping before giggling. “What’s it like to beeee…pregnant?” The girls listened to Sakura’s answer intently. Tsunade ordered another round of sake for the table.

“Well, you’d feel really tired a lot…and you’d eat a lot…but other than that, it’s alright, I suppose.”

“How did Sasuke handle it?” quietly asked Hinata.

“He was shocked, as most men were, but he became elated once the shock was over. He was also very good to me. I think I drove him mad!”

Unheard by the girls, the boys interrogated Sasuke about his experience with a pregnant woman.

“Was she still as sweet as she always was while she was while carrying the young one?” asked Lee.

“No,” Sasuke said bluntly, “she wasn’t. She needed to eat a lot, she needed to pee a lot, she cut me off from sex for most of the period and any little thing I do could piss her off. She was like a ticking time bomb; everything I did pissed her off. All she needed was a clock drawn onto her enlarged belly and voila, our Sakura bomb.”

Lee dropped his jaw, staring at the man who insulted his cherry blossom.

“HOW DARE YOU INSULT SAKURA!”

“Hey, you’d say the same thing I did if you lived with her for nine months with a bun in her oven,” Sasuke shot back. This made the guys fall into fits of riotous laughter. The usually stoic Neji and Shino let out a small chuckle. Sasuke remained with his usual bored face.

The group offered the both of them some sake and wine, which they declined. Sasuke needed to be sober in order for his shadow clone at home to be sober and well enough to watch Mikoto. Sakura, on the other hand, took a few sips. For an hour, she nursed one drink. Tsunade commented on how that was impossible, nursing a drink for so long, and then she bent back and took her sake in one swig.

As the night came to a conclusion, everyone waved goodbye to everyone else and everyone else gave them their congratulatory speech about their newborn. Sakura swayed slightly while thanking them; she only had one drink and she’s wasted. The girl never knew how to hold her liquor well.

Sasuke carried her home, hopping as quickly as he could for her to get some rest. Once he got to the doorstep, he kept a hand on the small of her back while opening the door. Closing the door behind him, he placed Sakura on the couch to rest for a little bit while looking for his clone counterpart. The clone was found in Mikoto’s room, keeping vigilance over the small girl.

The clone began to report to Sasuke; briefing over the things that happened during the course of his caretaking: feeding her with the breast milk Sakura had squeezed out into a bottle (or several bottles), burping her, putting her down for a nap, cleaning himself up when she puked down his back while burping her, fed her again, burped her again, cleaned himself up again, changed her diaper, read a story to her in a rocking chair, entertained her with a rattle and put her down for bedtime.

Nodding, Sasuke dispelled his clone and the clone disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Sasuke walked back to check on Sakura. She was no longer on the couch, but she was getting herself a glass of water.

“Sasuke,” Sakura called, tossing her cup into the sink, “I feel cold.” Sasuke strode to her, wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close to him while using his free hand to rub her arm.

“Better?” he asked. Sakura nodded, leaning onto him. Sasuke dipped his head down to breathe in her sweet scent before catching her lips with his own. Sasuke slowly turned her around and unleashed the full force of his pent-up passion. He slowly pushed Sakura backwards towards the bedroom.

Once they got inside, Sakura tripped over the edge of the bed and dragged Sasuke down with her. The alcohol made Sakura giggle and pull him closer to her.

“Sakura,” Sasuke panted, breaking the kiss. “We have to be quiet. Mikoto’s asleep.” Nodding, Sakura pulled him down for another kiss. Sasuke wasted no time and began to undress her, moving her out of her clothes. Sakura did the same, disrobing Sasuke, but her fingers were nowhere as nimble as Sasuke’s. He pushed her hands away and undid the buttons on his pants and slid out of them while Sakura pulled off his shirt.

Sasuke kissed Sakura with fierce intensity, licking her bottom lip for permission. Once she parted, he tasted the sweetness of her that he’d been denied for most of her pregnancy. She was still as sweet as he remembered, but the real thing was nothing compared to a memory.

Sasuke pushed away the fabric between his lips and Sakura’s creamy skin. Her skin was exposed to his hungry eyes, pushing them aside while kissing along her collarbone. Soft sighs escaped Sakura’s lips as Sasuke went lower, pushing away the fabric as he went. Her skin felt like silk on his lips; it was so warm and smooth.

Sasuke reached around to unclasp her bra and expose those luscious breasts of hers. He needed to taste more of her. He delicately traced the curve under her right breast before circling the halo of the peak. Sakura entangled her fingers into his hair, mewling with pleasure. She was sensitive to every little touch. He latched onto the peak of her breast and gently suckled it, extracting her breast milk that she fed Mikoto with. The sweet taste of the milk dispersed throughout his tongue and he drank in her sweet taste.

Soon, Sasuke latched onto the other nipple because the milk began to run low and he needed more of her milk. Suckling like a babe, he drank in everything he could, making her feel the pleasure she denied herself while carrying their child.

Moving lower towards her core, Sasuke continued to push past her clothing but Sakura fought him off.

“Sasuke, wait…”

“What’s wrong?”

Looking embarrassed, she slowly sat up with an arm draped over her exposed breasts. “I just…it’s the first night that I don’t have a belly the size of the watermelon and I’ve gained weight during pregnancy. It happens to all women, but I want to look pretty for you. I haven’t done any training yet to lose this weight, but I just…” Sakura trailed off, her eyes looking towards the bottom left of her eyes. She didn’t want him to see her like this, when she was virtually disgusting.

“Sakura, you’re beautiful. You’ve always been beautiful. I’ve just been too blinded and preoccupied to see that earlier,” he reassured her. “I just want you to feel what I feel now and I want this to be special. Just relax,” he coaxed her.

Forcing her muscles to relax, Sakura took a deep breath. This would be the first time Sasuke had seen her naked after her pregnancy and she was feeling extremely self conscious. She still had the weight and the stretch marks, something she planned to eradicate through training once she had the chance. Obviously, she won’t be able to do anything about it now.

“Just relax,” he cooed, making her as comfortable as possible. His large, calloused hands glided over her soft skin which had become slick with sweat. He gently guided his hand towards her hip, moving the obstacle that was her clothes.

“Sasuke…” Sakura sighed. He was gently rubbing her hip while using his free hand to remove the rest of her clothes, leaving her in her panties. He kissed over the smooth skin of her stomach which wasn’t as toned as it was before, but it was softer with fat. Licking around her navel, he elicited a low moan that tore from her throat and escaped her kiss-bruised lips.

The lukewarm air brushed over her sensitive skin, making her shiver even more. The air hitting her body and Sasuke’s ministrations made her shiver with anticipation and it made her impatient for what was to come. She could feel Sasuke move lower and closer to her core, but he ended up kissing her inner thighs, lightly licking away the juices that leaked from her saturated panties. She was panting now, and she was sure he could hear it.

Sasuke smirked when he heard Sakura’s laboured breathing. He was glad to know that he had an effect on her as she did with him. He kissed and licked her inner thighs gently; the taste of her sweet honey splashed on his tongue. Her little pants became low moans and soft whimpers as he came closer to her core. He could see her juices leak from her panties, and her scent was so strong and heady, it was intoxicating. He felt like he was drunk from her scent alone, but he knew that her taste would be so much better.

He hooked his thumb into her panties and slowly pulled them off of her. Sakura felt like this was a form of torture; she was being stimulated but she was also kept at bay. She could feel that feeling deep inside of her and she needed to relieve it.

A tongue flicked her sensitive bud and her hips bucked into the air while a cry escaped her lips. Sasuke effectively held her down while torturing her any way he wanted. He didn’t need to do much, seeing how wet and bothered she was for him. He suckled on her clit for a little bit, making her cry in pleasure and frustration.

“More, Sasuke,” she begged, “I need more!”

Complying, Sasuke brought himself towards her and kissed her, running his fingers through her silky pink tresses before gliding down her body and taking hold of himself to align with her entrance.

Capturing her lips once more, he thrusted into her tight canal all the way to the hilt. She moaned into his mouth, releasing the breath she didn’t even know she was holding. He could feel her contract around him mercilessly, threatening him to come before he had his chance to please her. He stopped his motions in a futile attempt to calm himself.

Although Sasuke tried to stop and slow down, Sakura became impatient. She did her best to grind against him to relieve the tension in her lower abdomen.

Sasuke bit back a moan, trying not to give in to his body’s demands, but he knew it was useless. He caved in to his primal urges, making Sakura pant and gasped. Sasuke held the back of her head and buried it deep within the crook of his neck. They couldn’t afford to wake Mikoto or their fun would be over.

He could feel the sensations she made in his neck vibrate throughout his body. He was so close, and Sakura was nowhere near finished. Sasuke let go of Sakura’s head. She still buried it deep within his neck, muffling her moans and gasps that soon turned into hard cries of ecstasy. Sasuke used his hand to reach down in between them and drive her into a new frenzy by grinding his thumb against that pleasure buttons deep within her folds.

Instantly, her walls contracted around him tighter than he’d ever felt. Driving his thumb against her even more, she soon screamed against his neck, muffling most of the sound and came. He came soon after, not being able to hold back any longer. Sweat rolled down his back and Sakura wiped them away. Their pants slowed into an even rhythm.

“Sasuke,” Sakura whispered weakly, “I love you.”

By the time Sasuke responded, Sakura was already in a deep sleep. Sasuke pulled out of her and rolled them over so her head would be on his chest. While rolling them over, he pulled the blanket that was at the foot of the bed over them, entrapping the warmth that was quickly leaving their bodies after such passion had occurred.

‘Sakura, thank you,’ he mentally began. ‘Thank you for giving me a reason to live. After Itachi’s death, I realized that there was nothing more for me to do. Thank you for giving me the world in the form of a child. Thank you for your unconditional love, and for not giving up on me. Most of all, thank you for forgiving me after I abandoned you. Thank you.’

After much deliberation, Sasuke fell into a deep sleep with a growing feeling in his heart, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He knew that the feeling may be short-lived, seeing how both his and Sakura’s profession was, although Sakura was a less life-threatening job. He could feel the love and happiness bubble up inside of his heart and it was something he wanted to feel for the rest of his life.

Everything was and will be alright.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aww, it’s OVER!! Well, I hope you guys loved reading the story as much as I had fun writing it up. Thanx a bunch to my loyal fans (err, loyal fans of the story) for keeping it alive, blah blah blah blah blah (insert mushy, cliché words here). Now that this is over, I can totally dedicate my time to my other story.

Yes, I know there seems to be a bunch of plot holes in my story, but I’m trying here! I’m a crappy author without a beta, so it’ll be a crappy story. *sticks tongue out at you*