Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... yet
Chapter 1: The Beginning
A young magpie hopped along a solid oak branch. Cocking its head, the magpie observed an orange centipede crawling out from underneath the bark. It edged nearer slowly, so it wouldn't alert its prey. Suddenly, a sandal crushed the insect into the wood.
The magpie took off with an indignant squawk, leaving behind some of its precious feathers. Two beady eyes fixed on a figure that was jumping from branch to branch at a high speed. It could see the remains of its would-be dinner stuck on the bottom of black sandals.
As the magpie's eyes travelled upwards, it observed three-quarter length black trousers, tucked into bandages that bound the lower legs. A shuriken holster was attached to the right leg. A long sleeved dark blue top was covered with a green vest. The vest was adorned with many pockets and a red spiral insignia on the back. Blue-black hair flew backwards in an unnaturally stuck up position.
The magpie flapped away, no longer interested in the strange creature that deprived in of a meal. It turned around, only to come face-to-face with cerulean eyes.
The inevitable collision resulted in further loss of feathers and a very pissed magpie. The owner of the blue eyes tumbled forward blindly, colliding with a large tree trunk.
'Kuso!' cursed Naruto, as he fell on his ass. The magpie quickly flew off, squawking its displeasure. A whole chorus of birdsong joined in. Naruto removed his hitai-ate and rubbed his now throbbing forehead. A shadow covered him as a figure landed next to him.
'Don't you know how to travel without alerting the whole forest that we're here?' asked the figure. Naruto turned his head and glared at onyx eyes.
'Shut it Sasuke-teme. You were the one who disturbed the stupid bird,' argued the blond. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. His blue-black hair had grown a bit longer than when he was a boy, but he still had pale skin and dark onyx eyes.
'You're the Hokage, surely you can dodge a bird?' asked Sasuke with a smirk. Naruto growled and lurched to his feet. His blond hair had also grown longer and looked more unkempt than ever, spiking out around his hitai-ate as he tied it around his still throbbing forehead.
Naruto looked down at his now dirtied attire. He wore blue sandals and trousers, with the same long sleeved blue top and green vest as Sasuke. The only difference was the bright orange cloak with black flames edging the bottom that covered everything. The orange cloak with grass stains around the ass.
'Aww man! Hinata-chans gunna kill me!' Naruto whined. 'Why are we going in such a rush anyway? The Kage meeting only ended yesterday. We aren't supposed to get home for another two days.' Sasuke frowned.
'I just want to get home quickly,' he said.
'So do I but that doesn't mean … ohh!' Naruto trailed off with wide eyes. He turned to Sasuke with a huge grin. 'Sakura-chans due next week isn't she?'
'D-Dobe! That's not why I want to go back!' Sasuke spluttered.
'Sure it isn't,' Naruto replied, crossing his arms behind his head. Sasuke glared at him. 'You know the baby's not due for another week, so Sakura-chan will be fine,' continued Naruto.
'I know. Let's just get home,' Sasuke sighed. Naruto glanced at Sasuke, frowning slightly. He never agreed with Naruto, so why now?
He must be anxious, Naruto thought nodding to himself. Maybe I should cut him some slack. Sasuke sprung to the closest tree branch.
'Hurry up dobe, or are you waiting for a marching band to announce our path to Konoha?' Sasuke called. Naruto glared before following him. Or maybe not.
They arrived at Konoha's main gate in record time. The ninjas on guard duty stared at them with wide eyes. When they finally came to their senses, one of them jumped forward and knelt in front of Naruto.
'Hokage-sama. We weren't expecting you for another two days,' he said, clearly confused. Naruto glared at Sasuke.
'It's because Teme was worried that his wife would go into labour a week before she should,' Naruto replied in an annoyed tone.
'Erm, a-about that Hokage-sama,' the man stammered. Sasuke looked at him sharply. 'we were told to alert you when you arrived that Uchiha-sama's wife was admitted to hospital a few hours ago.' Sasukes face paled and he immediately took off for Konoha Hospital. The man looked after him with a worried expression.
'Don't worry about it,' Naruto assured. 'He's just concerned about Sakura-chan. Mostly that if he left her alone in childbirth she would beat him to death.' The man looked even more worried. 'Well, see-ya,' Naruto yelled as he took off after Sasuke.
Naruto caught up to Sasuke just before he reached the hospital. He wanted to crucify him about how pale and scared he looked, but he remembered what it was like when Hinata-chan gave birth.
*Flashback*
Naruto paced back and forth along the hospital corridor, wringing his hands and experiencing nervous twitches. Sasuke leaned against the wall in a model pose, occasionally glancing at Naruto as if he wasn't sure to say something or not. Suddenly, Naruto let out a low moan.
'Argh! The tension is killing me!' he exclaimed, pulling at his hair. Sasuke sighed.
'She's in there with Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune and every other medic nin from Konoha you ordered to help. Hinata will be fine,' Sasuke repeated. He was starting to sound like a broken record. Naruto stopped pacing and stared at the door. His mind ran through a range of emotions; concern, despair, anticipation, worry, excitement and concern again.
'I wonder why Hinata-chan didn't want me in there with her?' Naruto wondered aloud. Sasuke looked at him with disbelief.
'Do you remember how Hinata was admitted to the hospital?' he asked. Both recalled the hospital doors being blown open by hundreds of clones wielding rasengans. They all ran in yelling about how Hinata was going into labour. It only got worse as Tsunade and Sakura discovered the commotion and began destroying every clone unfortunate enough to cross their paths. Finally, one Naruto was left standing carrying a heavily breathing and very pregnant Hinata. They rushed her to the maternity ward with Naruto abusing his power as Hokage to order every medic nin they encountered to help Hinata. Eventually Hinata told him to wait outside to stop the unnecessary yelling and hindering the medics.
Naruto remembered this with a grimace and returned to pacing. He was so anxious he didn't even feel like ripping into Sasuke for standing in a stupid model pose. He just stayed silent.
*End Flashback*
So instead of taking the fun out of Sasuke, Naruto just ran by his side as they rushed into the hospital and towards the maternity ward. Sasuke was also remembering Hinata's pregnancy.
*Flashback*
Sasuke noticed how silent Naruto was, but refrained from asking if he was ill.
Suddenly, the doors opened and Tsunade emerged. Naruto launched towards her, desperation written all over his face. Tsunade beamed at him.
'Go ahead. Hinata has a surprise for you,' she said. Sasuke snorted. It's hardly a surprise with nine months of cravings, kicks and mood swings. Naruto just rushed inside the room.
When Sasuke followed, he saw the dobe frozen at the foot of the hospital bed. In it was a very tired and sweaty Hinata, but with the happiest expression on her face. Cradled in her arms was a tiny baby with light blond, almost white, hair. It's pearl coloured eyes were staring at it's mother. Sasuke quietly walked over to stand next to his pink-haired fiancé, who wore an ecstatic expression.
Tsunade entered and noticed that Naruto was frozen. She shoved him in the back, towards Hinata. Once he snapped out of his daze, he stumbled over to stand next to Hinata. She looked up at him with a face that showed joy beyond words. Naruto forgot his earlier shock and looked at the baby in wonder. Hinata lifted the bundle towards him.
'I really didn't like what you just put me through,' she said as her eyes sharpened slightly. 'But here's your baby boy.' Hinata smiled again as she handed him the baby. Naruto accepted and held it as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. Which was saying something considering that it's Naruto, thought Sasuke. Naruto smiled and moved his hand to touch the baby. The small boy reached up and grabbed his fathers finder. Naruto's eyes softened.
Sakura observed the moment of wonder and happiness. She turned to Sasuke.
'I want one,' she demanded. Sasuke sighed. Dammit Naruto…
*End Flashback*
They sprinted up the stairs, nudging through groups of very surprised medics. They emerged in a long corridor painted cream with various multicoloured butterflies decorating the walls. Each had a happy smile plastered on their faces. Sasuke looked far from happy. He even looked a bit nauseous.
Naruto noticed how Sasuke froze and began forcing him forward. As they passed a room with another woman giving birth, Sasuke realised that he'd rather fight Orochimaru again than face his wife in childbirth.
'You know, I haven't had an S ranked mission in a while. Why don't you send me on one of those?' Sasuke babbled. Naruto smirked.
'We just got back from one. Remember? The whole escort thing to the Annual Kage meeting? And as Hokage, I'm giving you three weeks off to look after your darling wife and newborn baby.' Sasuke glared at him.
They turned a corner that lead to the Sakura's room. Naruto stopped shoving Sasuke as he noticed two people sitting on some seats in the corridor. They both looked up at the same time with pearly white eyes.
'Daddy!' the small boy exclaimed, as he jumped up and ran towards his father. Naruto grabbed the boy underneath his arms and lifted him into the air. The boy laughed with joy and Naruto had a huge grin spread across his face.
'Ria! What are you doing here?' Naruto asked. 'And with your mother.' His wife stood up and walked towards them. Her long blue hair reached down to her waist and swayed as she approached. She had a small smile and her pearl eyes were locked onto Naruto's.
Naruto closed the gap and kissed Hinata softly.
'Eww,' the boy protested. He wriggled until Naruto stopped and gave him his full attention. He smiled at his two year old son. Uzumaki Ria had pale Hyuuga eyes and blond hair so light that it was almost white. He wore a beige t-shirt and black shorts. 'You weren't supposed to be home until…' he counted on his left hand. 'Two days daddy,' Ria stated. Naruto noticed Hinata also had questioning eyes.
'Yeah, Teme was worried about Sakura-chan,' he explained. Sasuke glared at him and Hinata gasped.
'Naruto!' she scolded. 'I told you not to use that language in front of Ria!' Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
'It's okay dad,' Ria said. He looked at his dad seriously as Naruto held him eye level with one arm. 'I heard Sakura-obachan scream some funny words when she came in. You wanna hear them?'
'No!' Hinata yelled. Naruto chuckled as she grabbed Ria from him and placed him on the floor. 'No swearing,' she scolded. Hinata turned to Sasuke. 'You might want to go in there,' she indicated to the door. 'I don't think Sakura will be happy if she knows your just waiting outside.'
Sasuke had already wanted to back out after hearing from Ria the mood she was already in, but now he was facing the door he wanted to turn tail and run away to the other side of the continent. But he was a Uchiha and Uchihas don't run away screaming from their wives. He took a deep breath and strode into the room. Naruto turned to Hinata.
'How bad is she?' he asked.
'I didn't want to tell him,' she said worriedly. 'But before she went in she was screaming that she was going to castrate him.' Naruto gulped. He didn't know whether to act as Hokage and protect his best ninja and friend, or act as a man and get the hell away before Sasuke's unmentionables weren't enough and Sakura needed to vent.
I guess I was a man before I was Hokage, Naruto thought as he sat down to wait next to Hinata.
Sasuke walked into chaos. Medic nins ran back and forth, following the orders of two, very stressed women. Tsunade barked out orders while moving around the hospital bed. Shizune didn't quite shout, but Sasuke could see that she was at the end of her tether.
And then there was Sakura. She was laying in bed, covered by a white sheet which bulged where her legs were spread open. Her pink hair was plastered to her sweaty face that was contorted in pain. Then her green eyes flew to Sasuke.
'You…' she spat venomously. The room went deathly quiet as Sakura glared at Sasuke. Her murderous eyes made his mind run through the multitude of ways that Sakura was going to kill him slowly and painfully. Then he did the worst thing possible. He held up his hands in a 'no-weapons' pose.
'You said you wanted one,' he stated. Sakura screeched. Sasuke covered his ears and looked on in horror as Shizune restrained Sakura from rushing over and ripping his head off.
'You bastard!' she screamed. 'I'm going to rip you in half, then heal you, then do it again. And I won't stop until someone finds a way to get men pregnant and see how YOU FUCKING LIKE IT!'
Sasuke winced at the pitch of Sakura's voice. Then he noticed the metal hold that Sakura was gripping. It was crushed. Any remaining colour left in his face drained away.
'Uchiha! You better get your ass over here before…' Sakura broke off, gasping in pain. Sasuke motioned to go nearer, but thought better of it and moved into a corner. Tsunade looked at her with worry.
'I could just block your pain receptors,' Tsunade offered.
'No,' Sakura gasped. 'I need to… to feel when I have to push.' Tsunade acquiesced, but still looked on with worry. Due to her small frame, Sakura was going through some complications. Shizune stood by to fix them as they arose.
Sakura experienced unimaginable pain and didn't need Tsunade's yells to tell her to push. Sasuke looked on with a mixture of fascination and horror. He couldn't actually see anything as the sheet was covering the whole thing, but he did hear Sakura's cries and saw the worry etched in Shizune and Tsunade's faces.
Crying broke through the chaos in the room. It was loud and made everyone stop to listen. Sasuke was unable to tear his eyes away as Tsunade carried a small figure covered in blood towards the medic nins. It was bawling at the top of its lungs as the medics cleaned it and wrapped it in blankets.
Sakura held her arms out and gestured for the baby, completely forgetting the trial she just went through. Tsunade took the bundle of blankets and handed it to Sakura.
Sakura pushed the blanket away so it wouldn't obscure a round pink face. A nestle of black hair covered its head and onyx eyes blinked in-between cries. Sasuke found himself edging over to Sakura's bedside.
Sakura cradled and cooed at her baby. Tsunade looked on with pride and, as she had done with Naruto, nudged Sasuke towards his child.
'Congratulations. It's a baby girl,' Tsunade said with a huge grin. Sasuke found himself reaching out towards the bundle of blankets. Sakura passed the baby to him, still watching her child with a mixture of joy and wonder.
Sasuke stood frozen, his arms cradling a small baby girl. Only his wide eyes betrayed the amazement going through his mind. He saw himself, Sakura and their daughter living happily together, as the family he'd yearned for most of his life. He saw his daughter growing up loved so much by her parents and to never know the meaning of loneliness. He was happy, the most he'd been since he realised that he loved Sakura and that she loved him too. Of course he didn't say this.
'Thank god she doesn't have pink hair,' he said instead. Tsunade quickly took the baby out of his arms. Sasuke was about to protest before he noticed that his wife's eyes were white.
'Sa-su-ke…'
How about it? This was my first fanfiction. I got inspired after seeing pictures of Mandana (Sasuke's daughter) and Ria. If you like it let me know. I don't want to be one of those authors who demand homage in the form of reviews, so if your just browsing thats alright too.
Uchiha Mandana belongs to daggerundrea (.com/)
Uzumaki Ria belongs to annria2002 (.com/)
If you want to see pictures of these characters just follow the links.
Jetness _