Fatherhood 101: A Naruto Fanfic
"Naruto-kun...I'm pregnant." The blonde-haired ninja stared blankly at the love of his life.
"...E-eh?" Had he heard that right? He blinked, searching for some hint of a joke in Hinata's pale eyes.
"Naruto-kun?" White eyes shone genuine. Definitely not a joke. Hinata's eyebrows knitted together on her face, her expression shifting into one of distress. Had she said something wrong? Why wasn't her husband saying anything?
"N-Naruto-kun? Are you oka-"
"That's great, Hinata!" The black-haired woman found herself suddenly lifted high into the air by her waist, spun around in a circle as the man holding her graced her with a brilliant smile. "I'm so happy I could cry!" He lowered her back down to the ground and quickly embraced her in his arms, squeezing her body gently to his. "Really Hinata..." Naruto said, softly. "This is great..."
Hinata sighed with relief at Naruto's acceptance. She'd been afraid for a moment that he might be upset with her, but now it seemed like he was truly happy for them. After all, the child currently growing inside of her was their child. Their family. Hinata knew that to Naruto, who had grown up without a family, this child would be very important. A chance at a life that he had not yet been allowed to live. Hinata smiled into her husband's shoulder, glad that things had worked out.
Naruto Uzumaki, jounin of Konohagakure and hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War was freaking out. Pregnant! Hinata was pregnant! With his child! A living, breathing extension of himself. Now don't misunderstand, Naruto wasn't freaking about because he didn't want the child; on the contrary, the prospects of starting a family of his own were as enticing as a piping hot bowl of Ichiraku ramen.
But...it was unexpected; hell, it had blindsided him completely. He and Hinata hadn't even been trying for a baby, hadn't even talked about it. And now suddenly, Hinata was pregnant and Naruto was going to be a father. A father. The idea, oddly enough, scared the hell out of him. Naruto Uzumaki had faced the evil organization that was Akatsuki, saved his village from Pein, and stopped Madara Uchiha from destroying the world, yet he was terrified of the idea of becoming a parent. It was pathetic really, of a ninja of his caliber to be thrown off by something so mundane, yet here he was, practically trembling as he held Hinata to his chest. Luckily, Hinata seemed to take his trembling as that of excitement rather than fear.
He had to be careful not to let her find out how afraid he was. It could break her heart if he told her.
Later that night, while Hinata lay sleeping by his side, Naruto tossed and turned in his bed, sleep eluding him entirely. Every time he closed his eyes, thousands of voices would echo throughout his mind, all saying the same thing; you can't do it. You can't be a father.
And the voices were right. How could he, someone who has never before had a family, come to care for a helpless being like a child. What if he couldn't raise him right; what if he failed as a parent and his child ended up growing up wrong? Naruto couldn't shake such thoughts from his brain, and finally, he gave up on trying to sleep all together, slipping silently out of bed, pulling on a white shirt and some pants and heading out the door for some fresh air.
The night air was cool and crisp, the wind blowing gently through the dimly lit streets of Konohagakure. It was late, so there were scarcely any people to be found wandering outside, much to Naruto's relief. How could he explain to someone why he was walking around the village in the dead of night?
His mind still reeling from Hinata's announcement, Naruto let his feet absent-mindedly lead him down the streets, hardly noticing that they ended up bringing him to a familiar bench under a street lamp. Naruto remembered, all those years ago, sitting here under the flickering light, grieving for the man whom he had come to know as one of his closet father figures. Back then, it had seemed like the Ero-sennin had been the only real family he'd had.
But now, now he had Hinata, and even though they were long gone, he could still visit Minato and Kushina's graves. He wasn't alone anymore, yet why did he have that same cold pit in his stomach that he'd had when the villagers used to look at him as nothing more than a monster? Such memories made him think of the creature still sealed within his body, only this time, the monster fox had become his partner in battle rather than his enemy. Glancing down and resting a hand gently on his naval, Naruto decided to ask the Kyuubi what he should do.
"Kurama?" Naruto asked, and suddenly, the streets of Konoha were gone, the inner workings of his mind stretched out before him, and the great monster fox staring down into his eyes.
"What is it, Naruto?" Kurama answered. The great fox was laying down, one giant paw folded over the other as he looked down expectantly at his vessel.
Naruto pulled a face. "Don't act like you don't know," he grumbled. "I'm sure you were listening in, ease-dropping as always."
The tailed beast scoffed. "Are you insinuating that I have nothing better to do than sit around and peek in at your every conversation? I may be stuck in here most of the time, Naruto, but your life isn't that interesting."
"Alright, alright already, I get it." Naruto grumbled apologetically. He was in no mood for the fox's usual banter.
"Just tell me what's on your mind, kid." Kurama replied.
"Hinata...Hinata's..."
"Out with it already, I could be sleeping right now, you know!"
"Okay! Okay! Er...Hinata's pregnant..."
"Really?" Kurama started, eyes widening, before his snout split into a crooked grin. "Well congratulations, brat! Never thought you had it in ya!"
"Hey, hey, listen to me, will ya?!" Naruto interrupted. Kurama's grin faded a bit and he nodded.
"I, uh, well," Naruto stammered, itching his cheek with a finger nervously.
"You're afraid, aren't you? Of becoming a father."
Naruto's face turned red and he puffed out his cheeks. "Don't try to hide it, kid, I know every thought you've ever had." Kurama stated.
"Hey!" Naruto snapped. "I thought you said you didn't listen in on my conversations!"
"You're conversations and your internal thoughts are two different things. I can block both of them out, usually, but because you're stressing yourself out, you've been bombarding me with thought after thought about this whole 'father' business. Just let it go already."
"Easy of you to say! You're not the one whose gonna be having a kid pretty soon!" Naruto said in protest, and as if saying it out loud made it seem more real, the weight of the situation hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. "Holy shit...I'm gonna be a dad..." he said, staring wide-eyed at nothing. He remained unmoving for a few moments before lifting his head up to the Kyuubi once more.
"Kurama...what am I going to do? I'm so scared." he asked desperately. His tailed beast partner looks down at him sympathetically. "I can't give you an answer, Naruto," he replied. "I've never had children before myself."
At those words, Naruto found himself crouched to the floor of his own mind, burying his face in his arms. "What do I do? What do I do?! I don't want to mess up! I'm not ready! There's still so much I don't know yet!" He felt like crying, but managed to keep his tears at bay.
"Naruto..." Kurama said gently. "There's someone approaching you in the real world."
Reluctantly, Naruto lifted his head from his arms and simultaneously exited his mind, finding himself sitting back on the bench, staring down at a pair of open-toed shoes in front of him. He glanced up at the owner, eyes eyes widening at who it was. "Iruka-sensei..." Naruto gasped, and his former teacher smiled warmly at him.
"Can I sit?" Naruto nodded and the chūnin settled down beside him.
"What are you doing out so late, Naruto?" the older man asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." Naruto countered, to which Iruka gave him another small smile.
"Hinata sent me. She said you left the house all of a sudden and asked me to come find you. She's worried."
Naruto doesn't say anything, his eyes training on the pavement beneath his feet.
"Ah!" Iruka suddenly let out a loud sigh, startling Naruto from his musings. "This brings back memories, doesn't it? The two of us, sitting side by side like this-reminds me of all those times I would treat you to ramen at Ichiraku's, ne? You've sure grown a lot since then!" He grinned at his former student, who offered him a blank stare in return, his face void of his usual carefree expressions.
"Naruto..." Iruka sighed again, his grin dropping. "You know you can talk to me, right? If something is bothering you, you don't have to keep it to-"
"I'm gonna be a father..." Naruto interrupted, refusing to move his gaze from the ground. Iruka blinked back in surprise. "But that's..." he started, but paused. "...Is that why your upset?"
Naruto didn't respond at first, his fists clenching in one another's grip. "I know; it's stupid for me to feel this way." the blonde-haired ninja said. "I should be happy...and, well, I'm not unhappy, I just..."
"It's okay to feel like you're not ready, Naruto," Iruka replied, and Naruto turned his head to glance up at the older man. "Every parent goes through similar feelings; believe me, I know."
"But you don't..." Naruto trailed off when Iruka flashed a smile at him. He knew what Iruka meant, knew what the older man felt for him. Minato Namikaze may have been his real father, but the one who had always been there for him, the one who had always supported and cheered him up had been Iruka.
"You're a lot like me, Naruto." Iruka continued. "And I'm not taking about how we both lost our parents to the demon fox, er, sorry, Kurama." Within his mind, Naruto could hear Kurama scoffing to himself. "You care for others deeply to the point where you don't want them to fail..and you feel directly responsible if they do. Like with Sasuke...and Neji." He paused, noting the look of pain on his former student's face. Even ten years after the war, the wounds were still fresh in the young war hero's mind. "And now...with this new child. You're afraid Naruto; I can tell. You're afraid to fail this child like you failed to bring Sasuke back all those years ago, like you failed to save Neji and all the rest in the war."
"Stop..." Naruto interrupted and Iruka could see his eyes beginning to swim with intense pain.
"But I was afraid once too. I was afraid to fail you as a teacher, and as a parent." Naruto's eyes were watering as he stared at his former sensei. "But look at you, Naruto; look at what you've done! You started off as nothing but a troublesome kid with an unreachable dream, and now, now you're practically there! A war hero, Hokage candidate; you did it all yourself, Naruto, because you believed that you could. And because...I let you follow your own path."
"Iruka-sensei..." Naruto couldn't seem to find the right words.
"You told me once, back when Pein attacked the village, that you met your father, and he told you something important. Do you remember what he said?"
Naruto sniffled, wiping his tears away with his sleeve. "He...he told me he believed in me." he murmured, to which Iruka smiled.
"In this world, people have to make their own choices in life, whether others agree with them or not." he said. "Sasuke chose to follow his ambitions and left Konoha of his own free will, despite your desire for him to stay. Neji sacrificed his life to save yours, even though he knew it would hurt the ones he loved. And a parent is no different, Naruto. In the end, no matter what you do, your child carries his own choices and as a parent, you have to find the courage to stand by them and support them, even if your entire body is telling you to protect them from the very thing they want to do."
"So you're saying..." Naruto stared, biting his lip nervously. "That no matter what I do, my kid will just be destined to fail and I won't be able to do anything about it?!" His eyes wide and his figure shaking, Naruto gripped his hair, a new wave of anxiety crashing over him.
"That's not what I'm saying at all, Naruto. Take a deep breath and relax." Iruka ordered, and reluctantly, the younger ninja complied, swallowing as much of his fear as he could manage. Once he thought he had calmed down enough, Iruka began again. "I'm not saying anyone is destined to fail; if anyone knows a thing about changing one's destiny, it's you, Naruto." Iruka explained, and Naruto nodded slowly, recalling that day, so many years ago, where he stood strong with his resolve in front of Neji Hyuuga.
"These eyes have shown me that people's limitations are set, fixed, and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes time trying to become something he can never be! The only destiny that everyone shares...is death. Why do you go against destiny so much?"
"Because I was called a loser!"
"Yeah..." Naruto sighed in agreement. How could he have forgotten what he had taught Neji that day...and what Neji had taught him.
"But just as someone else can't decide your destiny for you, you cannot decide the destiny of your child." Iruka continued. "And just as I couldn't stop you from charging onto the battle field, you cannot stop the decisions your child will make. You can only do your best to help them along and watch them grow. That is what it means to be a parent."
As Iruka finished speaking, Naruto thought of all that he had said. He thought of Sasuke, choosing his ambitions over friendship, and of Itachi, who made the ultimate sacrifice for his brother. He thought of Neji's decision to choose his own death, rather than have it decided for him, and of Minato's faith in his son to do what he thought was right. Every single one of them had made their own decisions, chosen their own paths, even if there weren't always what everyone else agreed with. They still saw it as right. And the more Naruto thought of it, the more he realized that Iruka was right as well. True, he'd never before had a family to care for, or any experience in taking full responsibility for another living creature, but that didn't mean he wasn't capable, right? He had failed more times than we could ever count, but hadn't he also succeeded as well?
Naruto decided to make a resolve right then and there: No matter how his child turned out, he would always support him no matter what. I'll believe in his choices, just like my dad believed in me, he thought.
Having finally calmed down from his anxiety, and strengthened his own resolve, Naruto sat up and turned to Iruka, flashing the chūnin his first genuine smile all night. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei." he said.
The older man smiled back. "No problem. I'm always here if you need me." Naruto nodded in agreement, and for a moment, the two sat on the bench in silence, simply enjoying one another's company and cool breeze blowing through their hair.
For the first time all night, Naruto felt the weight of his stress lifted from his shoulder. Things were going to be okay. Hinata was pregnant and he was going to be a father for the first time in his life, and sure, that was scary, but things would work out. As long as he had the support of Iruka-sensei and his friends. Everything would be fine.
"Oh, by the way, Naruto," Iruka spoke up again.
"Hm?"
"You should probably start doing some research pretty soon."
"Hah?" Naruto asked, cocking his head to the side. "Research? For what?"
"Well getting through your first father jitters is one thing, but you have to remember that you're going to be having a baby in nine months-well Hinata is, but well, you get my point. And babies are a whole different story."
"But Iruka-sensei!" Naruto protested. "You said as long as I trust my kid and let them follow their own choices, everything would be fine!"
Iruka shot him a dry look. "Don't be an idiot, Naruto. Babies can't make their own decisions; they're babies! They can't do anything on their own so you have to learn how to take care of them."
"T-take care of it? How?!"
"I told you-research. You have to learn how to hold them properly, heat up their bottles and feed them, change their diapers, bathe them, take care of them when they get sick, make sure-"
Iruka's voice began to fade as the blood rushed to Naruto's head, and he felt his entire body grow dizzy with stress once again. Who knew that a baby was so much work!
"Oh, and you'll want to be a little careful with Hinata from now on." Iruka added.
"Hinata? Why?" Naruto asked, confused. Surely Hinata wasn't going to need help bathing-she hated having to depend on people anyway.
"Listen carefully, Naruto, because this is the most important piece of advice I can give you. Even more important than everything I said before."
Naruto gulped in fearful anticipation. What could be worse than that? "W-what is it?" he stammered.
"When a woman is pregnant, her hormones go crazy inside of her." Iruka stated. "She'll start having morning sickness, strange food cravings, and will have insane, out-of-nowhere emotional outbursts."
"Hinata? Emotional outbursts? That's crazy, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto chuckled.
"I'm not kidding, Naruto," Iruka said solemnly, his expression one of dread that made a shiver run up Naruto's spine. "The quiet ones are always the worst. If you're not careful, she'll really kill you."
"E-eh?!"
*End*
