The Children of Kumokagurke 3

In theory, carrying a small child across the country was a sweet, kind idea. In practice it was painful, tedious, and tiring.
This was a lesson Sakura learned quickly while carrying Niya to Konohagakure. Even with switching off with Tenten and Neji the days just seemed to get longer and more painful as it went on. The child was getting tired too. She was too young for a trip like the one she was taking. Shikamaru had told her that, but she hadn’t listened. Even now, though, she didn’t regret it. How could she? She was just a little girl, she wanted to protect her. That may be the reason that she developed a protective streak. Well more than a streak.
“Ow!”
“Ah! Sasuke! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know it was you!!” Sakura gasped.
“Ow…”
“Oh Sasuke. I didn’t see you.”
“Is it normal to elbow someone in the face without knowing who they are?” he demanded.
“No. I’m sorry.” she inspected his face. When he had come up behind her while she was at the river she had hit him before she turned around when he touched her back. She now looked at his nose.
“You’re bleeding.”
“Duh.”
“I hate it when you’re in pain.” Sasuke waited a moment before pulling away from her fingers. He looked at her out of the side of his eyes. “I think its ok now.” he said, touching his nose. She nodded and sat down, he followed her. She sighed and laid back on the bank, staring up at the sky.
“Sasuke.” her voice was quiet, questioning. “Why did you do it? Why did you want to kill her?”
“…Why does someone shoot a wounded horse? It’s not fair to keep her alive. It’s painful to watch.” There was a pause.
“I know how that is… when it’s painful to see someone suffer.” she finally whispered. He turned his head to insist that wasn’t what he meant, then froze. Her hand was out, beckoning him. He glanced at the sleeping bags.
“Someone might see.”
“Let them.” He allowed her to grip his shoulder and pull him down to her. Her mouth pressed firmly to his and her arms wound tightly around him. “What are you doing?” he hissed between kisses.
“Just stop thinking for a sec. For once.” he slid into silence. She didn’t give him much of a choice, fervently gulping down the taste of him.
“Sakura.” Suddenly Sasuke was on his knees and Sakura was sitting up. They stared in horror at Neji. Sakura with wide eyes and a pounding heart. Sasuke with anger in his black eyes and his face barely neutral. “She’s cold.” he murmured, gesturing toward the sleeping bag to indicate Niya. Sakura nodded and looked at Sasuke, who still stared at Neji. She got the message by the way they stared at each other, and not her. It was time for the men to talk. She stood and went back to Niya, slipping into the sleeping bag with the still sleeping child.
“I told you to watch yourself. You woke Shikamaru up. He’s not happy.”
“Hn.” Sasuke replied. Neji’s eyes narrowed.
“Don’t ‘hn’ me. This is serious. Sakura is the village favorite. You are the village outcast. This cannot work.”
“This?”
“You. And her.”
“Her…” Sasuke spoke slowly.
“You can’t be together.”
“Who said we were together?”
“Then what is she?”
“A girl.”
“Just another girl, Uchiha?” Even in anger, there voices were instinctively pitched low so as not to disturb the other shinobi.
“Should she be anything more?”
“If you had a conscience. She’s been in love with you since you were 7!” Neji hissed.
“She had a crush.” Sasuke shrugged.
“She stayed true to it.”
“Why should I have to pay for her persistence?”
“Because you should feel responsible for it. She took crap for you, Uchiha.”
“I didn’t ask her to.”
“Ok, fine. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me whether you give a crap about her-”
“Who said I didn’t give a crap?”
“…”
“I care. I’m paying closer attention to her that anyone else.”
“Knowing you, that’s not saying much. What do you want, Sasuke?”
“I haven’t wanted anything for a long time Neji.” Neji was silent for a moment. When he did speak he was quiet and calculating.
“Naruto told me what you said you wanted as a child.” Sasuke rose one black eyebrow in inquiry. “You said you wanted to kill a certain man- Itachi-dono, right?” Sasuke was silent, but didn’t correct him. Neji pressed on. “And the resurrection of the Uchiha clan. But for that, you’d need a child- a family.”
“Yes, that’s true.” Sasuke’s face and voice were cool. “That’s what I said.” Neji’s eyes narrowed.  
“Then you’re using Sakura-”
“No.” Sasuke interrupted.
“You don’t want her child?” Suspicious now.
“No.”
“She not good enough?”
“There will never again be an Uchiha child.” Sasuke stated calmly and bluntly. Neji was silent for a moment, in slight shock without showing it. “They will live and die with me. My clan…. is no more.” then he was gone, going for his sleeping bag. Neji watched him slip into it, lying right next to Sakura. He would be sure to watch him.
-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-
“I am not sleeping in the rain!!” Tenten cried once more in indignation, staring up at the cloudy sky as if her gaze could disperse it.
“What do you expect us to do, then? Walk into enemy territory, hauling a 6-year old Kumokagurkian, and say ‘Hey, how ya doin’, can we have a room? And don't worry, us enemy shinobi won’t kill you all in your sleep’?” Shikamaru said in annoyance.
“Of course not.” Tenten snorted indignantly. “We just send Sakura in with the baby.”
“’NO’” the group said together. Tenten sweat dropped.
“Why not? It could work. No one would suspect innocent little Sakura and Niya.” she gestured to the two girls.
“Then you go Tenten.” Sasuke suggested.
“ I can’t. I’m female.” she said with a sniff.
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. “And Sakura is…?”
“With a child. A female, asking for a large room, all alone? They’ll think I’m a whore!”
“…True. But Sakura can’t get two rooms alone.” Shikamaru shook his head.
“Make Sasuke get the other. He looks normal.” The group looked at Tenten. “What? Neji has white eyes, I’d look like a whore, Niya’s too young, and Shikamaru will act as if everyone’s going to kill him at any given moment.” Shikamaru glared. “Sasuke may look, well, like an Uchiha, but his clothes are regular, and he has black hair which is normal for people. If he changes his shirt so you can’t see the insignia, gives us his holsters, and walks in, he’d look normal! And he’s better at blending in with unfamiliar villages than we are! At least, he won’t act like they’re all ax-murderers.”
“Don’t assume I’ve never been to that village.” All eyes turned to Sasuke in surprise. “I’ve been. Right after Orochimaru. I stumbled into this town.  So I stayed until I was healed, and then I moved on. That was 2 years ago, but someone might recognize me.”
“But that also means you know your way around!” Tenten protested, not ready to give up on her idea. All faces turned to Shikamaru, who was thinking hard.
“I think we should do what Tenten suggested. You’ve changed Sasuke, I’ll count on that. Don’t draw too much attention to yourselves and be careful.”
Sakura sighed and nodded. “You guys be careful too.” With that the group dispersed to get ready.
The girls washed as best they could in the river and brushed out their hair. Sakura pulled off her headband and gave it to Tenten, repeating same with her holsters, stopping to hide a few weapons- just in case.
Meanwhile Neji and Sasuke switched shirts. Neji could just put his jacket over Sasuke’s shirt and Neji’s black, Chinese-style shirt was better for Sasuke’s job. When Sasuke took off his shirt, Neji caught a peak at his back. It had been a large and widely believed rumor that Uchiha Sasuke was covered in scars underneath his clothing. How it started no one knew. Looking at Sasuke now, Neji knew it was true.
Soon the three people were ready and headed for the town. Sasuke stayed behind Sakura so they wouldn’t raise suspicion, and the others followed after a while.
Once they were in the town Sakura was surprised to see the mass of people around her. She felt Sasuke come up close for a moment and mumbled, “It’s a festival. Just pretend you’re a tourist.” Sakura nodded stiffly and, towing Niya by the hand, headed for a rundown hotel, intent on keeping a low profile. But Sasuke grabbed her arm and spun her around towards another hotel. Not wanting to ruin their cover by protesting, she went for it.
“Hello. How are you? We'd like a large room, please.” Sakura said sweetly, smiling at the man across the desk. He nodded and smiled. He was an elderly man and obviously liked young, adorable Sakura and Niya. “Well hello there, little one!” he handed Niya a small candy and she grinned. “We only have one room left, with 2 queen beds. Enjoy your stay!” Sakura smiled tightly and nodded. She walked outside and started towards the apartment house. On the walk she scooped up Niya in her arms and stroked her head, never stopping. People walking around would never realize that this simple act was a signal that something had gone wrong and to meet her in the room.
“How are we all going to fit in this tiny room?” Tenten complained.
“This was the last room. I had no choice.” Sakura said, nipping the candy from Niya before she could bite into it. She flicked it into the garbage with a chastising glance at the pouting girl.
“It wouldn’t have been a problem if Sasuke had let Sakura choose the other.” Tenten continued.
“Bad memories, Uchiha?” Neji sniped.
“Shut up, Neji. I stayed there while I was being healed. There was a woman who ran it. She liked me. She would remember.”
“Stop it!!” Tenten yelled, standing. “That’s enough. We’ll just stay in this room.”
“There’s only 2 beds.” Shikamaru noted.
“We’ll share.” Tenten decided. “But one thing we can’t share…” She whipped around and bolted for the bathroom. Grabbing the door handle she yanked it open and someone gave a yelp. Tenten stared into the bathroom and saw that Sakura was already in there, starting to draw a bath with Niya sitting on the counter, inspecting the tiny shampoos.
“Oops, sorry. Giving Niya a bath, Sakura-chan? I’ll help!” Tenten chirped. Sakura smiled and accepted the help. They both put Niya in the warm water, making bubbles with some of the shampoo. The girl squealed happily as she splashed the water and let Sakura and Tenten wash and play with her hair.
Outside the boys were switching shirts and Shikamaru was wondering where everyone would sleep, simultaneously looking through the phonebook for some food, since no one else could work one. Suddenly Sakura walked out of the bathroom and smiled at Neji. “Neji-kun? Can I have your shirt?”
“No.”
“I need it for Niya! She doesn’t have anything to wear and I don’t want to put her in the same clothes! They’re dirty and she should be able to sleep in clean clothes. Please?” she begged.
“No.” He repeated. Sakura humphed angrily and turned around, stomping into the bathroom (though not too hard, lest she put holes in the floor). They wondered vaguely why it was so easy to refuse her. That is until the bathroom door opened a moment later. But this time Sakura didn’t come out. Tenten did. She set her eyes on Neji with hawk eyes.
“Hyuga Neji!! I have a bone to pick with you. Why can’t Niya use your shirt?! You go into her town and orphan her and drag her halfway across the country, and you can’t even let her wear your shirt for a while?! That’s so cruel! Do you even have a heart!! That poor little girl! You don’t even need your shirt! You can wear your jacket!! You are such a JERK!! I can’t believe this! Is this what you’re going to be like if we ever have kids?! Or are you just prejudice against other children!?” Neji was ignoring her now though, because he was unhappily undoing his jacket. Unable to listen to her whining anymore he handed her the black shirt and she smiled and grabbed it. “Thank you. Though you could have just given it to Sakura.” She pouted cutely, then smiled and kissed his cheek. Neji watched her walk away and put his jacket back on.
“Why didn’t you just give her the shirt?”
“…” Neji turned his back to the guys, ignoring them.
A few minutes later Niya walked out. She was dressed in Neji’s black shirt that reached her knees. Tenten had placed one of her hair ribbons around Niya’s middle and it now looked like a little kimono. Niya was smiling happily. She hurried over to the large window and pushed open the drapes slightly, peeking curiously out. The girls took places next to her. “So you guys figured out how we’ll sleep?” Sakura said, lifting Niya to give her a better view.
“Yeah. We’ll split up.” Shikamaru announced. They watched him curiously. “Sakura, Niya and Sasuke on one bed, Neji and Tenten on the other. I’ll sleep on the cot in the closet.”
“No.” Sasuke and Neji said simultaneously.
“No?” Shikamaru questioned.
“No, the Uchiha isn’t sleeping with Sakura.” Neji said.
“I agree with the ass.” Sasuke said.
“Look you two, this is the only way it’s going to work. Sakura and Sasuke have slept together since they were genin and Niya won’t sleep with anyone but Sakura. We can’t split up by gender because us guys aren’t sleeping together. Neji and Tenten are going out so they don’t care. Since my girlfriends at home (where we should be) I can deal with the cot. Anyway, it's this or you two are sleeping on the porch."
Neji and Sasuke glared at Shikamaru, then each other. Without another word they plopped down on opposite beds. A few moments later there was a knock on the door. Sakura answered it and grinned. "FOOD!!" She announced, grabbing the chinese food containers and running back into the room. Shikamaru paid the man and slammed the door in his face.
For the next couple hours the group greatly enjoyed their dinner. Then it was time for bed.
Sasuke removed his boots and, anally, placed them in a straight line at the end of the bed.
Sakura pulled off her skirt, keeping her small shorts on, and took off her boots and gloves. She removed the ribbon from Niya's stomach and used it to hold her hair up so it wouldn't get in the way.
Neji removed his jacket and boots, along with the bandage around his forehead.
Tenten removed various hidden weapons. She let her hair fall from the buns she habitually put it in and took off her boots (pausing to remove the hidden dagger).
Shikamaru set up his cot and took out his own hair. He removed his vest and boots.
They all turned out the lights and snuggled into their beds. All except Sasuke, that is. He remained awake and on the other side of Niya. His foot wiggled nervously beneath the blanket.
"Sasuke?" her voice startled him, but not out of his mask.
"What?" he said gruffly.
Sakura kicked his foot, "Stop that. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." He lied.
She rose an eyebrow. "It'll be bad if you wake this child up." Sasuke shrugged. "What's wrong, Sasuke?" Sakura frowned.
"..." he looked at Niya to keep from answering. Her face was buried into Sakura's flat stomach, her small arms wrapped around Sakura's waist. Her fingers grasped the back of Sakura's shirt like tiny wires. "You're not annoyed? Being clung to like that?" Sakura smiled.
"She's just cold. She'll cling to anything warm." Sakura looked up at Sasuke through her eyelashes, then gave a small smile. She gently unwound the girls arms from her waist and turned her tiny body around. She touched Niya's hands to Sasuke's front. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as he watched the Niya's fingers grasp his Uchiha shirt. She pulled close to him, clutching tightly. Sasuke simply watched her in horror. Sakura smiled and pet the child's head. Niya's face turned up to Sasuke, eyes still closed and flicked her head. Her loose pony tail pulled out from beneath Sakura's body.
Sasuke froze, staring at the child, and his breath hitched in his throat. As if the child was hugging his breath right out.
Sakura stared at him, whispering his name. His head snapped up to look at her. He shook his head, taking a breath. "I'm fine."
"What? What happened?"
"Nothing." He placed a shaking hand on Niya's small back to deter Sakura. Sakura frowned and nodded, not pushing the issue. She pulled Niya back to her. Sasuke stared at the little girl as Sakura held her tightly.
Sasuke shook softly, covering his eyes with a shaking hand. It was impossible...wasn't it? But the girl was eerily familiar. Sasuke felt bile rise in his throat.


In the time Sakura had been borrowing Neji's sleeping bag and sleeping next to Sasuke she had gotten used to seeing him in the morning. So when she opened her eyes and he was gone she was quite alarmed. Sakura sat up, looking around the room. Sasuke walked out of the bathroom a moment later and relieved her worries. Until he came closer and she noticed that his hand was pushed against his stomach. He was slightly green and she could see he had removed his shirt; it now lay in a pool next to the bed. He noticed that she was awake and wouldn't meet her eyes as he slid into the bed next to her, back facing her. She glowered and slid a fingertip down his spine. A shiver slid down his back after the finger and he glanced over his shoulder to glare at her. "What were you doing in the bathroom?" she asked.
"...Nothing."
"Did you throw up Sasuke?"
"..." his silence was answer enough.
"Did something make you sick?"
"It was just another night."
"Did you...have a nightmare? Was it Itachi?"
"Just go back to sleep!!" He rose his voice and had to glance around to make sure he didn't wake anyone.
Sakura glared. "Fine. Suffer." She closed her eyes and Sasuke turned away from her. But she couldn't get him out of her mind. She touched his back once more. She whispered to the back of his head because he wouldn't turn around to look at her. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I don't want you to suffer. I don't want you to be hurt. Please, Sasuke. Please tell me what's wrong. If I can't help, maybe I can understand. I just...don't want you to be alone when we're so close." He glanced back at her.
"I am alone, Sakura. Please don't try to share in my pain." He said nothing more, despite her prodding. She laid back on her pillow, closed her eyes, and tried to wait until morning, knowing she would get no more sleep.