Wind And Fire Part 2

**Rewrtie**

A/N: Archfiend, thank you for all of your nice reviews. I was just joking about the length of this story. I when I started part 2, I said I was only going to write 3 chapters. LOL We all see how well that worked out. LMAO To Anon: Thank you for pointing out the 'should of, would of, could of' problem. It's been corrected. Hopefully you can finish enjoying the story without wanting to strangle me. LMAO If anyone spots any grammar or spelling error please leave me a review about it so I can correct the problem. You can leave anon reviews. I'd much rather know and fix it, instead of continuing to make the same mistakes over and over again.

Hugs- Ani

***A/N: Seriously, I had to redo this chapter. I wasn’t happy when I posted it the first time and do apologize for the poor quality.

Smooches- Ani

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It's bugging me, grating me

And twisting me around

Yeah I'm endlessly caving in

And turning inside out

It's holding me, morphing me

And forcing me to strive

To be endlessly cold within

And dreaming I'm alive

'Cause I want it now

I want it now

Give me your heart and your soul

And I'm not breaking down

I'm breaking out

Last chance to lose control

And I want you now

I want you now

I'll feel my heart implode

And I'm breaking out

Escaping now

Feeling my faith erode

Hysteria-Muse

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*Yome-daughter-in-law; Shutome-mother-in-law*



Chapter 6

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered



Naruto stood between Temari and Yoshino, he felt like he was choking on the tension. The entire trip home had been silent and uncomfortable. Now he was literally stuck in between the two females. He had to find a way to escape. He looked at Tsunade and silently begged her to cut short whatever she yelling at Sai about and dismiss them. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck. Of course it had to be the time his neck decides to crack ridiculously loud. He cringed as everyone turned to look at him. "Gomen," he muttered to Tsunade and looked away. As usual the Hokage was in a horrible mood.



"Naruto is there a problem? Do you have somewhere you need to be?" Tsunade snapped at him.



He sighed; he was always in trouble for something. "Not really, am I allowed to visit Sasuke?" he went ahead and asked, figuring she wouldn't kill him in front of witnesses.



Tsunade glared up at the young jounin. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Naruto. Get. Out. Of. My. Office," she said in an even tone, but the look in her eyes clearly said she was ready to kill someone.



She didn't need to tell him twice, he made a hand sign and disappeared in a cloud of orange smoke.



Tsunade glared up at the rest of the ANBU team. "Is there anything else that needs to be brought to my attention before I hand out mission assignments?"



Temari felt her shutome's elbow in her side and looked up at the Godaime. "Tsunade-sama...I, um need to, uh decline any further missions," she said, almost whispering by the time she said the last word. She couldn't hold Tsunade's angry gaze.



"Nani?! For what reason and it better be a really good damn reason," she bit out. Tsunade studied the way the usually bold jounin's body language was almost, well shy and timid. She also noted the severe lack of eye contact.



Temari, feeling a sudden rush of bravado said, "I can't tell you, it's very personal." This time she held the Godaime's furious gaze.



Tsunade narrowed her honey brown eyes at the blond. "You have two days. You better have a really, really good fucking reason by then or I will bust you down to gennin," she seethed as she dismissed her with a flip of her wrist. "Yoshino, you're back on hospital duty until we need you again. You may go. Sai, this is your next mission," she said handing him a scroll. "Now, get the fuck out of my office!" she yelled as the three ninja in front of her scattered. She rubbed her temples and laid her head down to catch a quick nap.

****



Temari stood outside of the Hokage tower waiting for her mother-in-law. She figured the least she could do is walk home with her. She waited for ten minutes and then decided to leave. The walk home seemed longer than normal. Stopping near the gate, she looked up at the clouds and then jumped over the gate. Once she got to the house the dread started eating at her. She wondered how Shikamaru would react to the news. As she got closer to her house she stopped and stared, watching Yoshino come out the door. She stopped and just stared. 'What the hell?' she thought to herself as she unhooked her fan and leaned it against the mailbox. She was way too tired to deal with anything else today.



Yoshino looked up at her as she got closer to the porch. "Temari-chan, I was just going to look for you. What took you so long?" Yoshino said giving her yome a questioning look. “You look exhausted; you should make that lazy son of mine cook you something.”



Temari simply stared at her shutome. She was afraid if she opened her mouth; she'd start crying and not be able to stop. Finally she was able to swallow back the tears that were threatening to spill over. "I was waiting for you, I didn't know you teleported here," she said in a very controlled voice. They spilled over anyway as Yoshino pulled her into a hug. She glanced up to see Shikamaru and his dad standing on the porch looking confused.



She hugged her daughter-in-law tight. She'd never seen her so vulnerable and scared. Not that she blamed her, she recalled being terrified when she found out she was pregnant with Shikamaru. "I'm telling you, it will all work out. He might bitch and moan, but he will be thrilled. Trust me on this one," Yoshino said.



Temari narrowed her eyes at her shutome. "Did you tell him already? I thought you wanted me to tell him right away. If I would have known you were gonna tell him, I would've just told Tsunade-sama the fucking truth. Instead of getting yelled at in front of my ANBU team. Kami," she yelled, not caring that both Shikaku and Shikamaru were heading in their direction. "You had no right to tell him," she said in a low voice.



Yoshino glared and leaned toward Temari and began speaking in a low voice. "Look, I didn't tell him shit. I went to see my son, who happens to be recovering; quite nicely I might add, from surgery. You are being a self-centered little gaki. Stop acting like a fucking child and tell your husband," her shutome said, leaning closer. "And if you ever talk to me like that again, you will be sorry," she hissed in Temari's ear.



Shikamaru glanced over at his dad. "Should we break up those two troublesome women?" he asked. He was wondering why Temari lied to the Hokage. Temari didn’t lie in her home life; she despised lying and liars almost as much as she hated being mocked. He grinned slightly and elbowed his dad, who had yet to answer him.



Shikaku laughed. "Hell no, do you want to get killed?"



Shikamaru chuckled and walked over to Temari, who looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. He picked up her fan and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey Tems, wanna see what takes longer, putting it on or taking it off?" he whispered in her ear. When she didn't answer he pulled back and looked at her; her lower lip was trembling and she was chewing on the inside of her cheek. He looked over her shoulder at his mom and sent her a questioning look. His mom pointed at the front door and walked away shaking her head. He slid his arm around Temari's shoulders and walked her into the house. He wondered what could have gone wrong in the three days she was gone.

****



Sakura leaned against the fence outside of the hospital. She scrubbed her face with her hands, trying to stay awake. She was exhausted, the twelve hour shifts were killing her. She lifted her head and grinned, she'd just sensed Naruto's chakra heading in her direction. She heard him before she actually saw him.



"Oi Sakura-chan!!!!" Naruto yelled when he caught sight of the pink haired medic. He took off at a full run towards Sakura, stopping just inches in front of his best friend. He grinned, she didn't even flinch. She just smiled a tired, but warm smile at him.



Sakura looked at her best friend and smiled. He'd been gone for almost a month. "How was Snow country?" she asked as he scooped her up in a bear hug. “I have to tell you, you’re looking pretty hawt in that ANBU gear, rawr,” She said wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on his shoulder. "Man, it's been a rough week. I'm so tired..." she trailed off as he set her down.



Naruto looked into her tired green eyes and brushed a lock of pink hair out of her face. "It was fine. How long have you been on duty? You look-"



"Don't say it, Naruto. I mean it," she warned him.



"-really tired. That's what I was going to say honest!" he said preparing to block any punches. "So...is there anyway I could see teme?" he asked.



Sakura sighed and stood up straight. "Sure, but I need a cup of coffee first." She started walking towards the hospital entrance and he followed her.



He frowned. "Ugh, I don't see how you can drink that filth," he said making a face. He followed her up the stairs to the second floor. "Is Itachi still here too?"



Sakura felt a jolt in her heart. "Why? You couldn't possibly want to see him too," she said hoping she didn't sound as breathless as she felt. She pushed the door open and started down the corridor to Sasuke's room.



"Uh, no...It's called making conversation," he said rolling his eyes. "Why are you suddenly so tense?" he asked touching her shoulder which caused her jump.



Sakura turned around and gave him a dirty look. "You need to know; Sasuke isn't doing as well as we'd hoped, so try not to rile him up. Okay?"



He rolled his eyes again. "For Kami's sake, I'm not going to go in there to fight him. I just want to see him," he said in an irritated voice.



Sakura put her hand on the door to her left. "This is his room, go on in," she pushed the door open.



Naruto looked at her and tried to figure out the joke. "You aren't coming in?" he asked.



She sighed. "If you insist," she said poking her head through the door to catch Shizune's attention. Thankfully Sasuke was asleep. She beckoned the senior medic out into the hallway. "How is he today?" she asked Shizune once she was in the hall.



Shizune grinned at Naruto and Sakura. "Well, he had a bad night. Tsunade and Ino had to drain his lungs, but the good thing is it was less than 20cc, if you can call that a good thing. He's been resting off and on this afternoon. Naruto, he's been asking about you," she smiled at the blond jinchuriki. "He's been asking about Temari too. It's like he has a crush on her, it's cute. Unfortunately, Tsunade still hasn't found a solid reason for the chakra points that are burning out. She's thinking something went wrong the last time he used the lightning jutsu, but he won't talk about it," she added with a shrug. "Let's get some coffee, Sakura and Naruto can sit with him for a few minutes. You're okay with that, right?" she asked Naruto, who shrugged.

****



Naruto sat in the hospital room wondering why he was sitting there watching his 'brother' sleep. He stood up and stretched. Looking out the window, he wondered why he was there, it was fairly obvious from all the times Sasuke tried to kill him that he didn’t have a use for Naruto anymore. He was looking out the window when he heard raspy voice call his name. Turning around slowly, he met Sasuke's dark gaze. "Sasuke," he said sitting down in the chair.



Sasuke wasn't really sure what he should say. The first thing that popped into his mind was also what popped out of his mouth. "Dobe..." He smirked at the jinchuriki.



Naruto's blue eyes went wide. "Teme," he fired back with a smirk of his own. In his head he could hear Sakura telling him not to rile him up. Well, that went right out the window. "Why did you say all of those horrible things to Sakura?" he asked the younger Uchiha.



Sasuke glared at the blond jounin. "Hn," he grunted and looked away. "I called her on something and she got pissed off," he said not looking at his friend.



"Called her on what?"



"Nothing, it's none of your business," he said with a slight wheeze.



But damn it, Naruto didn't want to let it go. "She saved your life, a couple times. So what the fuck? Seriously," he snapped.



Sasuke sat up straighter and leaned forward slightly. He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing. He could hear Naruto babbling about something, but he tuned him out. He slowly opened his eyes. "Shizuka ni," he said quietly. "Listen to me. It was between Sakura and me. It's over, that's all you need to know."



Naruto glared at him. "Tsch. Whatever. So...Now what are you going to do? Run off again?" he asked, staring at his oldest friend. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of Sasuke, paler than normal and he looked like he hadn't slept in months. He didn't look capable of running anywhere. "Man...Sasuke, what happened to you? You look bad."



Sasuke rolled his eyes; he was still the same tactless dobe as always. Of course he looked bad; he wasn't in the hospital because he liked it there. "Thanks, I'm sure you'll look terrific when you're dying," he said.



Naruto's mouth dropped open. "Dying? Who says you're dying?" he demanded.



Sasuke shook his head sadly. "No one, but I'm not an idiot. I can barely breathe," he said in the same quiet voice.



Naruto for once in his life was speechless. He sat back in his chair and looked at Sasuke; he couldn't imagine life with out him. Sure, he'd been gone from the village for years but he was still out there, alive. "Sakura won't let that happen teme. She's the best medic in Fire country, she'll save you," he said hopefully.



Sasuke just shook his head and closed his eyes. "Where's Temari?" he asked.



Naruto gave Sasuke a strange look. “You know that she’s married right?”



Sasuke sighed and opened his eyes. “Yes dobe, I am fully aware of that fact. So where is she?” he asked again.



Naruto shrugged. “She went home after we got back from our mission. Y’know what was cool and weird at the same time?”



“If I say yes, you’re going to tell me anyway right?” It was a rhetorical question. Sasuke let his eyelids drift closed again.



“Right, anyway not only was Temari on the mission, but Yoshino was too! That's awesomely weird right?”



Sasuke opened his dark eyes again and looked over at the blond, who was still in his ANBU gear with his mask clipped to his waist. “It’s strange not to see you in orange, dobe. Who’s Yoshino?” he asked quietly.



Naruto’s blue eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t remember Shikamaru’s mom? Come on, you must remember her, she was always yelling at Shikamaru,” he insisted.



Sasuke felt his lungs struggle to move air in and out of his body. He closed his eyes again. “I can’t picture her,” he said his wheezing becoming more pronounced. He felt a hand on his shoulder and forced his eyes open again.



Naruto looked his best friend in the eyes. “We won’t lose you again, I promise.”



Sasuke gave a small smirk. “Thanks dobe,” he whispered as his eyes drifted shut and sleep overcame him.

****



Sakura sat in the lounge and sipped on a cup of coffee. Man, she was tired. She should go home and get some sleep, but something kept her from leaving. She hadn't seen Itachi for a day and a half. Sitting back on the couch, she closed her eyes and thought about the older Uchiha brother. If she went by her firsthand experiences, he was nothing like the stories she'd heard. He wasn't a cold-blooded killer. At that thought she snorted out loud, all shinobi were killers in a sense. She thought about the conversation she had with Ino earlier that day.



------------2:35am earlier that morning------------

Ino walked into the medic's lounge, she'd been looking for her best friend for the better part of the day. She had a few questions for the pink haired medic. In the corner of the room she found Sakura curled up on a chair by the window staring blankly out the window at the darkened village. She sat on the kitchen chair across from the one Sakura was sitting on. She sat in silence until the pinkette raised her tired green eyes in her direction. Ino untied her ponytail and brushed her fingers through her hair. "So tell me forehead, what exactly is going on with you? Why do you have your chakra masked, even though you know I always know it's you?" she asked in a knowing tone. Sakura couldn't hide anything from her, not when they were kids and definitely not now.



Sakura stared at her friend in amazement. Damn, she was busted now, Ino could weasel anything out of her and usually did too. She'd been hoping that Ino had been too distracted to notice her slipping out of Itachi's room last night. No such luck. She sighed and looked at her best and closest friend. "You can not tell anybody. I mean it," she warned the blond who was very fond of gossiping. Especially to Kiba, who quite possibly was a bigger gossip than Ino.



Ino noticed the intensity that Sakura's eyes took on, she nodded in agreement. "I swear on my honor as a ninja. I will not tell a soul what you're going to tell me. Not even if it makes me an accessory after the fact," she added with a small smile. She had the obvious figured out already and had confronted Itachi already. He didn't say anything at first. In fact he'd pointedly ignored her until she said, "You do know Sakura could be jailed and possibly put to death for this right?" He'd turned his onyx stare in her direction and simply said, "I know." She'd started to get pissed at him until she noticed sadness in his dark eyes. She picked his empty food tray and left to find her best friend. She looked Sakura in the eyes. "I promise you, I won't tell anyone," she said as she pulled her chair closer to Sakura.



Sakura believed Ino. She also believed Ino had it figured out already. She took a breath. "I don't know what it is about him; something just draws me to him. I mean, have you ever known me to be this reckless?" she asked Ino, who was shaking her head in answer to her question.



"Never, Naruto: yes. You: never. You were always the one who had the level head and kept me out of trouble. He's fucking hawt though, I can see why you're drawn to him," Ino said squeezing Sakura's knee. She leaned back and let Sakura tell her the rest of the story up until she'd almost busted them. Then she pulled Sakura into a hug and told her she's do whatever she could to help them see each other.

------------------------End flashback---------------------



Sakura opened her jade eyes when she heard someone enter the lounge. It was Ino. "Hey," she said to her friend.



"Hey yourself forehead, I've been looking for you. Tsunade-sama went home for the day. The coast is clear," she said with a grin and sat down on the couch with Sakura.



Sakura rolled her eyes at the blond. "Yeah..." she trailed off.



"Forehead, what is your deal now? I thought you wanted to see him or is not as exciting now that I know about you two?"



"I'm so tired, Ino pig. I just want to sleep, but I can't."



Ino got a devilish grin on her face. "So go sleep with him. I can assure you no one will disturb you guys. I got myself reassigned to his case."



"How did you manage that?"



Ino grinned again. "I explained to Tsunade-sama that if I was on this floor, she wouldn't have to be here on third shift."



She smiled a genuine smile at her best friend. "I love you Ino-chan. I can't believe you're willing to risk everything for me," she said hugging Ino.



Ino smiled and hugged her back. "It's what best friends do Sakura-chan."



Sakura stood up and stretched the kinks out of her body. She turned and looked at Ino, who had a thoughtful grin on her face. “Oh gods, what could you possibly be thinking about?” she asked the blond.



“Who me?” she asked batting her eyes at the pinkette. “I’m just trying to think of a way to get Itachi and you together more,” she said innocently.



Sakura giggled at her best friend’s antics and slipped out the door into the hallway.

****

Itachi could sense someone approaching is room, whoever it was had their chakra masked and this fact alone caused him to sit up in bed. All the medics who came to his room, including the loud mouth blond girl let their signatures be known. He briefly wondered if it was his pink haired kunoichi. The thought of her brought a small smile to his lips. He lay back against the pillows and closed his eyes; he desperately wanted to see Sakura.



Unfortunately all he could do was wait. The presence got closer and a smile tugged his lips upward again. He would have to tell her she needed to work on her chakra masking skills or was she letting it leak out? He wiped the smile off his face as the barrier came down and his pink haired goddess stepped in the room. He was up in an instant, pulling her into his arms.



She barely had time to get the barrier back up before she found herself wrapped in his muscular arms. She tilted her head back and looked up at Itachi, his onyx eyes full of want. “Itachi,” she purred, kissing him. She felt his hands slide up her sides, moaning she pressed her body closer to him and moaned his name again. She wrapped her leg around him and felt his hand slide up her thigh.



Itachi wanted to pick his kunoichi up and lay her on the bed and show her what she was getting herself into, but the thought of her possibly executed for wanting him was gnawing at the back of his mind.



Sensing his unease, she sprinkled butterfly kisses across his collarbone and up his neck. “I know what the consequences are, I don’t care,” she whispered in his ear. She then nipped at his earlobe as he lifted her up. She ground her pelvis against his, making him groan. “Onegai,” she breathed against his ear.



The feel of her warm breath against his ear sent a shiver down his spine. He trailed kisses down her neck, stopping to nip at the hollow of her throat. The corners of his lips turned upwards at the sound of her throaty whimper. “Sakura…my beautiful, deadly kunoichi,” he whispered laying her on the bed.



Sakura’s heart raced, did he really say, ‘his kunoichi’? She stretched and looked up at him. “What are you thinking about?” the question slipped out.



He sighed heavily and kissed her forehead. “I’m trying really hard not to think about what might happen if Tsunade found out about us,” he said quietly, knowing he was possibly killing the moment. His eyes widened slightly when she giggled softly. “Nani?”



“Are you planning on telling her? Because I’m not and neither will Ino,” she giggled.



“Hn, is that the loud mouth blond? She is your best friend, ne?”



“Yeah, we’ve been friends since we were eight years old. We used to fight over Sasuke, but we both moved past that a long time ago,” she said in a tired voice, laying her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat.



He wrapped his arm around her and inhaled her scent. “You smell good; like cherry blossoms in the spring,” he whispered. He felt the tension drain out of her body. Looking down at her he saw she’d drifted off to sleep. It was just as well, he was going to suggest a nap to her, but didn’t want a black eye. He knew she hadn’t been sleeping, courtesy of Ino, who filled him in on everything about Sakura whether he wanted to hear it or not. He now knew her favorite everything; movie, song, band, book, you name it. He smiled and wondered if she was going to finally get some decent sleep. Because the blond girl chattered on so much he also knew she hadn’t slept at home for days. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.

****



Shikamaru watched Temari push the food around her plate with her chopsticks. She’d barely eaten anything. He frowned at her. ‘Troublesome,’ he thought. “So Tems tell me what’s on your mind,” he said.



She jerked her head up and looked at him. “What do you mean?” she asked feeling stupid.



He sighed, she was playing games with him and he didn’t like it. “What did you lie to the Hokage about?” he asked.



“It wasn’t a lie per se, more like a diversion of the truth.”



He snorted. “Isn’t that the same thing? Tell me about ‘this diversion of the truth’ you speak of,” he smirked at her.



Temari swallowed the food past the lump in her throat; it was put up or shut up time. “I asked to be excused from missions and she asked why; so I told her it was personal, I couldn’t tell her,” she said taking another bite.



“I bet that went over well,” he laughed.



Temari looked over at her husband. “Yeah, I have two days to come up with a good reason or she will bust me down to gennin,” she said looking down at her food.



He arched his eyebrow at her. “I take it you must have a good reason, ne?” He wasn’t really sure just where this conversation was going.



“I have a really damn good reason,” she said looking him in the eyes. “I’m pregnant.”



He started to laugh then he saw the look on her face. The tears were welling up in her eyes again then she buried her face in her hands and started to sob. He walked around to where she was sitting and crouched down. He gently pulled her hands away from her face and wiped her tears away. “What are all these tears for? Don’t cry Temari-chan, it’ll be okay,” he whispered hugging her.



She looked up at him. “I don’t know how to be a mother,” she said in a quiet whisper.



He grinned at her. “Neither do I,” he joked trying to lighten the mood. He watched her lips twitch. “You know you want to laugh.”



She giggled a little. “I’m so scared. I don’t want to screw up and create another me,” she said, the nervousness apparent in her tone.



He pulled her out of the chair and kissed her. Nipping at her earlobe he whispered, “Yeah, one of you is too much.”



She grinned and hugged him tight. “I love you.”



“Right back at you,” he said grinning at her.

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