❝𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒉𝒂❞

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 17: 𝑰'𝒎 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒚

-4 months after departure-

Naruto gazed off towards the direction of Suna where his beloved Sakura was about 5 months pregnant with their child. He sighed as he Sakura and his home in Suna. He couldn't help but wonder how she was right now. If she needed his help and if Gaara was keeping his promise. He also couldn't help the crushing feeling of homesickness as it felt like his heart was being crushed inside his own chest. He hoped that Sakura at least had something to distract her so she wouldn't feel the crushing sorrow that he did.

"Naruto come on. If we hurry we can finish laying the charges in the prison today. Then tomorrow we can work on prisoner rescue." Shikamaru nudged the blonde to rouse him from his thoughts. They were actually 2 months ahead of schedule but that still didn't mean that they weren't pressed for time if he wanted to make it back for the birth of his child. He nodded and stood up to join the others as they head into the nightmare that was now Konoha once again.

Sakura sat all alone on the couch wearing one of Naruto's shirts and wrapped in a blanket. She was forced into maternal leave one month ago by Tsunade when they found out that the reason for her exhaustion was due to the baby already forming a fairly large chakra network at this young of an age. Tsunade had remarked that only Naruto's kid could cause trouble and do amazing things before it was even born. Sakura still let out a small chuckle at how true the statement was.

Naruto...

She missed him so much. Even more so now that she had nothing occupying her mind. There were a few mornings that him not being in the bed when she woke up would actually cause her to break down and cry. She was an emotional train wreck and she knew it but the loneliness was almost unbearable. Yet she still got up every morning, took care of herself and the baby, and went to bed every night so Naruto would be able to come home to a happy family.

Sakura felt the tears coming again and hugged the blanket closer to her body while doing her best to stifle her sobs.

-6 months after departure-

Naruto ducked under another shuriken before flipping his sword up to slice open the man's chest before he kicked the now dying person into the raging inferno of the building behind him. He jumped over a sword aimed for his legs and held out a hand towards the attacker who was launched into several splintered beams that impaled him. A hand grabbed him by the neck and twisted him around so he was staring into the Sharingan eye hidden beneath the orange mask.

"Time to capture the Kyuubi."

The air itself seemed to be pulling Naruto in towards the single eye. He tried to think of a way out before it was too late but his savior came in the form of a blue blade made of lightning. He followed the blade back to see Sasuke's outstretched hand. The Uchiha quickly grabbed the Uzumaki just as a building fell into the street and separated the two opposing sides.

"Come on Naruto! I promised you that I would get you back to Sakura didn't I?" The raven haired boy had proven himself when he killed Orochimaru as the Suna and Konoha shinobi fought against him. They still didn't trust him even after he saved the captured shinobi and quite honestly he couldn't blame them. After everything he had done he knew that the road of redemption would be a long one but it would be worth it. He slung Naruto's arm over his shoulder and they began to quickly hobble out of the city. On the outskirts of Konoha Naruto and Sasuke met up with the others.

"Ok," Naruto began "we are going to take the extra long way home to throw off any pursuers. Everyone clear?" His question was meet with a chorus of "hais" and the group took off towards the forest. The extra long way home would easily tack on 1 to 2 more months but they couldn't risk being followed back. Naruto cast a sad glance at the covered body of their fallen comrade and felt tears stinging his eyes. He had known the person since his genin days and maybe even before that so it hurt deeply having to be the one to cover the body.

He could only hope that Sakura was alright.

"Thank you Matsuri. Also tell Gaara I said thank you also." Sakura called out to the retreating girl.

"Oh it's not a problem! It's always nice to spend a little girl time with you Sakura. I'll let Gaara know too. See you later Sakura!" Matsuri waved good bye to Sakura who returned the gesture before the door closed. The sound of the closing door signified that Sakura was alone once again. She had come to enjoy Matsuri's visits which started after Gaara and her had started dating. After Gaara and Matsuri became a couple Matsuri had quickly befriended the pinkette. Between Ino and Matsuri she recently had plenty of thing to keep her mind off of Naruto. But now with her due date in about a month her brain refused to stop thinking about the blonde knucklehead.

'Hurry home Naruto...' She sighed and lay back on the couch. After the 6th month of her pregnancy she could barely move around the house before she would be exhausted. She had come to rely on Ino's help for that and Tsunade would always make special house calls for her. Now with her being in the last few months of the pregnancy she was confined to her house by both physical and medical limitations.

She heard a knock on the door and as she called for Ino to enter all hell broke loose.

-7 months after departure-

Naruto seen the gate of Suna and put everything he had into his legs. He heard the heavy breathing of his companions fade into the distance as he reached nearly inhuman speeds. He blew through the entrance and leapt onto the rooftops, making a mad dash for his house. He hoped to god that he would find Sakura there greeting him with the extended belly of someone eight months pregnant. Then he could bring her to the hospital when she was in labor and he would be there when his child was brought into the world.

He reached his door and stopped. A sudden nervousness set in and he had no idea why. Besides the fact that he looked like the survivor of a war with his tattered cloak and somewhat ripped up robe coupled with the fact that he now had a small goatee going from his inability to shave he might look like a completely different person. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Naruto turned the handle and entered the house. It was around 6 at night so he wasn't surprised to hear an enchanting voice singing a song in the kitchen. The melody tugged on his heart and he made his way to the kitchen. He turned the corner and was faced with Sakura's back. She was flitting through the kitchen and Naruto could see the traces of fat left over from the pregnancy still hugging her figure, giving her a softer appearance. He knew that he missed the birth of his child but just seeing Sakura took that pain completely away.

"Sakura."

She froze. Then, ever so slowly, she turned to face the blonde that stood in her kitchen door. If it wasn't for the rippled and tomoed eyes along with that caring smile she might not have recognized him.

"N-Naruto?" The realization sunk in and tears began to fall from her green eyes. "Oh god it really is you!" They both rushed forward and Naruto pulled Sakura off her feet into a tender and passionate hug which was made even more passionate by the kiss they shared. After she shed her tears and Naruto let a few of hus own joyful tears fall they finally pulled apart. After several minutes of just taking in the reality of the situation Sakura finally spoke up.

"Do you want to meet your son?" She smiled softly at him and Naruto felt nervous even as he nodded yes. Sakura took his hand and lead him to what used to be the spare bedroom. She stopped outside the door to explain a few things first.

"Naruto just know that he came an entire month early. It was touch and go there for a while but it seems he inherited a strange combination of your determination and my hatred of losing at anything." She chuckled softly and proceeded to open the door and lead him to a small crib. Inside he seen the tuft of blonde hair on his tiny head. The barely visible eyes were an ocean blue color just like his father's. Naruto gingerly held out a finger and the boy latched on with a surprisingly strong grip. Naruto could see with his eyes that the boy was channeling chakra randomly from a fairly massive store of it.

"What's his name?" Naruto turned to look at Sakura when his finger was finally free.

"I thought I'd name him after your childhood hero. Naruto meet Minato." He smiled at the name and turned to face the small baby once again.

"Hey there little Minato. I'm your father Naruto. Hey I'm sorry I missed your birth but I promise you that I will never miss another important event in your life ever again dattebayo!" He gave Minato a big smile before he bent down and softly kissed the boy's head before taking Sakura's hand and leading her to bed for the first peaceful night of sleep either of them had in almost 7 months.

"I'm finally home Sakura-chan. Im finally home."