Tear in the Sky

( A/N : Catalyst part 2 will be in the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, but I want it to be halfway decent.

Also, the woman is question will NOT be an OC. It'll be a canon female character from the series. Just exactly who it is won't be revealed for a while.

Rates and reviews are fucking amazing : D)

 

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She doesn't know how long she stays leaning up against the waiting room door, mind spinning, head throbbing.

 

That's how luck would have it, huh? SHE had to have the baby. SHE had to take maternity leave, SHE had to stop what she was doing and be a mother.

 

And it suddenly strikes Sakura as very, very unfair.

 

It was Hinata's idea in the first place. Hinata was the one that wanted to be a parent. It was supposed to be HINATA's baby, not hers.

 

 

Through all this she comes to a very sobering realization. Konoha doesn't keep a sperm-bank, or anything of the sort. She's have to seek a donor outright. That and they didn't posses the equipment or funding necessary for in-vitro fertilization in the village, or even in the fire country period. Hell, for that she'd have to head off continent.

 

She gulps audibly, wringing the concept through her mind, because this was very potentially dangerous, not only to her and Hinata's relationship, but to whomever the willing father would be.

 

Sakura rests her forehead up against the cool glass of the door, resisting the temptation of frustrated tears.

 

If she was going to give Hianta this baby, it would have to be done naturally. And there's only one person in the words she trusts enough to do this with.

 

This has to be taken care of now.

 

Most of the hospital is empty now, save for the skeleton crew that usually resided in the basement levels in lieu of an emergency. She chances a look left, right, stills her own heartbeat for a moment to listen for footsteps, breathing, the drumming of fingers. Shizune was gone, Ino was gone, and she could only assume the same with Tsunade.

 

Right then. Sakura exhales softly, turning the knob slowly to Hinata's room, just a crack before sliding her body through the narrow opening.

 

“How much did you hear?” Sakura imedietly asks, neglecting to make eye contact.

 

Despite her heavy-lidded eyes and the bags and lines under them, she's alert.

 

“I-I heard everything Tsunade-sama s-said to you.”

 

 

There's a dry, heavy sigh on Sakura's part. Half of her knows this needed to be discussed now before anything more of their lives fell out from under their control. And part of her wants to do anything, anything but talk this through.

 

Because Sakura knows deep down that in all likelihood Hinata has the same idea she has.

 

And she knows it's going to fuck with their minds, their feelings, and their relationship like nothing before.

 

“You d-don't have to do this, Sakura-chan.” Hinata says softly, lips laying in perfectly straight line. “It's not fair to you, and if you'd rather not. . .” she trails off.

 

It takes Sakura a moment to pick up where her girlfriend leaves off.

 

“Yes, I do.” she bites her lip. “I mean no, I don't have to, no-ones forcing me, but, if it's for you,” a weak smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “I mean, it would be our baby, and I think I can handle a few months of vacation and gaining a few pounds. Besides, “ She leans in, brushing dark hair out of the other girls face, and putting her lips on the bridge of her ear.

 

“You know I love you.”

 

This time Hinata smiles, raising a hand weakly to read on the back of Sakura head, pulling her in for a tentative, timid, but genuine kiss.

 

“I-I Know.”

 

The sudden squealing protest of the door hinges alert them both, and they raise their eyes to meet dark, brown, severely narrowed ones.

 

“Visiting hours are over, Sakura.”

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Shunted from Hinata's room, from the hospital itself(though not before receiving a routine apology from Shizune on behalf of their collective mentor, Sakura leaves, albeit furiously, en-route to some undefined destination.

 

Home wasn't an option, even the tiny three-room apartment seemed bleak and empty without Hinata. She could possibly get away with sneaking back into her parents house, but it's late, and sleep is seeming more and more unappealing by the minute.

 

So she figures she'll kill two birds with one stone and stop by Ichiraku. Get something to eat, seeing as she'd neglected to earlier, and find someone to talk to.

 

Hopefully that someone would turn out to be Naruto.

 

But it's not.

 

That little glimmer of hope doesn't immediately die out. Nearly three years since Naruto had finished his “training”(And come back with not a single new technique much to Sakura's frustration) But seeing Jiraiya usually meant Naruto was not far off, and vise versa. So she -cautiously- seats herself next to the elder ninja.

 

Awkward minutes turn to awkward hours. What little conversation fodder available ended at discussing Naruto's whereabouts. She considers mentioning something about Tsunade, but their mutual fear of incurring her wrath was only a few sentences worth of small talk. She decides against it. Maybe they could discuss summoning techniques, but Slugs and Toads were two very different creatures. Icha Ich- no, she wasn't going there.

 

He'd just finished his second bottle of sake, and ordered a third, and she finds herself in an extremely awkward social trap. Not uncomfortable enough to leave without saying a word, too awkward to sit in silence for a minute longer. Damn. She chews her bottom lip. An excuse, she needs an excuse of some sort-

 

“I can buy you a drink, you know.”

 

Fuck.  It's everything Sakura can do /not/ to slam her head down on the counter. Goddamn, she knew full well he was a womanizer, pervert, etc, but god help him if this was a lame pickup attempt-

 

“I'm not going to roofie your drink or anything. ” Jiraiya blows out a breath, looking slightly amused. “I might be old but I'm not senile enough to try that on a medic nin.”

 

Sakura shoots him a glare. “How can I trust you?”

 

He pops the cork out of his third bottle, procuring two cups from somewhere within the depths of his pockets. “While I appreciate the untold wonders of the female body, and undoubtedly find the idea of two women, kunoichi no less- sharing those wonders extremley enticing- “His tone irritatingly scholarly in nature as he hands her a full cup, giving her a look she can't quite decipher-

 

“I've got a few good years left, and I'm not about to cut them short by getting in between you two.”

 

The glare doesn't immediately fad, but she ultimately caves, taking the cup from his much larger hand.

 

“You should be careful about the information you share.”

 

It comes suddenly, and for some reason, angers Sakura to no end.

 

“What makes you think I'm NOT being careful?” it's comes out more a growl than anything else from the frustrated medic-nins lips.

 

“Well, you're talking to me, to start with.” and it's followed by a throaty chuckle that makes her squirm.

 

A grimace, not a smirk contorts Sakura's features, because she's not feeling especially sexy tonight, nor is Hinata with her, and she doesn't want to attract unwanted male attention. At least, anymore than she already has.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

He sighs, long, heavy, and tired, opting to pour himself another cup, and drink it, before answering.

 

“Tsunade's not the type to keep secrets. ” whether he's avoiding her eyes on purpose or pure accident, she didn't know, but it unnerves her.

 

“I know you're looking for Naruto, and I know why.”

 

Sakura's eye widen. How in the hell-?

 

 

“This isn't your business. ” she blurts out before she has a chance to think, and is reprimanded with a mildly irritated stare.

 

“I mean, this is between me and Hinata. And Naruto. With all due respect Jiraiya-sama, you really don't understand.”

 

Dead silence. Sakura suddenly feels extremely out of place at this bar. With Naruto's sensei. At night. Talking about /this/ no less.

 

“No, Sakura-san.” and Sakura freezes, because the look the sannin is giving her is downright murderous “ I don't think you understand just how much you're fucking with Naruto's feelings.”

 

For a moment, she says nothing. Not so much taken aback as she is intimidated. So she pauses, collecting herself, and swallows at the now nervous lump in her throat before continuing.

 

“He'd understand, he's Naruto, he'd do anything to help us, he's my friend. ” She deadpans. “It's not about relationships or anything, it's just-”

 

“That's exactly it, Sakura.” the anger in his voice seems to have ebbed, and he's back to the depressive sighing again, and try as she may not to, she's getting angrier by the second.

 

“Women might have all the power in these kinda things, but you have no idea how much having a kid messes with a man's head. ” he closes his eyes momentarily, perfectly still.

 

“I know I may not understand it from your perspective, Sakura-san, but Naruto IS my student, and I have a responsibility to protect him. “

 

“Protect him from what? Me?” the frustration in her voice is now apparent, despite her best efforts to hide it. “He doesn't NEED protecting from me. I'm his teammate. ”

 

“You just openly admitted you plan on USING him, manipulating him by the good of his heart. ” the frown on his face is now a scowl. “I'd say I'm justified in my fears. I don't know what you're telling yourself otherwise, but that boy never stopped being in love with you. ”

 

She freezes, and it's everything she can do not to let the sake glass slip through her fingers and shatter on the floor.

 

Using Naruto? No. He'd help her out willingly. That wasn't taking advantage of him, was it? A sick, disgusted feeling begins to twist in Sakura's stomach. No, she wasn't like that. She was NEVER like that. She'd NEVER use Naruto-

 

There's a flashback, Naruto, bloodied, beaten, broken and covered in bandages, swearing upon everything he had just to keep her happy, his promise, and she sees Sasuke's face in her memory so vividly it burns.

 

It's then she feels not only shamed, sickened, and guilty, but a feeling welling up inside that she quells imminently, before it has time to form into a coherent emotion.

 

That feeling was dead. It's not coming back. It's /never/ coming back. She'd found better, she'd fallen in love with someone human.

 

“I just,” the words flow effortlessly out of her mouth, almost automatic. “I just need to talk to him, Jiraiya-sama. Before I do anything, we, the three of us do anything. ”

 

He only nods in agreement, although weakly, and she's beginning to presume that there's something other than water in the flask he drinks from in her peripheral vision, something much stronger than the sake they were already drinking.

 

“Uh, Jiraiya-sama, I don't think outside liquor is alo-”

 

He cuts her off. “Sakura, if you would, can you promise me something?” he allows his eyes to close again, though a more pained expression graces his aged features.

 

She raises an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

 

“If you do end up enlisting Naruto's help, don't let him know. There's no worse feeling than seeing your kid for the first and last time” he exhales, and Sakura suddenly feels helpless, because not only is there a drunken sannin on what appears to be the verge of an emotional breakdown seated beside her, she gets the feeling he's about to let a long dormant skeleton out of the closet, and wonders how in the hell she gets herself into these situations.

 

Charcoal black eyes meet green ones from a sideways glance.

 

“Just don't let Naruto end up like me. The woman I love still hates me and I haven't seen my son in three years. ”