A Moment of Weakness

Part 10

At the end of every week, usually on a Saturday or a Sunday, Tsunade would have Sakura meet her at a lab she had rented to convince the public of the plan she had made. Sakura would usually leave Sarada home with Lee because he could usually find the time to watch her. But not today. Sakura needed to bring Sarada because Lee was sent on a weekend-long mission.

Sakura at this point was about 5 months into her pregnancy and the effort it took to keep up with the genjutsu was extremely exhausting, but doable when she could rely on Tsunade and Lee to be there for her. She would only temporarily release at night around nine P.M. when she knew she would have no visitors and wouldn't need to worry about any surprise guests. Tsunade had become Sakura's 'doctor' so she wouldn't have to expose herself to anyone else to make sure the baby was healthy.

Sakura was walking back from her meeting with Tsunade with Sarada strapped to her chest, deciding to stop by Ichiraku since she didn't want to make dinner. For the first time in almost a year, she ran into Naruto. Almost instantly, she feels a rush of negativity towards him. A heavy mixture of anger and anxiety from seeing him leads her to sit next to him.

"Oh! Hi Sakura!" he says excitedly, turning to her. "How have you been-" Naruto pauses, seeing Sakura becoming more visually frustrated. "Um, Sakura, you've got this look on your face saying you're not too happy to see me," he reaches to scratch the back of his neck.

"Yeah I got a bone to pick with you, Naruto," she says, holding Sarada closer as if to protect her from hearing what she might say. "You want me to air my grievances now or after you pay for my meal?" Naruto laughs nervously before Sakura orders.

"W- What did I do this time?"

Sakura takes a sip of water and a deep breath before starting. "You keep sending him away." Naruto's face changes from one of confusion to one of sorrow. Understanding without any more explanation. "I mean, Naruto, you keep me out of the loop and so does he. I have no idea what's going on or when he'll be back and it's not fair to me." She's handed her order, but can't seem to start eating it just yet. "Why do you send him away for so long at a time when... you fought so hard to get him back?"

"Sakura I think you don't... don't get it? I don't actively send him out like this," Naruto groans trying his best to explain. "I don't send him away. I don't even understand why he has to go all the time either. He writes to me to tell me that all is well on his missions but most of the time he just says he 'feels like something is off' before leaving. I get updates and he gives me a heads up before coming back but I don't get it either," he explains. Sakura stares at him, more confused than before.

"You don't send him away?"

"I have before but never more than a month. He decides being alone is better and just disappears."

"And he writes to you?"

"At least once a week." Sakura feels her face begin to burn with anger? embarrassment? "Does he not write to you too?"

"Not once." A lump forms in her throat when she tries to speak again. "One of the last notes he left me told me that you'd help with the baby. Did he even ask you?"

"Not at all, I guess he just assumed," he laughed. "Is there anything you want help with? I'm busy all the time but you know all you have to do is ask?"

Sakura shook her head, finally deciding to eat her ramen before it got cold and distracted from the deep sadness this news gave her. "Thanks for the food, Naruto," she whispers and looks down at her sleeping baby.

"Anytime, Sakura! And also, Hinata has been wanting to see you soon. Something about babies and being pregnant. Stop by if you've got the time. Getting around as a pregnant woman seems exhausting, just from what I've seen, but you know even better than me." Naruto stood and thanked the old man for his meal again before heading back to work.