IT'S ALL FOR THE MISSION (Sasuke x Naruto)

Chapter 13

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm feeling two pulses here!" Ino exclaimed, her voice rising in pitch. "Naruto, are you... are you P-PREGNANT?"

Naruto's eyes went wide, and she slapped a hand over Ino's mouth, her face turning beet red. "Shh! Are you crazy?!" she hissed, looking around to make sure no one was watching. "It's the jutsu! Sasuke and I are just pretending to be a couple expecting our first kid—remember? did you not read the mission details or what?"

Ino, now muffled but still wide-eyed, pulled Naruto's hand away slowly. "Oh..wait... so nothing actually happened between you two while you were playing the married couple? You know, sharing rooms and all?"

Naruto's cheeks turned even redder, and she stammered, "Ino! Nothing happened! It's not like that at all!"

Ino smirked, leaning in closer. She lowered her voice  "Come on, Naruto. If something went down, I need the details. Did he kiss you? You know how hot he can be when he gets all emo and moody,"

Naruto's mind immediately flashed back to that time she had to kiss Sasuke to throw off the Akatsuki. She swallowed, her heart doing a weird little skip at the memory, and tried to shove it down.

Ino raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Uh, Naruto? You're looking kinda pale. Come on, you're not hiding anything juicy, are you?"

Naruto groaned, slapping a hand over her face. "It's nothing, okay? Just... nothing happened, and that's that!"

Ino let out a dramatic sigh, crossing her arms. "Well, maybe Sasuke's just not into you, ya know? Like, he barely even looks at you after sharing a room. Maybe he's not into you—or girls at all."

Naruto shrugged it off, rolling her eyes. "As if I care" But it oddly annoyed her.

Just then, Kakashi approached, hands in his pockets. "What's this about feelings? Are we having a feelings meeting without me?"

"Uh, nothing!" they both shot back in unison.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Oh, really? Nothing, huh? Because I distinctly heard the words 'feelings' and 'Sasuke' from way over there."

Naruto glaring at Ino, then turned back to Kakashi. "It's just Ino being Ino, sensei. You don't need to worry about it."

 Kakashi chuckled, then his expression shifted to something more serious. "But really Naruto, how are you holding up? Your Rasengan fuzzled out during that last battle, and that could've been dangerous."

Naruto straightened, her expression shifting from flustered to slightly defensive. "I'm fine! It was just... a momentary lapse, that's all!"

Kakashi studied her for a moment, then nodded. "Look, why don't you take a break? Get some rest and regroup along with Sasuke.

Timeskip,

Naruto found herself by the river, where she knew she'd find him. And there Sasuke was, standing at the water's edge, staring out at nothing and everything. The sound of her footsteps made him turn, but he quickly looked away.

"Hey," she called, trying to sound casual as she came up beside him. "You look like you're in a bad mood. What's on your mind?"

He hesitated for a second, like the words were right there but wouldn't come out. But he could still see that battle so clearly—Naruto in danger, then Itachi arriving again to shield her, save her like She actually mattered to him. The way she'd looked at his brother had thrown Sasuke off, and now, even now. But saying any of that out loud? Yeah, no way.

"I was just thinking about that last fight," he finally replied, trying to sound indifferent but not quite pulling it off.

"Oh, yeah," Naruto answered, her own eyes dropping to the river. "I guess I was... a little out of it."