The Fox and The Weasel at Red Dawn: rewrite!

Chapter 17: And they're off!

"Come in," Pein called as soon as he heard the knock on the door. Pein straightened up as soon as he saw that it was Naruto and Itachi. They both had their bags hanging from Itachi's shoulders. "So have you come to your decision, then?"

"Yes, we have," Naruto stated. "We are going to start heading out to Konoha now, only because we figured that it would take me a while to walk all the way to Konoha. I know for a fact that Itachi will not want to carry me." Pein quirked an eyebrow at Itachi. He had known that he had been animate at not letting Naruto go, and yet, here he is, going to Konoha with Naruto.

"Naruto, are you sure about this," Pein questioned. Naruto nodded with his signature smile.

"I can't leave jiji-san alone at a time like this."

"And you won't be the only one coming with." They turned to see Kisame and Konan standing in the doorway, with their bags packed and ready to go.

"What are you guys doing here," Naruto asked.

"What? You didn't think that others might want to go with you," Kisame inquired. "I'm hurt." Itachi smirked while Naruto grinned at him.

"And I am not letting you go without someone to take care of you and the baby, just in case you have an early delivery," Konan stated. "That would never run well with the others if I wasn't there."

"Thanks, Konan," Naruto said as we waddled over to her to try and give her a hug. Naruto tried avoiding hugging for the reason of his stomach.

"Tobi want to go too," Tobi yelled as he ran into the room with him stuffing his bags, trying to be ready to depart.

"I'm sorry, Tobi, but you are just going to have to stay here," Pein stated. "Naruto has enough escorts as there is."

"But Tobi wants to go with fat boy," Tobi whined, only to be hit in the head by Konan.

"Stop calling Naruto fat," she growled.

"But Tobi telling the truth!"

"He's pregnant; not fat."

"Tobi thinks it's the same thing."

"No, it's not because—"

"Enough," Pein commanded. Konan and Tobi looked right at him. "Tobi, you are staying here. Konan, be careful." Konan nodded, knowing that her teammate would worry about her because this was the first time they would depart from each other in a very long time, enough though it was only for a short time. Pein trusted these men enough though to know that Konan would be save. He believed in them, especially Naruto. Even though Naruto was hindered by his pregnancy, he always was found somewhere training. He had taken a liking to making some seals, small ones that didn't need huge amounts of chakra. Everyone was amazed that he would train so much when they went into the training hall to find Naruto in there all day. It would sometimes take hours to get him out of there if Itachi wasn't the one getting him out of there.

"Alright, let's go," Naruto shouted as he started making his way towards the door. Everyone could see that he was trying to walk faster than he normally would, and Itachi walked over to him.

"Naruto, you don't need to walk so fast."

"The faster I walk, the sooner we get to Konoha," Naruto smiled before focusing on his walking since he couldn't see his own feet.

"And the faster you walk, the quicker you get exhausted," Konan reasoned. "Which means that we are going to be taking more breaks than we would when we walked at the same pace as you normally do. And it would help if you didn't trip at all." Naruto sighed before he walked at his normal pace. He took hold of Itachi's hand with a smile, and they walked out of the organization together as a team towards Konoha.

'Becareful, Naruto,' Pein thought as he watched them from his place on the balcony.

XxXxXxXxX

It's been nearly three weeks since they had left the group, and they are only now a mile away from Konoha. It had been a taxing journey for everyone, especially Naruto. He tried to hide it once again, but everyone could see through it. They didn't mind taking longer stops than normal, mainly because it was for Naruto's sake. He was carrying a baby inside of him that was going to be due within only a couple of weeks, a month at the most. But Naruto didn't care where he gave birth, just as long as his jiji-san was safe. And Naruto wanted him to know the truth before anything happens to him, if it ever were. He wants to see Iruka-sensei and tell him what happened to him, and why he left. He would know that those two would be the only ones that were truly sad about his departure.

"Naruto," Konan stated, looking over at him worriedly. She's been worried about him and the baby ever since they left the hideout. It was the same for Kisame and Itachi. So, whenever he would grow quiet, they would always question it, just to make sure that he wasn't going into labor.

"I'm alright, Konan," Naruto smiled at her. She sighed in relief. "I'll let you know if there is anything to worry about immediately, I promise." She nodded with a smile. Itachi squeezed their entwined hands and Naruto looked at him with a smile. Then Naruto looked down at his stomach once he felt a kick from the baby. He started rubbing the spot where it had kicked.

"If you rub your stomach anymore, the baby would fall out, Naruto," Kisame smirked. Naruto sighed before he smiled at Kisame's typical nature. He didn't stop rubbing it though. Just then, they heard rustling in the trees. Everyone immediately stopped. Kisame put a hand on his sword, Samehada, while Itachi and Konan drew some kunai. They all circled around Naruto protectively and scanned the forests around them. Naruto was looking also before he saw a familiar sight.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto gasped.