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Shogi Anyone?	By : Shortcake Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 13931 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
The next three weeks flew by in a whirlwind of activity. Sakura could hardly believe she’d been in Suna three months already. Things were going well with her mission; the hospital was finally running smoothly, albeit still with the reduced schedule. Her genin and chunin trainees were learning fast. Some had more natural talent than others, but she could tell all of them were putting in their very best effort. Temari had gotten bogged down in trade talks back in Konoha, but Sakura was fairly certain that just meant she got to keep Shikamaru’s bed warm at night and her nosy brothers out of her affairs.
It had been a long day. She’d thrown up that morning for no apparent reason. She hadn’t eaten anything strange and there was no stomach bug going around. Of course, she did work in a hospital so one could never be positive about such a thing. Still, it had made her look carefully at her calendar once she got to her office. She hadn’t cycled since the week she got to Suna. With her athletic physique and her birth control pills, skipping a period happened now and then, but two? She was concerned. She took her pills religiously every morning after her shower. She hadn’t missed one. Even so, she surreptitiously slipped a pregnancy test kit into her pocket at work and now she was anxious to rule out such a life changing circumstance. She forced a calm façade as she approached her room. Damn it. She would have to see him now.
Kankuro waved at the pink haired medic from down the hall, “Hey, Sakura, how’s it going?”
“Doing fine, Kankuro.” She smiled politely, burying her anxious thoughts as best as she could.
Kankuro sensed something a bit off with her. Maybe she’d had a rough day. “want to walk to dinner with me? I hear Jiro has made tiramisu for desert tonight.” He patted his belly at the delicious thought.
Sakura turned slightly green. The mere thought of coffee or anything coffee flavored was slightly nauseating. She put her smile back quickly, “Oh, thanks, but I just need to change my shirt. Spilled something at work, you know how it is. Save me a seat, will you?” She begged off and practically ran into her room, leaving the puppet master scratching his head in the hall.
Kankuro shrugged, “I wonder what that was about” as he headed on his way.
Finally, in the privacy of her room, Sakura took a deep breath, headed into her bathroom, and collected her pee in the jar of the test kit. Sixty seconds later she simply stared at the results in utter disbelief. It was positive. She was pregnant.
A wave of emotions tore at the core of her being. Sakura sat crying on the bathroom floor. How did this happen? She was a medical ninja for crying out loud! How? Why? What the hell was she going to do? Well that one was easy, be a mom in eight or nine months. Just how far? … She paused lowering a chakra laden hand to her own abdomen. There it was. A tiny second signature. Barely perceptible. So, 4 or five weeks. At least it would be a bit before anyone without a byakugan would know.
That still didn’t explain how this had happened though, she took her birth control pills faithfully. She went to the small pill box on her night stand and sat to count them out. Exactly the right number. Then as she went to return them to their container, Sakura noticed something. It was such a small difference, no one would even see unless they looked directly at the pills, and carefully too. The font on the “P” stamped in each tablet was missing one of the serifs at the base. What the hell? Were her pills fake? She threw the box in her pocket and ran back to the hospital lab.
By the time she got to dinner, everyone was digging in to the tiramisu. Even the smell of it disgusted her. She forced a composed look on her face.
Kankuro spoke first, standing to offer her the seat he’d saved. “Sakura, what took you so long? At least you made desert.”
Sakura simply stood as she was and bowed to the assortment of councilmen, wives and other guests, “I apologize for the disruption. Lord Kazekage, Kankuro, I need to speak with you privately about an urgent medical matter that just came up.”
Kankuro had no idea what was going on, but it was unlike the kunoichi to make such a request without good cause, so he simply took her by the arm and bowed to the table, “Apologies, everyone. It seems something urgent has come up.”
Gaara raised an eyebrow, then stood himself. “My office, then.” He turned to the crowd, “I’m sure it’s a simple matter.” Then he bowed and followed them into his office.
Once they were alone, Sakura made hand signs, “Sealing jutsu!” Strands of her chakra enveloped the room ensuring their absolute privacy, even if voices were raised.
Kankuro dove in, “Sakura, just what the hell is going on?!?” the exasperated puppet ninja made no secret of his irritation.
Dark green eyes of fury shot daggers through his black ones as Sakura spoke, thinly restrained rage evident in her voice, “I believe that’s my question for you, Kankuro. And you.” She turned her poisoned gaze to the kazekage. “I believe it’s high time the two of you told me what the hell is going on.”
Kankuro stepped behind the desk next to Gaara, suddenly feeling he might need to shield his brother from whatever murderous wrath had possessed his girlfriend.
Gaara’s calm exterior was the result of years of practiced restraint. He had no idea what had his girlfriend so furious, and if Kankuro had done something, he’d have to deal with her. But his instincts told him to tread cautiously for someone must remain in control. “Sakura. What’s wrong?”
Sakura held her glare, she’d had to fashion this little plan quickly and it wasn’t hard to be angry. But she couldn’t overplay her hand. She took the pill box from her pocket and set it on the desk her eyes carefully watching every move and expression of the two brothers. “Tell me, what is in this box?”
Both men raised a quizzical eyebrow. Gaara simply stated the obvious. “It’s a pill box, so presumably pills?”
Sakura rolled her angry eyes in irritation. “More specific.”
Kankuro reached out slowly and picked up the box, keeping an eye on the crazed medic, lest she harm him for touching the object. “Well, the label says, Haruno Sakura. Something medical looking, then take 1 by mouth once a day… So… vitamins?” He shrugged his shoulders and handed the box to Gaara who scratched his head as well. The dark-haired man continued, “what’s the big deal about a box of vitamins?”
Gaara was completely mystified. “Sakura, your behavior is most unusual and your concern over a box of vitamins makes no sense. Please tell us what’s the matter.”
Sakura sighed. Everything about them said they were telling the truth. That or their ability to play dumb was beyond exceptional. She’d monitored their breathing, heart rates, the works. That only deepened this mystery as she’d have bet money Kankuro was behind the switch. Her eyes softened a bit as she explained, “They are not vitamins. They are supposed to be birth control pills.”
A fly could’ve flown in Gaara’s mouth without notice. “Supposed to be… but then…” Gaara fainted, collapsing face first on his own desk. A blur of sand cushioned his fall.
Kankuro’s eyes widened a moment later as he was too stunned to catch his brother. “Wait. What do you mean supposed to be…”? He was in shock.
Sakura sighed in exasperation, “Oh, good grief!” She ran to Gaara’s side, lowering him to the floor. She tilted his head to open his airway as she checked his pulse. Kankuro finally came to Gaara’s other side.
“So, how did you… are you… I’m confused.” Kankuro sat with his head in his hands.
Gaara began to stir. “Ouch.” The kazekage looked up to see a calm Sakura and a very confused looking Kankuro hovering over him. He brought his left hand up to his temple. “Headache.” Was all he said. Sakura channeled some chakra into his head, easing his pain. The young leader sat up looking at Sakura with awe. He channeled chakra in his palm, brushing it gently over her abdomen. His eyes widened at the awareness of the tiny life inside her. He pulled the smaller shinobi to him and held her tightly. “Sakura…” words failed him.
Kankuro was the first to come back to reality. “So… wait a second. Let me get this straight. Your pregnant. But you’ve been taking birth control pills, except, they aren’t birth control pills? Sakura, could you maybe go back a bit and go over the details here?”
Gaara finally let go of her, almost as though he feared she’d run away. They all sat together on the floor behind the kazekage’s desk.
Sakura sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts. “Yes. Let me go back to the beginning. I vomited this morning and yesterday I had been nauseated. At first, I just figured I’d probably picked up a bug from one of the patients. I’m pretty careful, but these things can happen. Anyway, just as a precaution, I checked my calendar and realized I hadn’t cycled since the first week I was here. Which, I’m an athletic woman and taking birth control, so skipping a period also just happens now and then. But two? Still, I figured it’s unlikely, but I should be sure, so I swiped a pregnancy test kit and brought it back to my room after work.”
Kankuro interrupted, “So that’s what you were all antsy about in the hallway.”
Sakura glared at him for having noticed. “Yes. Anyway, I went in my room and took the test. Low and behold it’s positive. So I sat there and I cried and asked myself a million questions. I also scanned myself and found the chakra signature just like Gaara did. I’m about 4 or 5 weeks along, by the way. It’s still really early. Anyway, I just couldn’t figure it out. I mean I’m OCD fastidious about my birth control pills. I take it every day, right after my shower, and I came from Konoha with a 6 months supply. I picked up the prescription from Konoha Pharmacy myself the day before I left.”
Gaara was hanging on her every word. “The box you just showed us. That’s the one?”
Sakura nodded. “Yes. At least, I think so. But maybe not. It’s a standard pill box and a standard label. That part would be easy to copy. Any genin could do it. Anyway, I was not in the best state of mind, so I took out all the pills and counted them, thinking maybe I’d missed some and couldn’t recall. The number was correct, but then I noticed something about the pills themselves. If you look at the tablets...” At this point Sakura took the box down and handed each of the men a pill. “There’s a ‘P’ stamped on the top of each one. But it’s missing a serif at the bottom of the letter.”
Kankuro nodded. “Interesting, the font looks like Times New Roman, but there’s only two serifs instead of three. They are all like this?”
Sakura nodded. “Yes, so I ran back to the hospital lab to test the potency of the tablets. They are placebos. There is no active hormone in them at all. They are fakes.”
Both men raised an eyebrow, but Gaara spoke, “So you thought I did this?”
Sakura replied, “Actually, my bet was Kankuro, but I couldn’t be certain without confronting you directly. And I needed to confront you together to monitor your responses. I couldn’t be in this situation without being one hundred percent positive you didn’t know what we were doing.”
Gaara was stunned. Kankuro spoke, “So that whole ‘what the hell is going on or I’ll kill you both’ bit was an act?” Sakura nodded affirmatively and shrugged her shoulders. “Impressive, kunoichi.”
Gaara concurred. “Indeed.”
Sakura went on, “Please forgive me about dinner. It’s just… well, time is ticking here, and I knew I could get you both easily at the same time so…”
Kankuro frowned, “But that still leaves the question… who switched out your birth control pills for fakes? And why?”
Gaara turned to his now pregnant girlfriend, “Who outside this room knows about our relationship?”
Sakura bit her lower lip as she thought. “Well, I wrote to Ino that I’m seeing someone, but not who. The picture that I sent her from the festival dance has the three of us and Mei in it, but Kankuro was my escort that night and Kankuro is the one I’m always seated next to and seen in public with. The only other person I can think of is Temari.”
Kankuro’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean Temari? She’s been in Konoha for over two months on a diplomatic mission.”
Sakura chortled, “Diplomatic mission my ass.” Both men looked at her quizzically. “Oh shit. You guys don’t know. But then that makes perfect sense… And the day the genin puked on me… Of course! That bitch! Her stinking boyfriend must be in on this too.”
Both men spoke in chorus, “What boyfriend?!?”
Gaara went on, “Sakura, I think you have some explaining to do.”
Sakura blushed. “Okay, well, you remember how Temari almost caught me in your room the morning she left for Konoha and I said she knew and you said she didn’t or she’d have reacted differently?”
Gaara nodded, “Yes, of course I remember.”
Sakura scratched the back of her head absently, “Well, there’s a piece of information that might mean she wouldn’t. React differently that is… My dear, I think we’ve been played.”
Gaara just blinked as he tried to process her words. Kankuro was still focused on his previous question, “Who the hell is this boyfriend? I need to know the name of the man I’m going to kill.”
Sakura just threw her hand in the air, “That. That right there. Why do you think she never tells you anything about her sex life? That reaction says it all.”
Gaara shook his head. “Our sister does not have a sex life. She is pure and chaste.”
Sakura laughed, “She’s a twenty-one-year-old kunoichi! I’m sure she has not been a virgin for some time. I know she wasn’t a virgin when she started dating… her current boyfriend. And look at you two hypocrites, Gaara, you were not a virgin, and Kankuro, I know Mei is not the only fling you’ve had just in the past three months. Please.” She rolled her eyes for emphasis.
Kankuro put his head in his hands, “So… you are saying that not only does Temari have a boyfriend, but he was not her first and he’s somehow involved in making sure you get pregnant? I’m not following.”
Gaara simply nodded with an equally confused expression.
Sakura sighed. “I had promised Temari not to tell you, but under the circumstances, I have to or none of it will make sense. Okay, so there’s a couple of things going on. Someone wanted me pregnant with Gaara’s child badly enough to switch out my birth controls with fakes. Are you with me so far.”
They nodded and Gaara motioned for her to continue. “whoever made the switch had to do it well enough that I didn’t notice. Probably a ninja, yes?”
Kankuro answered, “But ninjas can be hired.”
Sakura acceded, “True, but it would have to be someone with access to the Kazekage’s home or with sufficient ability to infiltrate it.”
Kankuro nodded. “True.”
The pink haired woman went on, “And the fakes had to be good enough fakes that I didn’t notice. Which I didn’t until I examined them closely. In fact, if I hadn’t examined them closely, I might simply have attributed my pregnancy to bad luck of being the one percent for whom they are ineffective. These are very good fakes. The size, color and taste of the tablets is exactly the same. The only notable difference is the serif on the letter P. There are only a handful of medical ninja with the skill to do that and none of them live in Suna.”
Gaara’s eyes narrowed, “Who in Konoha has the skill for this task?”
Sakura answered, “Only me, Shizune, and Tsunade. Although, if they went to the black market, I’m sure Kabuto would do it. But the timing doesn’t fit for that. Kabuto’s been on a quest for redemption since the war ended. Beyond that, we’re talking about someone outside the five shinobi nations.”
Gaara was still skeptical, “Then pray tell us, how does Temari’s boyfriend make the puzzle pieces fit?”
Sakura smiled. “Who’s the best shogi player you know?”
Gaara answered quickly, “Me.”
Sakura’s smile widened, “But I’ve beaten you at shogi. Twice.”
Gaara smiled at her barb, “Yes, but I usually win our matches.”
Sakura nodded, “That is so. But there is only one man I’ve never been able to best in Shogi. Temari’s boyfriend, Nara Shikamaru.”
Kankuro put his hand over his face. “Fuck. That makes perfect sense.”
Gaara had one more question, “How long has Temari been involved with Nara Shikamaru?” They’d known him for years. The only one of their class to pass that awful set of chunin exams, and it was his first time at them. Now he was the head of the Nara clan and chief advisor to the hokage. A man who would not be free to move to Suna for a bride.
Sakura thought, “I’m not sure exactly… Since some time before the war. They’d already been together before that incident here with the Akatsuki, so probably a year or more.”
Gaara looked at her thoughtfully. There was no nice way to say what had to come next. “Your analysis does suggest Temari could be involved. How do we know this wasn’t your mission all along?”
His words were a dagger in her heart. “But why would I… give myself fake birth control pills? Why would I give my heart…? You think I could…You would just…” Her mind flew to conclusions. How could she prove she wasn’t in on the scheme? She couldn’t think of anything really. Other than why the hell would she allow herself to be used that way. What possible gain would it be for Konoha to lose her? That didn’t make sense. But if he didn’t see that himself, how could she show him? And that he would think her love was just acting! Was just for a mission! Sakura ran from the room, breaking the sealing jutsu. She ran down the hall and out the door. And then, she just ran.
Kankuro turned to his brother, “Gaara, you’re an idiot.” Then he stood and ran after Sakura. The sun was setting, which meant the desert would soon be cold as ice. In her state of mind, Sakura could get into serious trouble fast.
- 16
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- 18
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Shogi Anyone?