Here it is! The 14th One-Shot in the Holiday Series. It is also the last one. All I can say is: Raise Your Glass!
I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.
"talking"
'thinking'
Haruki dug through his pack looking for the ring. He was now twenty-three years old and he was ready to propose to his girlfriend of eight years. She had been his teammate ever since he became a ninja. Now that they were Anbu, he wanted to make it official. He knew from experience that life was short. He smiled as he pulled out the little box. The ring was pure white with an onyx in the middle. Just like the ring his father had given his mother, it represented the only one that could ever steal his heart. He put the box in his pocket then swung the pack on his back.
Making his way through Konoha, Haruki stopped at Ichiraku's. He didn't like eating ramen as much as his mother did, but today he woke up craving it. Politely gulping it down, he left a big tip to its new owner, Ayame. Teuchi had passed away when Haruki was ten. By then, Ayame was married and had a child of her own, Sena. Sena was now eighteen and was basically running the shop. Sena gave his thanks as Haruki left.
Haruki soon reached Konoha's Cemetery. Making his way to a certain gave, he bowed. "I know it has been a long time, and I'm sorry for that. You see, I've finally gained the courage I needed to ask Mika to marry me. I thought I'd stop by and let you know that I'm meeting her on Hokage Mountain. I'd like to ask for your blessing." A swift wind blew by. A flower petal dropped onto the grave causing Haruki to smile. "Thank you."
Haruki stayed a bit longer to show off the ring. When he looked up and saw that the sun was beginning to go down, he knew it was time. Haruki made a sign and vanished in a flash of red. He appeared on the Fourth's head. "Well Grandpa, here goes nothing." He took a deep breath and waited. A woman soon appeared before Haruki. She had black hair and white eyes. She was wearing a purple and white jacket with black pants. Despite the fact that she looked flat chested, Haruki knew she wasn't. The girl hid her beautiful figure under that jacket. Honestly, Haruki didn't care. His mother wore an orange jacket when he was younger and that didn't stop his father from loving him. To Haruki, Mika could have been disfigured and he'd still find her the most beautiful woman to ever walk this earth.
"Hi Haruki," Mika said. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
He gulped. "IwasjustthinkingsincewearebothAnbunowthatweshouldgetmarried."
"Eh?" Mika asked.
Haruki sighed then remembered what his mother and father taught him about fear. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. With his eyes still closed, he got down on one knee and pulled out the small box. Mika gasped as Haruki opened his eyes. "Will you marry me?"
Mika's eyes widened. She was expecting Haruki to break up with her, not propose. Haruki had been acting strange ever since her acceptance into Anbu. Haruki, just like his father, was the overprotective type. Mika's best friend Sasami had told Mika that everything Haruki was doing, the way he kept distancing himself, was all because Haruki wanted a wife that would stay at home to take care of the kids instead of an independent woman. Because of this, Mika believed that Haruki was going to dump her. She had been prepared for that but not for this.
The silence was killing Haruki. He was hoping that Mika would jump up and down, saying yes. Or at least kiss him and say yes. But her silence meant rejection. His mind began to think twice as fast. He came up with several reasons why Mika wasn't saying anything. May be she just wasn't ready yet, was the most hopeful of the bad thoughts Haruki had. If that was it, he could wait. He stood up causing Mika take a step back. This caused a look of pain flash through Haruki's eyes. He instantly turned around and ran. Mika blinked as the reality of what had happened hit her. "Yes. Oh my God yes!" She looked around. "Huh? Haruki?" She gasped. "Dammit!" She ran after her boyfriend.
Haruki slammed open the door, causing all of the room's occupants to jump. All of Haruki and Mika's friends were there as well as their families. He let the door close behind him before he fell to his knees. Naruto instantly went to his side. "Haruki? What's wrong?"
"She didn't..." Haruki began but was stopped when the door flew off its hinges.
Mika stepped into the house, grabbed Haruki by the collar and kissed him. A minute later she dropped him, grabbed the box Haruki still had in his hand, pulled out the ring, and put it on her finger. She then turned to Sasami. "I'm getting married!" Sasami cheered and made her way towards Mika. The two began to talk about the wedding.
Meanwhile, Haruki was confused. What had just happened? A pat on his shoulder alerted him to his father's presence. "You've done well." Haruki could only stare after his father as the older raven kissed his wife.
"You look confused," a boy said. Haruki turned to his best friend Sato. "My guess is that she froze up and you took that as a no and came running here. Mika, realizing what was going on, came after you."
"She said yes?" Haruki asked. Sato nodded. Haruki smiled and jumped up. "She said yes!"
Sato shook his head. "Troublesome."
"That's my line," a boy named Shikari said, wrapping his arms around Sato.
"When do you think he'll realize that his shirt's on inside out?" Sato asked.
"Probably in a few minutes," Shikari said.
"Sake?" a girl with brown hair asked.
"Sure, Inori," Shikari said.
Inori pouted. "How do you always know that I'm Inori?"
"I can just tell," Shikari said. "Besides..." He pouted to a girl who was identical to Inori. She was eating a bag of chips and talking to Tenma.
Inori rolled her eyes. "She's going to get fat if she keeps eating those." She stopped over to her twin.
A loud CRASH echoed through the house. "Who gave Lee alcohol?" Sakura yelled. A curse from Sai alerted them to the culprit.
The teens made their way into the living room to find a bookcase on the floor. Naruto and Haruki were holding Sasuke back from maiming Sai. Mika and Hinata were doing the same for Sakura. Lee was passed out on the floor under said bookcase. Several photos littered the floor. Sato couldn't help but pick up one showing of a naked Haruki in the tub with a semi-dressed Naruto washing him. Haruki blushed as he noticed that his baby pictures littered the floor. This caused him to let go of Sasuke who fell forward. Even at forty years old, Sasuke was a very powerful man. He flipped, kicking Sai in the face, then landed in front of Naruto. He smirked as Naruto rolled his eyes and kissed him.
Once more the door slammed open. Nine kids ran into the room. Three had brown hair: Kanichi, Chohiro, and Taro. Two had blond hair: Remi and Kairi. And four had black hair: Shiame, Hotaku, Kaoru, and Shota. Each child went to his or her parents, smiles on their faces as they each handed out a report card. A popping noise sounded as Kakashi holding an irate Iruka appeared. Kamui popped in just after them.
Deciding that there were too many people in his living room, Naruto lead the way to the back yard. A party to celebrate Haruki and Mika's engagement as well as the graduation of most of their younger kids had been set up. Naruto made some clones bring out more food and drinks.
"Mom!" a male yelled. "I'm home!" Three more men walked into the yard. All three had black hair and eyes. At eighteen, they were already known as the strongest Jonin Team. The Uchiha Triplets were a well known force around the world. Yasuo's name fit him well. He was the oldest of the triplets and the calmest. He was a lot like Itachi. Takai was only like his father in looks. His personality matched that of his mother's. Raiga was almost a perfect mix of his parents. He was given the nickname "Thunder God" since his specialty was lightning jutsu making some people call him Raidon.
"How was the mission?" Sasuke asked.
"No problems," Raiga said.
"So now we just need to wait for the Chunin," Naruto said. "Neji, Gaara, and their family."
"We're here!" a boy with red hair and white eyes said. His name was Akira. He was Neji and Gaara's only son. He ran ahead and stopped before Hotaku. Neji and Gaara walked slowly behind with their only daughter between them. Usagi just stood besides her parents. Gaara had agreed to be Uke just once. This ended up with him being pregnant with Akira. Refusing to be Uke again, years went by until Gaara jumped Neji. Several months later Usagi was born.
Kiba and Shino only had two kids as well. Sato, whom they adopted when he was three and Tani, a girl who was like a female version of Lee. Kiba blamed her personality on Gai since he was her Sensei in the Academy. Now, she was a Chunin out on a mission with Kurenai's daughter Mirai.
Along with Mirai and Tani were Hinata and Sai's only son, Kisho as well as Tenten and Kankuro's only daughter Kaede. The four of them made up the New Team 4. On Team 5 was Naruto and Sasuke's son Fujita, Sakura and Lee's daughter Yuri, and Temari and Shikamaru's son Shige. Team 5 was also out on a mission with their sensei, Anko.
Naruto put down a plate of tomatoes and briefly wondered where Fujita was. He should be home soon. Just then the door bell rang. A clone went and opened the door to the six kids and their senseis. He welcomed them in. Overall, there was now over fifty people at the party. Naruto smiled as all of his children seemed to have fun with his friends' children. This was his family.
"I can't believe that Haruki is already getting married," Sakura said. "I remember when he was just born. Neither of you knew how to change a diaper."
"Time has gone by so fast," Naruto said. "Soon they will be having kids of their own."
Sasuke smiled. "It seems I've gotten everything I've wanted. Well, except one thing."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"
"Forever," Sasuke said.
"Huh?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know what the future holds, but I still want to be with you forever," Sasuke said wrapping his arms around Naruto.
Naruto smiled as he leaned into the embrace. "Forever it is then." A clicking noise caught their attention.
"I'd like to make a toast," Haruki said. "To my beautiful fiancé and to my family. You guys have always been there for me. I love you."
"To the future!" Tani yelled. Everyone chuckled as their raised their glasses and agreed to the toast.
"To the future," Naruto and Sasuke said before kissing each other.
-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-
Fog swept through the cemetery. It rose over the graves. A lone figure stood in the darkness, his eyes on the moon. A smile was on his face. Several more people appeared behind him. They too had smiles on their faces. Why? Because they knew everything was going to be alright. An older man put a hand on the first man's shoulder. "It's time."
The younger man nodded. One by one they faded away, until the man was the only one left. He leaned down and picked up a flower petal. A wind blew the petal out of his hand. He smiled as he began to fade away. "Good luck, Oisan."
Just in case if you lost track of the kids and their name:
Naruto and Sasuke: Haruki (male, 23), Yasuo, Takai, and Raiga (male, triplets, 18), Fujita (male, 16), Kairi (female, 10), Kaoru (male, 8)
Sakura and Lee: Sasami (female, 22), Yuri (female, 16), Hotaku (female, 13), Shota (male, 10)
Hinata and Sai: Mika (female, 22), Kisho (male, 16), Shiame (female, 13)
Temari and Shikamaru: Shikari (male, 23), Shige (male, 16), Taro (male, 13), Remi (female, 11)
Kiba and Shino: Sato (male, adopted, 22), Tani (female, adopted, 16)
Ino and Choji: Inori and Chomi (female, twins 21), Chohiro (male, 11)
TenTen and Kankuro: Tenma (male, 19), Kanichi (male, 11)
Gaara and Neji: Akira (male, 17), Usagi (female, 9)
If you didn't catch on, Haruki visited Itachi's grave. He was basically asking for the blessing of the Uchiha Ancestors.
Also, it was Itachi, Fugaku, Mikoto, Minato, and Kushina in the last scene.
Oisan is Nephew in Japanese (formal).