Not you, too!

29: Finding the Lost, Saving the Souls – Love blooms in the Desert

::::By the way. “Spoiler Warning for anyone who has not seen as far as episode 157”:::

The ANBU had taken on some of the most difficult missions ever. They were the elite assassins and were used to killing without blinking twice. If the orders said someone had to die, then that person was doomed. But in the same light if they were sent to bring some one back alive, then no one had better interfere with them in the performance of that job, either.
Uzuki Yuugao had been on many missions and she had never failed one yet. Her last failure in life had been her lack of ability to avenge her comrade, Gekkou Hayate, and she had made it her Nindo to never let anything make her feel like she had when looking at his name on the monument to the fallen ninjas.
As she left the office of the Hokage with her fellow Jounin, Shibi and Misumi, she was ready.
They gathered their packs and met at the gates, donned their masks and took to the trees.
Three days later they arrived at the edge of the village of Sunagakure, and there were met by the brother of the Kazekage himself.
Kankurou gestured for them to follow and they were soon within the borders of the village.
“There is a severe sandstorm coming. My brother extends our hospitality for the next four days. Then you can begin your trip back with your prisoner. I wonder why the Hokage has required that we keep this dangerous man alive.” He asked, not really expecting an answer.
“There has come to the Godaime’s attention a new form of rehabilitation. We wish to test it on one of this caliber of threat. The first to undergo it has totally reformed. Uchiha Itachi has once more joined our village.” She said, as the Hokage had authorized this information to the family of the Kazekage.
“Itachi. So, the Dainichi is successful after all. Come, my brother will wish to know about this.” And he led them to the offices of Sabaku no Gaara.


Lee and Sakura were seated on the stools of the ramen shop and the girl was sipping carefully at her miso ramen, while Lee told her about the mission he had just returned from. He finally noticed her silence and leaned over to see her face.
“Sakura is something wrong?” he asked.
“Lee, am I wrong? Am I truly wrong?” she said, no longer hiding the tears that were working their way down her cheeks.
“Wrong? About what, Sakura?” he asked now becoming upset by her cries.
“Tsunade says that I have been closing my mind to the needs of the village. I understand that the village is just beginning to grow but why? Why would Sasuke and Neji need to do this? I don’t understand how they could choose this instead of marrying and having the kind of babies that their families and the town could be excited about.”
“Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru love each other. They don’t want anyone else. They have found what they can most treasure. Their special person. The one that they would do anything to protect. It is the same with Sasuke and Naruto. They have always been each other’s special person. It was not totally for you that Naruto searched for so many years. And you must have understood that only for Naruto would Sasuke have come back, anyway. Just as you are my special person, and I would do anything for you, Naruto would walk the earth to protect and preserve the Sasuke he loves. And they want the same thing that I want. Sakura, I want to marry you, and have many little babies that will be just like you. I want that, too. Do you want that, Sakura?” he finished looking into the bowl of broth before him, afraid to see her face after he had confessed such a thing.
“Lee.” She said, not sure what he had just said, except that he had spoken of marriage and children. Her children. “Lee did you just propose to me?” she asked, looking at him as best she could from the angle of their faces.
“I believe I did. I have never proposed before, so I don’t know if I did it correctly. But I put my whole heart into it and was hoping for the best.”
“Lee, you did perfectly. Lee, look at me.” She coaxed. Lee looked up and found her smiling at him. “Lee, I would love to marry you, and there is nothing I would want more that to have a baby with you, also. In that order, too.” She said, pulling his face close and finding his lips with her own.
If there could have been fireworks that would have been the only thing that Lee would find missing from the perfect ending to the perfect kiss. He smiled at his fiancée and she tapped his nose.
“And if I had said no, you would have spent the rest of the night doing push up against the side of the Hokage Mountain or something.”

Naruto walked alongside of the Uchiha and whistled a tune. Sasuke turned to him and smirked.
“Does anything make you unhappy?” he said, as the blond smiled at him.
“Are you kidding? We are going to see Sanshou-baasan and Karashi. I haven’t seen them in years. I hope he is behaving, since we don’t have Lee with us for this trip. He was one of Raiga’s (*) henchmen when we found him.”
“Well, he has been said to be the greatest Curry chef in history now. I doubt we have to worry. Come on, we’ll be there in time for dinner. I’m interested in this Curry of Life that Lee told me about.”
“You’re going to try it?” Naruto said, astounded.
“No. I was thinking about watching you eat some. That is the only test I need, and then getting the recipe if it’s possible to make some for Lee the next time we invite them over. He told me he was going to ask Sakura to marry him while we were away.”
“About time. She has been hinting about this for months.” Naruto agreed as they headed down the last hill before they reached the Curry shop.


*Later that night.
The heat was intense and the feeling of hands and teeth on tender flesh, scratching, clawing and biting was distracting but not enough to block the wonderful curling up of the blood that flowed through his body and tingled in his veins.
The physical needs and the emotional drive pushed him on and he wrapped himself tightly around the one who was currently moving over him.
The thrusts were of a force to overcome any foe and the power behind them was coursing through his opponent.
Harder they came and faster, too. Pounding into his body and leaving him with little time to think much less respond or reciprocate. But it was fine, as he wasn’t really trying to outdo anyone in this confrontation just match skill and proceed to the best outcome.
The growling above preceded a fierce snarl from him and they rolled once more till they found their positions reversed and he was now in power. The final move had yet to be made and his reserves were dwindling, drawing him to his demise, but he had one last chance and he wouldn’t waste it.
Again they moved and he was spilled to the mat and the other held him down. It was now that he could make his move and he took the opportunity.
His hands held firmly and his leg muscles flexed tight. He bucked hard in a seeming attempt to dislodge the man on him, but this was not his intention. NO, the move drove the other deeper and he tightened around him, drawing the blond beyond the brink and into the abyss.
Naruto collapsed, and they lay panting and wheezing for several minutes.
“Oh, . . . my god. That . . . was so,” Sasuke said trying to draw sufficient breath between words. “Damn!” he said, eventually giving up on words.
“Yeah.” Naruto countered. “Several times, Damn.”
“So, . . . That’s . . . the curry . . . . of life?” the brunet said, reaching his hand to the blond locks that were tickling his nose and hanging in his open mouth.
“Yep.” Naruto said, shifting so his head was on the dark haired man’s shoulder. “Good thing you didn’t eat any. We may have had to go all night.”
“Dobe.” Sasuke returned. “Are you finally finished?”
“Let’s just take a little rest. I’m not sure yet.” And Sasuke laughed as the blond rolled off him and pulled him close.
“Maybe we should come here when we are ready. This should take care of at least one full conception. And then, we can name the baby, Fireball.” Naruto suggested.
“I don’t think I want my son to be born with a face that red. Let’s go back home and do things the natural way, well as natural as this whole thing is.” Sasuke said, smirking in the dark and drawing a deep breath before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Morning saw them rising slowly and packing their things to travel once more.
Sanshou-baasan had told them that when Raiga had taken the boy, they had headed east but she didn’t think they had gone far.
They hadn’t gone back to the mining camp, so she suggested there was a farming village to the east and they headed there, promising to return and bring with the two missing men.
Walking together again, though one with a distinguishable limp, no matter how he tried to disguise it, was pleasant. They talked again about plans and Sasuke fought the urge to ask his partner about the strange array of poles and things that were filling their yard.
Instead he asked Naruto about the children they were planning.
“So, how many do you want really? I keep hearing you say lots of little Uchiha babies. But, you haven’t really said a number.”
“Oh, anything less than twenty is fine for me.” Naruto said smiling broadly while Sasuke turned even paler and stared at him open-mouthed.
“Tell me that was one of your jokes. Even if both of us took turns we’d never live through that.” Sasuke said. “Well, not without the curry of life.”
“Okay. So, we have four and get your brother to make a few somewhere, too.”
“Four more, or are you counting Koibito?” Sasuke said, counting months in his head.
“Three more. I like even numbers and then they have someone to play with. It would work. I can do two if you are squeamish.”
“No. That’s not it. I was just thinking.” The Uchiha said looking up and watching a small cloud pass his view. “Koibito. He will know, when he is older. What do we tell him?”
“That’s easy. Sasuke, I know you are worried, but remember what it was like to be alone? Tell him about it and that we didn’t want him to have to feel that way. Tell him how you felt, and he will understand. I know you feel this and he will know that we wanted him. That’s all that matters.”
“Naruto.” Sasuke said, turning back and staring at the blond once more. “You . . . . Well none of them better be as bad as you were. I am not going through another one of those.” And they continued on in silence.

A seven-month-old baby is just learning to crawl about, often climbing up the sides of furniture and regularly spilling anything his little hands can get hold of.
This is a good age to have a playpen, a strong playpen and lots of soft toys so that when they are thrown out of said playpen, they don’t break antique things or family heirlooms.
Shikamaru and Neji had no such breakable items in their home, but Koibito managed to find as many things that had small pieces, and lots of them, and all of these items were currently missing at least one of those pieces to the underside of the futon or the heavy side cabinet that couldn’t be moved to search under it while Neji was in a delicate way.
The two had now moved all of these items to higher shelves and into drawers and closable cabinets and latched them securely.
Koibito sat on the blanket in the middle of the floor, smiling up at them and gnawing on a rubber baby toy shaped like a mouse, making Neji a little nauseous.
“I can’t help but think of the poor little nezumi not knowing what was about to happen.” She said, rolling her eyes.
Shikamaru laughed as he wrapped an arm around her to pull her close. “Just don’t watch. If he wraps his tongue around it again, even I won’t be able to keep down my dinner.”
Neji winced.



(*)I never liked that Raiga died. I wanted him to teleport somewhere and come back. He and Ranmaru belong together, so I have him coming back, now. Okay?


Vashta – The missing nins are 1. Raiga, who as I said kinda flickered out in the anime. I don’t think he was in the Manga. But I wanted him to have transported somewhere to heal and come back later. Call it AU if you like. Hey, I kept the demon in Gaara too. And 2. Oh wait, can’t tell you that one yet. It will be in the next chapter I hope. Remember I don’t want any OC’s so I am searching. I wanted it to be Kin Tsuchi but she got herself killed to bring back the first Hokage against Sandaime. Can’t bring them all back from the dead for this fic.
Temari Pregnant? What gave you that idea? And, stop that!


Next chapter is Go Forth and Succeed – It is the Time for Action
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