The next morning, Sasuke and Sakura parted ways with Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino and headed eastward on their days' travel to the Village Hidden in the Sound.

"I'm sorry, Darling..." Sakura panted as she stopped and leaned against a tree, "can we take another quick break?"

"Okay." Sasuke set his bag down and held Sakura's hand to help her sit down on the grass, "you holding up?"

"Yeah. Barely." Sakura chuckled weakly as he sat next to her, "this reminds me of our Genin days."

She glanced nearby and imagined their younger days as Genin on Team 7 with Kakashi and Naruto.

"The dobe was always asking to stop." Sasuke added, "I remember. He always complained about walking so much and even asked Kakashi to carry him."

"Oh yeah!" Sakura laughed, "and I would chastise him about being lazy while you'd stand aside and watch."

"I would always mentally judge him, though." Sasuke looked at her face, "but you know, he's changed. We all have. Including you."

Sakura smiled, "heh. You think so?"

He nodded, "I know it. You've changed the most out of all of us. Your strength and persistence kept us going, you know. Your impact on both me and Naruto is unimaginable."

"Well." Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, "I've never really thought of it that way, but I really did work so hard to catch up with you two. You guys kept me going and made me work harder to help you both. So, in a way, I should be thanking you guys. For being supportive teammates in our childhood and for helping me become the woman I am today."

Sasuke smiled, "thank you, too."

Sakura nodded and chuckled to herself as she put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder and used him to get herself up, "c'mon, we can't sit here any longer!"

"Oh, hey, hold on." Sasuke took her hand and stood up to help her stand, "here, let me help you. You might fall."

"I'm fine." Sakura wiped the sweat from her forehead on the back of her hand and held Sasuke's arm tighter, "how much longer?"

Sasuke studied the road ahead of them, "it's only about three miles left. Once we get to the village, we'll stop overnight at an inn there before moving on to the hideout."

"An inn?! You mean... A bed?!" Sakura beamed, "I'm all for that! That's awesome! I can't remember the last time I slept in a real bed!"

"Yeah." Sasuke smiled at her, "let's go."

Sakura's determination and perseverance got her to continue on another two and a half miles in forty-five minutes before stopping to rest once again.

"I'm sorry." Sakura sighed as she took a long drink from her canteen of water.

"Don't apologize. You're doing great." Sasuke looked at her, "I'll be back. I just have to go send something out."

"Alright. Don't take long." Sakura nodded as Sasuke stepped away from Sakura and further back down the path where she couldn't see him.

He brought his hand out from his cloak and looked down at the small scroll he held in his hand. He looked up and spotted his messenger hawk circling overhead before it flew down and landed on his shoulder.

"Take this to Naruto." Sasuke attached the message to the bird's leg and released it to fly back to the Leaf Village. Once it was out of sight, Sasuke quickly returned to his wife, "are you ready? The village is just over this path."

"Yeah. Let's go." Sakura smiled, "I could use some good buffet food right now."

Sasuke helped her stand up once again, "I'm sure we'll find some good food at the inn."

Sakura nearly fell over with excitement, "I can just imagine how good that food would be! Oh, my stomach's churning! That could be the baby, but I'm positive I'm hungry. Do you think oysters and mayo sound good? Or ice cream, kimchi, and soy sauce?"

Sasuke stared at her and chuckled weakly, "I'm... Not sure."

"We'll find out when we get there." Sakura moved faster, "come on, Sasuke! Stop dragging."

Sasuke resisted the urge to laugh, "yes, ma'am."

_____________________

"Yes. One room for two. Enjoy your stay."

Sakura chuckled weakly, "is there a way we could get a room on the first floor by any chance?"

The man at the counter stared at her, "for what reason?"

Sasuke looked coldly at the man, "in case you haven't noticed, my wife's very pregnant and is expecting any moment now."

"Well, why's she at a hotel and not a hospital?" The man gave them an eye roll, "you know there aren't any hospitals in the village, don't you?"

"Is that so?" Sakura felt a vein in her forehead twitch with annoyance, "well, as the head medical doctor in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, I might just have a way to change that."

"Do what you want." The receptionist pulled out a newspaper and started reading, "I don't have any other open rooms, so take it or leave it. Oh, and while you're at it, we don't really support couples giving birth, here, so if she's expecting any moment now, I would highly suggest moving to the next village."

Sasuke clicked his tongue annoyedly and took the key, "we'll take the room."

Sakura cursed under her breath as she slowly but surely made her way up the stairs of the inn, "damn it, the second floor is a lot higher up than I expected..."

"He couldn't give us a room on the first floor." Sasuke sighed as he held Sakura's arm tighter, "careful."

"Thanks, Darling." Sakura let out a sigh of relief when they finally reached the top, "I'm definitely sleeping once we get to the room."

"It's only four o'clock." Sasuke chuckled as they made their way to their given room number and went in.

"A bed! It's been weeks, my old friend!" Sakura cried happily as she dropped her bag and cloak on the table nearby and quickly walked to the queen-sized bed and laid down, "we can have that buffet tomorrow. Right now, I'm exhausted and feel like I might pass out."

"Alright." Sasuke chuckled as he set his own bag down and stood next to her to take the blanket and slide it over her, "sleep well."

Sakura smiled up at him before shutting her eyes and falling asleep.

Wow. That was fast. Sasuke smiled as he gave her a kiss on her forehead then moved to the desk set up at the corner of the room, by the bed and the double doors opening to a balcony. He looked out the doors and gasped to himself. This place... I've never stayed in an inn like this before. Things in the villages are definitely changing and becoming more modern, I suppose.

He looked around the room and spotted a landline phone on the desk, reminding him of something he had to do. He picked up the phone, dialed a number, and moved out onto the balcony overlooking the Hidden Sound Village. He leaned on the railing and listened to the drone of the ring until there was a click followed by a tired greeting.

"Hello? Who is this?"

Sasuke smirked, "you sound tired."

"Oh! Sasuke! It's you! Yeah, sorry, Kakashi-Sensei had me working pretty hard today, so I'm a bit tired." Naruto yawned, "but how about you guys? Wait, you never have your phone charged. How are you calling me?"

"We're at an inn at the Hidden Sound Village. Has Team 10 made it back to the village yet?"

"Oh! Yeah, they just got back. I ran into them on my way home. Speaking of, they went into a meeting with Kakashi-Sensei about you two. Everything alright?"

Sasuke shut his eyes, "well, we had some... Complications. I might have to look into them myself."

Naruto groaned, "c'mon, Sasuke, you can tell me."

"Shikamaru told me about those ANBU Black Ops attacks on your family."

Naruto's tone shifted, "yeah."

"When Shikamaru and his team arrived, Sakura was captured by ANBU Black Ops."

"Yeah, I read that part of the letter you sent earlier. I got that, by the way."

Sasuke continued, "we found out all those ANBU that attacked had died in the past. Fu Yamanaka, Shin from the Root division, even Taji, the ANBU nurse that delivered you."

The silence on the other end of the line was followed by Naruto's shocked voice, "wh-what the hell, Sasuke."

"That's not all." Sasuke shut his eyes, "Itachi was leading them."

Sasuke waited for Naruto's response.

"You okay, Sasuke?"

"Yeah. Sakura helped tremendously."

"That's good." Naruto sighed, "that's seriously emotionally traumatizing. Especially for you. I'm glad Sakura,  Shikamaru and his team were there."

"Me too." Sasuke pursed his lips, "but you know what this means, don't you? I have to look into this."

"Into what? The fact that the Impure World Reincarnation technique is out there being abused? That's all well and good, pal, but you're about to start a family. I'm ten billion percent positive you have something far more important to be concerned about."

Sasuke glanced over and looked at where Sakura was peacefully sleeping, "I understand. But my actions towards the village are unforgivable. No matter how much I do for the village, I could never be forgiven."

"Sasuke, we've talked about this. You've helped plenty."

"Who's going to go out and find those people? The village needs someone to gather intel from the outside. That's my job." Sasuke looked down, "you protect the village from the inside, I'll gather intel for Kakashi from the outside. That's how things were meant to be, anyways."

"Sure, but Sasuke. What about Sakura... And your child?"

Sasuke shut his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, "I'll... I'll think about it."

"Please do. We can't send you away from the village risking your life when you have a family who depends on you. Sakura's strong, but you both need each other. You get me?"

"Yeah."

"Listen, I gotta go. Please tell Sakura I said 'hi' and miss you guys a lot. I'm glad you guys are safe but don't let your guard down. The day's coming up pretty soon, isn't it?"

"Hn. It is."

Naruto chuckled, "well, don't stress out too much over it, buddy. You guys'll be fine, I'm sure."

"From you? I wouldn't be too sure."

"Heh. You're still a moron, Sasuke."

"You're one to talk."

"Okay, I really have to go, now. Good luck, Sasuke. Please think about your family before making any decisions. See you guys soon."

Sasuke brought the phone down when he heard the click of the phone hanging up.

Think about your family...

He looked up at the sky and sighed, "what am I supposed to do..."