Another week passed. Naruto had become even more cautious in training, using her baggy clothing to her advantage, the extra cloth helping hide her next move, as it was harder to see her muscles tense under the folds and creases that constantly seemed to shift and move.

She seemed so much more tired and mellow to her classmates too. She had become quiet and withdrawn, smiles strained. She never skipped class, never moved unless it was for taijutsu practice. She slept a lot in class, but her grades managed to rise somehow. The other students were confused, but soon they adapted. None of them approached the blonde, none of them really cared, except for a select few. No one questioned the blonde's sedated attitude, or the way Naruto dropped the rivalry between Uchiha Sasuke, barely going out of her way to respond to his taunts.

The blonde herself had given up trying to be energetic as it sapped her energy even more. She also had gotten a strong craving for Dango, and ate as much as she could get her hands on. She was barely keeping up her training as the weeks passed, her feet swelling more often than normal due to her job, and the fact she had to go to the academy during the day.

She had also started getting mood swings that were getting harder to control. Her emotions were already flip-of-a-switch, now even more so. She was four and a half months along, she had no idea how she would survive the whole nine months. As her stomach grew, the rest of her grew thinner. Iruka-sensei had explained, with a sad face, that her body wasn't developed enough to take on the task of providing for another living being. She had a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the labour.

She reasoned she'd survive, being too tough to die, as well as Kyuubi's healing. Still, she felt both stronger and weaker in every passing day. She ate so much more than she used to, trying to gain weight and stay strong.

Four months and a half. Four and a half left. She tugged at her hair, noting how long it was getting. It seemed that her hair got a little tamer the longer it got. She didn't want to cut it, but everyone needed to think she was a boy. So she made a compromise. She cut the top and upper layers of the back of her hair, allowing the underneath to continue growing, tying it into a ponytail that could be tucked under her clothes and gone unnoticed.

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Shitshitshitshitshit! She was going to be late for the academy! She knew Iruka would let it pass (again), but she didn't want the others to think she was getting special treatment. So she took to the rooftops and hopped quickly, ignoring her aching feet.

She was so close to the Academy. She sped up, pushing herself faster, breathing heavily. She cursed as her foot caught on a roof tile and she twisted in the air, using the other foot to pivot and rebalance herself. She didn't keep going though, stopping to let the panic leave. When she straightened up she quickly side-stepped the blur that was wobbling unsteadily.

Maybe the roofs weren't a good idea. She wiped her cheek, startling at the blood smear. She knew she wasn't injured, so...

She glanced after the blur, of which had collapsed three roofs over. She hurried over, not one to leave the injured, well, injured. Upon landing on the roof of the now unconscious figure, she looked over the injuries. Not good, based on the ever growing pool of blood forming on the once grey stone rooftop. She wasn't strong enough to carry a grown man, but she didn't want to leave him here to bleed out. Especially since she recognized the Anbu mask. It was Inu, one of her old protectors, back when the villagers actively tried to break into her apartment.

So she hurried to the academy and burst in panting. She raced over to Iruka-sensei.

"Naruto-ch-kun, what's wrong?" He asked. He had been about to take roll when she burst in, and hastily placed the clipboard down.

Naruto took a few deep breaths before speaking for the first time (to the class) in weeks.

"I was on the way here when I was almost knocked into by a shinobi. They collapsed a few roofs over and I went to check on them because they were bleeding. They're badly injured and Iruka-sensei, it's Inu-san! Can you help him?" The word came out in a rush, and both sensei and student noticed Hinata slip out the back window, veins bulging around her eyes as she leapt away. Her friendship with Naruto was doing wonders for her confidence.

"Of course. Class will begin when I return. Mizuki will take over until then, making sure no one pulls anything. Naruto-kun, please show me where he is."

Naruto wasted no time, despite her exhaustion, and the two exited the room, leaving behind murmuring students and curious eyes.

They leapt across the rooftops, Naruto hiding her struggles as best as possible. Hinata leapt next to Naruto, supporting her when she stumbled. It wasn't long before they reached the injured Anbu. Iruka quickly assessed the injuries and picked the larger man up.

"No-no hospital. Inu-san doesn't like hospitals. We can go to my place and fix him. The only danger is blood loss." Naruto said, tugging Iruka's shirt in the direction of her apartment. Iruka's brown eyes narrowed before he nodded, leaping away.

"First aid is under the bed!" Naruto shouted, knowing he heard. She turned to Hinata. The indigo haired girl held out the herbal healing cream she had, and they took off.

They arrived shortly, due to Hinata carrying the blond when she tripped the third time. Said blond was too exhausted to get embarrassed. She almost fell asleep when she was laid onto the couch, but forced her eyes open and sat up, yawning. She was tired. Her job was taxing, and she hoped she managed to get a new, easier job. She had a decent amount of ryo, barely enough for a better place, but she hoped she could get more to help support them for a while.

She watched as Iruka carefully dressed the wounds that Inu had. They weren't bad, just bled a lot. It wasn't long before he was done, and he stood. Naruto stood too. "Put him on the couch sensei. Please." She added as he looked ready to protest.

"Fine, but you have to stay home and sleep today. I permit Hinata to stay and make sure you do. You're not maintaining your health, and that's not good for you or the baby."

Naruto nodded, too tired to argue, and Iruka left. Hinata helped Naruto to her bed, which she had moved to the living room when she got too lazy to walk through her whole apartment. She laid down, and not even thirty seconds later, fell asleep.

Inu had been confused when he woke up, and it had taken a moment for him to get out of 'battle-mode'. When he had, he noticed the sleeping whiskered blond, who looked so thin compared to the last time he saw him. His cheeks were less round, and there were bags under his eyes.

Next he noticed the sound of running water, just as it vanished and a small petite indigo haired child walked into the room with a cup of water. Her eyes- Byakugan, no seal, meaning she was of the main branch of the Hyuuga, widened slightly before her childish face softened and she smiled shyly.

"Ah. I'm glad you're okay now Inu-san. Here, I feel you need this more than I right now." She handed him the water, and he bowed his head slightly in thanks, downing the water so fast one would have thought he never removed his masks, if not for the hand adjusting the position of the mask, other hand handing the glass back.

His eyes-and he jolted, slamming his left eye shut as he noticed the chakra drain. His lone eye followed the small girl as she tidied the admittedly trashy apartment. However, soon his gaze was drawn once more to the tiny whiskered blond sleeping a few feet away, wearing clothes a few sizes too big.

It'd been years since he'd been taken off of guard duty, years since he left the child and threw himself back into mission after mission, half hoping for death because he was a weak, weak man, a coward who couldn't protect his friends, his family. It was mostly silent for the next couple hours, the only sounds being the ambiance of people going about their daily life. Inu asked himself many times why he hadn't gotten up and left the moment he woke up, before coming to the conclusion that he was tired of running.

So he sat and watched over the whiskered child, taking more water from the Hyuuga girl when she offered. At some point a chunin he recognized as the Hokage's assistant, Umino Iruka, entered the apartment and added an extra blanket over the Uzumaki boy. Despite the kindly Chunin's attempts, Inu never made a sound, his lone grey eye watching and observing carefully.

Naruto Uzumaki was female. This he knew as a fact, as he was there when she was found lying near her dead parents the night of her birth. And yet here she slept, looking like a boy and thinner than what could be healthy. Another hour passed, and Inu knew he needed to report to the Hokage but something was trying to hold him back, eye stuck to his mentor's child. Finally he stood and nodded to the Hyuuga girl before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Later that night, long after he reported to the Hokage of his mission, he found himself hovering on the rooftop next to Naruto's apartment, watching through the window as the blond walked around with the Hyuuga, both speaking animatedly yet inaudibly, even to Inu's enhanced hearing. After watching the two for a bit longer, he went home to his empty apartment, a few new thoughts heavy on his mind.

AN////// Sorry guys. I hate leaving y'all waiting, and if you are still here from when chapter 1 was posted months ago, you have my utmost appreciation. I hope you all enjoyed this short kinda choppy attempt at an update and hopefully I won't leave y'all waiting so long again, tho idrk. Life's not easy rn and I'm technically grounded until further notice. *sigh*