Holy shit. Holy Mother of Holy shit. My god. What am I supposed to do now? Neji couldn't help but think those thoughts, staring at the wall ahead of him with a spaced out look, not even blinking. The wall was white. Extremely white. He could see it was just painted. Too white. Damn, it made his head hurt. Why the hell did it have to be so white?
He sighed, and glanced at his surroundings. The wooden door was the only thing that wasn't white in this room – the waiting room. It was… a very light gray. Neji couldn't help but cringe at this sight… Damn hospitals.
"Neji… Neji… NEJI!" He jumped up in the bed, looking around wildly, his hand already armed with a kunai that he kept under his pillow (Freak.), Byakugan activated. He growled, not seeing anything and shook his head, only making the blanket fall off his head and land on his lap softly. Neji found himself glaring at his dark-haired wife, who had a look of suppressed fear, along with utter annoyance. "God, Hyuuga! And they call you a genius!"
"What?" He hissed groggily, rubbing his eyes and deactivating his kekkei genkai quickly, before looking up at Tenten once again.
"My water broke." She told him firmly, both her hands hugged around her large, round stomach. Neji blinked.
"But… you're three weeks—"
"I know! What are you going to do about it, Hyuuga?! Huh!?" Her large brown eyes flared up as she slapped him upside the head, making Neji yelp loudly, before he grabbed her hand with a look of dawning comprehension.
"Take you to the hospital…"
"Thank you!" And without another word, he scooped her up, his knees buckling ever so slightly under her weight, and with a poof of smoke, they were gone.
They landed at the hospital counter with a soft thud, white smoke surrounding them, and Neji set his wife down slowly. The girl at the entrance counter watched them with a bored expression, before yawning and putting a hand over her lips to cover up her mouth. Suddenly, Tenten clutched her rounded stomach with a loud gasp, and let out an agonizing yelp. Neji tensed visibly, his Byakugan turned on automatically as he stared at Tenten. She calmed down after a short while, breathing quickly and choppily. She grabbed Neji's hand and squeezed hard, almost breaking the man's fingers, but he didn't react to that, for he was having a big hissy fit.
"Calm down, Hyuuga-san!" The girl at the counter whined, yawning once again. "It's just a contraction!"
"Oh, yeah!" He snarled pointedly, slamming a free, fisted hand against said counter with as much force as possible, and the table jumped up, detaching itself from the floor and taking a couple of white tiles with it. "Why don't you do something about it? Hmm?" The girl looked at him for a moment, before breathing in, opening her mouth and bellowing out:
"UCHIHA-SAN!"
Neji winced – not at the voice, but at Tenten's tight grip on his hand – as Tenten experienced another, seemingly painful, contraction. She nearly snapped his fingers in half, and he was sure that he had heard a crack. Once Tenten calmed down, he took his time to glare at the girl at the counter, who was busily checking her nails, ignoring the couple completely.
That bitch… The Hyuuga thought, and was about to slam his fist down on the counter again, hoping to break it in half this time, until:
"Neji-san! Tenten!" He jerked his head towards the sound of the voice. To his relief, he saw the familiar figure of the pink-haired medic-nin, hurrying along the corridors, holding something closely to her chest.
"Sakura…" Tenten practically mewed, blinking her eyes, still holding onto Neji's hand, making him flinch every time. "How's Nanami-chan?" His wife smiled brightly, though painfully, at Uchiha Sakura who was still holding that small something tightly. She chuckled at the pregnant Tenten's concern, and nodded her head before turning around and heading back into the halls. Taking it as a sign to follow, the two Hyuugas shuffled after her.
Sakura led them to a rather large room with a rather large bed in the middle. A rather strange room, Neji noted, looking around. A rather strange labor room.
"Ano… Neji-san?" He turned to look at Sakura, who was helping Tenten get into the bed with one hand, the other holding Nanami – hers and Uchiha's 5-months-old daughter. The girl had a little bit of hair, which was a bright pink, and her open, curious eyes were strangely colored indeed. One of her eyes was an emerald green; while the other was the darkest black Neji had ever seen. He blinked at the young Uchiha baby, who giggled in return, and looked back at Sakura. "You might not want to see this… The miracle of birth isn't as beautiful as it is described…" She paused. "…usually."
"W-what?" Tenten stared at Sakura with a frightened expression. Sakura glanced at her, and laughed out nervously, rubbing the back of her pink head with a free hand, while the other still held Uchiha Nanami firmly in place – who giggled… strangely.
"What?" He interrupted firmly. "You mean I can't stay?"
"You mean he can't stay?"
Sakura shrugged. "Unless he likes bleeding, screaming and dilating…" Both of the Hyuugas stiffened – and Tenten winced, and let out another yelp in turn.
"Yeah…" They muttered in unison, Neji practically shaken by the not so descriptive explanation Sakura provided, and Tenten… well, was scared out of her skin, of course.
"I'll go." Neji decided.
"Can I go too?" Tenten whined.
"You can," Sakura said. "If you want to give birth in a cold, plastic, extremely uncomfortable chair, I don't see why not."
"Yeah, I'll stay." And she yelped from yet another contraction. Neji was about to exit through the doorway, when a certain male Uchiha popped his head into the room, his black haired head blocking Neji's way out. Sasuke eyed the Hyuuga for a moment, before turning his gaze towards his wife.
"Sasuke-kun." Sakura said, almost immediately. "Hold Nanami-chan and escort Neji-san to the waiting room please." Sasuke just grunted in reply, and slipped through the door – while pushing Neji aside to do so, who kept firm footing on the ground – took a hold of his daughter, got his thanks from Sakura with a kiss, and pushed through the door way again, much more gently this time, and headed out. Neji followed him, and soon he was in the dreaded waiting room.
He groaned aloud, sliding off his chair to sit on the floor, his hands over his face. Oh, my God. He wanted to die. This was just taking too long. And all those feelings and emotions he was feeling right now made him drowned in the deadliest way possible, while still being alive. Oh, the torture! Anger, anxiety, frustration, worry, sorrow, fear, anger, anxiety, frustration, worry, sorrow, fear, anger, frustration, worry, sorrow, fear, anxiety… and the list goes on.
Oh, goodness… he couldn't even start to imagine what his wife must be going through. A soft cooing noise and loud giggling interrupted his… sulking. He took a moment to register what the noise was, before taking his hands away from his face and staring directly at the source of the sound. What he saw… was unimaginable.
The Uchiha Sasuke was cradling little Nanami in his arms, nuzzling her small cheek, humming softly to her as she pathetically tried to grab onto his hair with her still untrained and clumsy little hands. Sasuke nuzzled her cheek a little more, and whispered something that made the baby giggle even louder, before abruptly standing up and shifting Nanami so he was holding her beneath her armpits. He raised his arms quickly and then dropped them just enough so little Nanami-chan's face was level with his.
The baby girl laughed loudly as Sasuke twirled about the room, watching his daughter with an actual smile. Neji could not believe what he was seeing… Maybe his eye-sight was failing him. He blinked, but the scene had not changed. Alright… maybe, he was dead. Or hallucinating. Or maybe… imagining? Or sleeping? He blinked again. Neji had never seen the Uchiha so… gentle, let alone smiling.
Sasuke cradled Nanami in his arms again after a while, but this time, the Hyuuga did not hear any giggling… or any sort of noise coming from the little Uchiha. Sasuke rocked her back and forth slowly, watching her with lowered eyes, still smiling. It took Neji a moment to realize that little Nanami-chan was asleep.
The Hyuuga was so absorbed in watching the baby sleep, that he didn't realize that Sasuke's cold glare was directed to him.
"What're you starin' at, Hyuuga?" The Uchiha hissed, still rocking his daughter's tiny, peaceful form. Neji shot him a tired look, not even trying to look intimidating.
"It's 2 o'clock in the morning, Uchiha. Can we save the bickering for later, after the baby is born and after I get enough sleep?"
Yes, it was 2 a.m. Tenten went into labor at midnight, and even though it only had been two hours, Neji was feeling very, very, very tired. If he knew this was coming, he would have gone to sleep much earlier than 11:59 p.m. The Hyuuga Neji was being emotionally and mentally abused by his wife, the Hyuuga Neji who had the 'the' accented before his very name, the Hyuuga Neji who earned the titles of 'Jounin', 'Konoha Elite', and 'ANBU Captain' even, was being tortured by his own baby.
He heard Sasuke sigh.
"Fine, Hyuuga. Stop sulking. You're making me depressed." The Uchiha father smirked, but Neji just scowled. "Let's go, Mr. I-can't-change-my-Destiny. I'll get you a cup of coffee." And to Neji's sudden surprise, Sasuke let out a low chuckle before opening the door, and disappearing down the hallway.
It was 11 a.m. and the Hyuuga was holding a cup of black coffee, his hand shaking slightly. The bags under his eyes were now moving all the way down his cheeks and his white-pearly eyes were red and blood-shot. His long, dark-brown hair was messed up, and his usually pale skin was whiter than snow, and he looked like a freaking ghost.
It was 11 hours since Tenten went into labor and Neji… once again… was sulking. The Uchiha had left, leaving Neji alone… again… sulking. Damn, life sucks. He thought, sighing. And still, he couldn't even start to imagine what Tenten must be going through. Just when he was about to bang his head against the wall, a soft voice had stopped him.
"Neji-nii-san?" He stiffened. He knew that voice… "Neji-nii-san!" Before he knew what was going, two ear-splitting screams nearly made him deaf. "NEJI-NII-SAN!" Two pairs of hands suddenly tightened around his neck, blocking his air passage, and almost choking him until another voice – a deep, sophisticated one, for that matter – said, "Now, now! Get off your uncle!" The two pairs of hands immediately disappeared, and Neji breathed in sharply before relaxing.
"Neji! My God, you're a mess!" He looked up to find himself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes. Brushed blonde hair framed the face of the person who was staring right at him, and was starting to scare him… a bit.
"Kazu-chan, don't scare Neji-nii-san!" A loud, childish voice shouted and the person was pulled off him. Neji blinked, and shook his head.
"Aww, but Tobi-chan! It's fun!" A girlish voice brought Neji back to his senses.
"Hinata-san?" He inquired as his eyes focused on his cousin. Her once short, navy-hued hair was now waist long, and in her hands she was holding a young boy, whose hair was a dark-blue mess upon his head, and his eyes were perhaps whiter than hers. A tall man was standing beside her, white-and-red Hokage robs on his shoulders and a trademark grin on his face. He had cerulean eyes, and blonde hair. The front bangs reached his chin, making him the exact replica of the Legendary Yondaime Hokage, the Fourth Hokage who had sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside a baby boy known as Uzumaki Naruto… Well, that man was said baby boy – Rokudaime Uzumaki Naruto. A young girl found her place on his head (literally), looking like the exact replica of him, though her hair was short, and cut in a very peculiar way – very much like Hinata-san's when she was younger.
"Ohayo, Neji-nii-san!" Hinata chirped, taking a seat beside Neji, who looked quite startled.
"Yo, Neji." Naruto said simply, standing beside his wife, while his daughter played with the Hokage head-wear, giggling to herself and receiving a jealous glare from her brother. "Hinata-chan insisted on 'visiting and congratulating her beloved Neji-nii-san!'" The Hyuuga looked over to his cousin who, instead of blushing like she usually would, nodded enthusiastically.
"Hai, hai! Congratulations, Neji-nii-san!" She smiled happily, while the boy in her hands scowled, and pointed at accusing finger at his sister. "Ne, ne, 'Tou-chan! Why does Kazu-chan get to wear your hat! I want the hat!"
Kazu just stuck out her tongue. "Tobi-chan is jealous!" She pointed out, grinning at Tobi smugly. Her brother frowned, and jumped down to the floor from his mother's arms. Raising a fist into the air, he stuck his index finger out and narrowed his eyes.
"I will get that hat! Dattebayo!" And with a rumbling battle cry, Tobi jumped onto his father and started to climb up very skillfully – for a young kid, anyways. Once on Naruto's shoulders, Tobi proceeded to try and take the Hokage head-wear from Kazu, who wasn't going to give it up easily. And so… the battle raged on – on Naruto, who was standing quite still , though swayed back and forth ever so slightly, his arms crossed and a bored expression painted on his face.
"It's been a while," Neji suddenly muttered, watching the two siblings bicker over the hat. "How old are they now?"
Hinata sighed, her expression slightly worried. "Kazu-chan is four, and Tobi-chan is five." Her face suddenly brightened. "Have you started thinking of names yet, Neji-nii-san?" She questioned, turning to the Hyuuga.
"Names?"
"For the baby!"
"Oh, right. Names." Yes, he has. For a long time now. "Yes."
"You have?" He nodded, and his cousin nearly jumped out of her seat. "Really? What are they?" For the first time, Neji smiled. A perfect, real, genuine smile.
"Hiro if it's a boy and Takino if it's a girl."
"Hiro…" Hinata looked thoughtful for a moment. "Sounds like hero." She answered, saying the last word with bad English pronunciation.
"Hee-roh?"
"Hai!" The Uzumaki mother smiled, cocking her head to the side slightly, before returning to watch her children. "Uzumaki Tobi!" She bellowed suddenly, her tone firm and stern. "Do not pull your sister's hair!" She turned to her husband. "Uzumaki Naruto!" The Rokudaime jumped, and looked over to his wife fearfully. "Don't just stand there! Do something." She giggled softly as Naruto tried to solve the problem.
"But, 'Tou-chan!" Tobi whined, tugging on his father's ear, making Naruto fume. "Why does Kazu-chan get the hat? I want the hat!"
"Respect the Hokage's orders!" Naruto growled, snatching his son quickly – but gently – by the back of his shirt, bringing Tobi to face him. He beamed at his son's stubborn expression, and gave in. "You can have the robe this time." Tobi cheered as Naruto let him down to the floor, shed the robes off his shoulders, and dropped it on top of the navy-haired boy. Tobi reached his arms out to catch the white clothing, but fell to the floor beneath its weight.
"Oomph!" He uttered as he landed on the floor with a thud. Naruto laughed out, and Kazu joined the chorus gleefully, but stopped when the Hokage head-wear slid down her head, and covered her whole face.
"'Tou-chan!" Tobi complained as he stood up shakily from the floor, trying to keep his footing with the robe's weight pushing down on him. "Don't be mean!"
"Gomen, gomen…" The Hokage patted his son's head, causing him to plop back down to the floor.
"'Tou-chan! 'Tou-chan!" Kazu suddenly called out, poking Naruto forehead. "Tell us about Kyuubi-chan!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Came Tobi's muffled voice as he struggled to stand up with the robe on his head. "Tell us about Kyuubi-chan and Yondaime-chan!"
"Tell you about Kyuubi-chan and Yondaime-chan?" Naruto repeated, and his children started to nod vigorously, making Kazu fall off his head, but luckily land in his arms, not shaken at all. Naruto chuckled and closed his eyes for a moment. "Kyuubi-chan doesn't feel like being told about at the moment. He's threatening me with a headache." His eyes were still closed. "Oh!" Naruto opened his eyes. "Now he's threatening me with a migraine for a century. Don't worry, Kyuubi-chan. They invented pills for that."
Hinata giggled, and Neji wasn't able to take his eyes off the fatherly figure Naruto had become. His children seemed to be so attached to him, and he seemed so attached to them. Neji felt something in his stomach fall, and he felt heavy, as if filled with rocks. What if he his baby didn't like him? What if his baby hated him? What would he do? Hinata must have noticed his fallen expression, for he felt a hand on his shoulder. Abruptly turning his head, he found himself looking at his cousin's gentle, kind face.
"Don't worry, Neji-nii-san," She whispered to him affectionately. "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful father."
"But what if the baby doesn't like me?" He knew he was stupid for saying such things, but Neji was worried. He was truly worried. "What if it doesn't recognize me as a father? What if it hates me?"
"No, Neji-nii-san, don't think that," Hinata rested her head on his rigid shoulder, relaxing her cousin. "I'm sure – no," She paused, making Neji tense. "I know your kids will love you." Surprised, Neji blinked, and let his head all on top of his younger cousin's, and the two proceeded to watch as Naruto and the two siblings settled on the floor, crossed legged, and the Rokudaime started his story.
"A looonnnggg time ago, Konoha was a peaceful village for a long, long time. But that peace only lasted until –"
"Are we late?! Did it end?!" A flustered blonde woman crashed through the door, slamming into the wall – breaking flat in half – and stood panting in the middle of the room. She glanced around quickly, spotting Neji; she rushed over to him, grabbed him by the shoulders and started shaking him. "Are we late?! Did it end?!"
"No, no, Ino-san!" Hinata called out nervously, waving her hands in front of herself as she tried to gain the raging woman's attention. "It just started!" She blonde stopped, her hands still on the shaken father-to-be's shoulders, and she sighed, seemingly relieved.
"Oh," she uttered, hanging her head tiredly. "Oh, good."
"'Just started' is an understatement," Neji murmured groggily, not at all comfortable being at such close proximities with a woman who had nearly made his neck snap in half (just like the door… dun dun dun…), but not brave enough – just yet – to say so. "It started," He glanced at the watch on the opposite wall. "Twelve hours ago."
"Oi, Hyuuga!" An annoyed voice sounded from the doorway. "Get your hands off my wife."
"Yeah, get your hands off my 'Kaa-chan, Hyuuga."
"Sonamaru-kun! Don't say that!" Ino slid her hands off Neji's shoulders - who looked utterly dumbfounded, exhausted and mentally assaulted – "Shikamaru! What did you teach him?"
The Hyuuga looked past his cousin, and into the doorway, where Nara Shikamaru found his spot leaning against the right edge, while his mirror image leaned against the left edge. Nara Sonamaru was Ino's and Shikamaru's four-and-a-half-year-old son, who – though much shorter – looked exactly like his lazy-ass father, though his eyes were an amazing ice-blue, just like his mother's. The two men even thought similarly! Just like one mind… how ironic.
"Nothing," Shikamaru yawned lazily, followed shortly by his own son, and they both smirked at the blonde, who looked like she was about to faint.
"Men," She muttered. "So troublesome."
"'Tou-chan! 'Tou-chan! What happened when Kyuubi-chan attacked?" Kazu-chan nearly shouted to get her father's attention back to telling the story.
Sonamaru perked up. "Kyuubi-chan?" He repeated, and absently padded towards the Rokudaime and his children.
"Hai, hai, Sona-kun!" Tobi nodded feverishly, holding onto the Hokage robes possessively, which pooled around him in a white-and-red mess. "'Tou-chan's gonna tell us about Kyuubi-chan and Yondaime-chan!"
"That's ri—Ow! Ya damn fox," Naruto growled, rubbing his temple. "So he really wasn't kidding…"
Nevertheless, the Hokage continued his story of the infamous Kyuubi no Kitsune and the Legendary Konoha's Yellow Flash, and their battle with extreme detail – with random pauses where he cursed the 'damn fox' for giving him random jabs in the head. Apparently, Kyuubi was getting annoyed with Naruto's children wanting to know how and why he tried to destroy Konohagakure.
By the time Naruto had finished the magnificent tale, both Hinata and Ino had left to check on Tenten. Neji had desperately tried to follow them, but failed miserably when Shikamaru pulled him away from the doorway, and then trapped him with Kage Mane no Jutsu, out of which the Hyuuga stubbornly tried and failed pathetically to break away from.
Uchiha had joined them again when Neji calmed down, and proceeded to pace up and down the room, while the Rokudaime told the three children (since Nanami-chan was asleep and too young to understand anyways) about his latest 'My demon is stronger than your demon' battle with Subaku no Gaara, the Kazekage of Sunagakure.
Sasuke watched Neji pace with a bored expression, while Shikamaru was long unconscious and snoring loudly.
"The miracle of birth sure is a snooze fest," Naruto muttered once he finished, eyeing the Nara distastefully. Neji was sitting beside him, staring at the white walls. He could see the wall was freshly painted. It was painted white. Extremely white. Too white. Too damn white. It made his head hurt. He didn't like it. No, he didn't like it at all. Damn hospitals, he cursed inside his head, glaring blankly at the damn white walls. I don't like hospitals. Too white. I don't like them.
"It's over!" A sudden voice interrupted his criticism of hospitals, and Neji almost broke the chair on which he was sitting on (somehow…how? No-one will ever know…). "It's done!" Hinata and Ino were jumping in the doorway. "Twenty-one hours! Tenten's a hero!"
Hee-roh?
"Go on, Neji! Go see your babies!"
Neji stiffened. "Babies?"
"Hai, hai!" Ino shouted gleefully.
"Tenten had triplets!"
"Triplets? As in three?"
"Stop asking questions and go see, Hyuuga!" Sasuke pushed him out of the door of the dreaded waiting room, while the girls led him into Tenten's labor room – the husbands and children trailing after them. Sakura greeted them by the bed, where Tenten was lying, looking exhausted, but extremely happy. Neji noticed tears spilling out of her eyes, but she was smiling through them.
"Neji, look!" She whispered, her body racked by endless sobs. "Look at our babies!"
The Hyuuga stared at the two babies his wife was holding, but… one was missing. "Where's the other one?" He demanded, twirling on the spot wildly, before Sakura stopped him, her green eyes sparkling with building up tears. "Here," She said in a hushed voice, and she handed him the baby… boy.
He gazed down at the baby in his arms, and could help but gasp as his eyes fluttered open, and he opened his mouth in a yawn, before closing his eyes again, nuzzling closer into his father's arms. In that moment, when the baby boy's eyes opened, Neji could see the pure whiteness of his eyes, and rejoiced. The boy had inherited the Byakugan!
"Any names?" Sakura asked, now standing beside her husband, and rocking little Nanami-chan in her arms, while Sasuke had his arm around her shoulders in a protective manner.
"You gave them life," Neji replied, looking over to Tenten, who was still crying her eyes out. She gasped slightly, and looked over to him, tears leaking out of the corners of her beautiful, chocolate-brown eyes. "You should name them."
The new mother hesitated from a moment, before nodding and looking down at the two babies in her arms. "Since all of them are boys… This one will be… Mamaru…" She muttered thoughtfully, nodding to the boy in her left arm. His eyes were a snowy white as well, and he was looking around curiously. "And this one will be Kahiki." The baby boy in her right arm was sleeping soundly, wiggling his small nose at something. "You name that one, Neji. You deserve to."
"Hiro." The father said immediately, and Hinata smiled. "Hyuuga Hiro."
"Hyuuga Hiro," Tenten repeated, as if digesting the words. "I like that." Neji nodded, still watching the sleeping form of his son. "No," He stiffened. "I love that."
"Congratulations, Hyuuga Tenten and Hyuuga Neji!" Sakura grinned. "Congratulations on your new family."
"Yeah," Naruto said. "You're not the misfits anymore."
"Hai!" Hinata smirked. "Good luck. Three kids is a big load… I really want to watch you guys try."
"We'll manage," Tenten hissed at her fellow mother. "Won't we Neji?"
"Yeah," He whispered, brushing his fingertips over Hiro's forehead absently. "We'll manage."
Yay! Oh, and just to let you know, this is NOT a one shot. I would really like to write a story where Neji learns to be a father, and that Hiro/Hero thing has a purpose. What purpose, I still do not know. xD Right then!
Tell me whatcha think, if I should continue or make this a one-shot, or delete the damn thing and start over. READ AND REVIEW NO JUTSU!
