Merry belated Christmas! Here's a quick epilogue to wrap up the All The Want for Christmas stories!
As always, I do not own Naruto and if I did, I would use my wealth and influence to make it acceptable to leave Christmas lights up all year because I lack the motivation to take them down!
Please do enjoy the epilogue to All They Want for Christmas!
"And that's how your Grandma and Grandpa got all they want for Christmas," A woman said, snapping a book shut. The woman looked to be in her mid 20s at the latest, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. She smiled at the group of children that had gathered to listen to the story of two of Konoha's most famous people.
"That was like… sooo cute!" A teenage girl with pink hair squealed. "Grandpa was a real dummy in the beginning though! I mean… who doesn't talk to their future wife for two years?"
"Agreed," the woman smiled at the excited teenager. "From what my grandparents have told me though, your grandpa was never known for his smarts."
"Great Auntie Ino said that?" A young girl with blonde hair tied into two pig tails and green eyes who didn't look a day over 10 asked.
"Yep! And you know your great Auntie, she knows everything!"
"Grandpa didn't need to be known for his smarts Asuko," a young man with pink hair and brown eyes said, wrapping his arms around the woman and flashing her an affectionate smile.
"He was a total bad…" The young man glanced at the little kids in the room. "He was a tough guy. Evil never stood a chance with him around. He could take down anyone!"
"That's right Jiraiya," A man with spiky blonde hair and vibrant emerald eyes chuckled. He was clad in a white robe with a red vest and black pants. What made the man stand out most though, was the red hokage hat awkwardly perched on his head and the words "Eighth Hokage" proudly emblazoned on the back of his robe. "Although your very own dad easily surpassed him." The man added, puffing out his chest with pride.
A snort sounded off in the corner of the room, and everyone's attention was diverted to the old couple sitting on a small loveseat. The pair had been awake when the story started, but judging by the old man's snoring, and the way the old woman had rested her head on his shoulder, everyone assumed they had fallen asleep.
"You're awake Dad?" The blonde-haired man asked.
"Of course Dad's awake. You just said you surpassed him Aki. Dad has that weird supernatural sense of being able to tell whenever you try to say you've surpassed him!" A woman who looked to be in her 30's with pink hair and shining sapphire eyes chided.
"Your sister is right as always," the old man chuckled. "As if you could surpass me kid."
"You're old! I could totally take you now!"
"Oh is that a challenge?" The old man asked, peeking a tired sapphire eye open. "It sounded like a challenge. Don't think I'll hold back just because you're the hokage. Although, I might hold back since you're kind of old too. You're going to be turning 42 in about 9 months."
"Oh not this again." The old woman currently cuddling with the old man grumbled. "No, you two are not going to spar right now Naruto. I'm way too comfortable, and I don't feel like having to spend the next week healing you so you can act like you weren't affected by your spar with Aki."
"But he thinks he's surpassed me Sakuraaaa!" Naruto whined.
"Most fathers would be proud that their son has surpassed them Dad!" Aki complained.
"And I will be, if you can ever beat me." Naruto countered with a grin.
"Sorry Dad, but I don't think you could beat Grandpa. He's pretty strong!" Jiraiya said.
"Ack, my own son doesn't even believe in me?" Aki sighed, dramatically placing his hand over his heart.
"Little Jiraiya is wise beyond his years," Naruto chuckled.
"Oh come on Grandpa! I'm 22. You gotta stop calling me little! Especially in front of Minori!" Jiraiya complained.
"I disagree." Minori giggled. "I think it's adorable, Little Jiraiya!"
"Naruto, stop embarrassing our grandchild." Sakura scolded. She opened her eyes and gave Jiraiya an apologetic smile. "Sorry about your grandpa, Jiraiya. Even after all these years, he's still an idiot."
"Even after? Hey, I was the hokage for 23 years!" Naruto protested. "How can a hokage be an idiot?"
"Because Grandma could keep you in line!" The little girl with pigtails pointed out. Naruto stared at the little girl and couldn't help but smile at his young granddaughter.
"You too Suki? I can't win." Naruto sighed. He sat fully up and gave his full attention to everyone in the room; the smile on his wrinkled, old face subconsciously broadened. These people were exactly what he dreamed about when he was a lonely, little kid trying to understand why his village hated him so much. Next to him and Sakura, the next oldest people in the room were their three children. Aki, their oldest boy; Akari, their middle child and only daughter; and Arashi, their youngest and second son. It was still hard for Naruto to believe that Aki was going to be turning 42 this year. It seemed like just yesterday that Naruto was waiting for the arrival of his first born…
FLASHBACK
"This kid sucks. Somebody tell him to get the hell out already…" Sakura grumbled. Warm, autumn sunlight streamed through the window to the room where Naruto, Sakura and Sakura's parents had been camped out in since late last night. Sakura's water broke while Naruto and she were at her parents for dinner after a long day of work. Thankfully, Makoto and Kaori knew exactly what to do, because once Sakura announced that her water broke Naruto went into a complete tailspin. He was so nervous and excited that he couldn't focus enough to figure out what to do. But Sakura's parents quickly got them to the hospital where, thanks to their status, they were put in a nice suite.
"Now now sweetie," Sakura's mother chided. "Don't be angry at him for taking after his mother. I was in labor with you for nearly 20 hours!"
"Well maybe you should've told me to get the hell out then!" Sakura bit back. "It's been 18 hours already. How long does this kid need? It's not like he has to go very far!"
Naruto decided that he should step in. He was the father here; it was his duty to be the voice of reason and to keep his wife happy.
"It's ok Sakura. He'll come out when he's ready."
"YOU!" Sakura growled, locking eyes with her husband. "You're the one who did this! Tell your son to get out already!"
"Ummm… I uh…" Naruto stammered nervously. "How do I that exactly?"
Sakura rolled her eyes at her husband. If her pregnancy hormones weren't currently kicked into overdrive and she wasn't in such pain, she probably would find his response cute. But in her current state, she instead found herself resisting the urge to smack him upside the head.
"You're an idiot. The father of my child is an idiot!"
"Ah the memories." Sakura's father, Makoto, chuckled. "Don't feel bad Naruto, Sakura's mother acted the exact same way when she gave birth to Sakura."
"You're not helping Makoto!" Kaori snapped.
"Seriously Dad, you aren't!" Sakura growled. "If you want to help, get this kid out!"
"How's our favorite mother-to-be?" Their doctor, who was unusually chipper man, asked as he entered the room.
"Great. Just. fucking. great. He won't get this kid out of me!" Sakura said, pointing an accusatory finger at her flabbergasted husband.
"Well let's see if your son is ready to come out yet Sakura-sama." The doctor smiled warmly, ignoring his patient's acrid attitude. Naruto was proud that he was able to resist the urge to pummel the man when he peeked down at his wife's private areas (he may or may have socked the doctor in the jaw the first time it happened).
"It looks like your boy has heard your pleas Sakura-sama!" The doctor announced. "I think it's time!"
Nurses filed into the room to help bring Naruto and Sakura's baby boy into the world.
"Go stand by your wife's side Hokage-sama." The doctor advised. Naruto nodded, and stood next to his wife. He took one of her hands in his and placed the other on her back in a supportive manner.
"Ok Sakura-sama, it's time: push!" The doctor commanded.
Both Sakura and Naruto screamed out in agony as Sakura began trying to push their son out into the world. Sakura's pained scream, of course, was a result of her trying to push a child out of her. Naruto's scream of pain was from his wife accidentally (he hoped) breaking his hand when she squeezed it while subconsciously using her chakra-enhanced strength.
"GAHH DAMN YOU NARUTO!" Sakura yelled. "YOU JUST HAD TO HAVE A BABY!"
"It's ok honey!" Naruto soothed, doing his best to ignore the throbbing ache emanating from his broken hand. He also wisely decided against pointing out that she also wanted to have a baby just as bad as he did. Antagonizing a powerful, angry woman who was currently giving birth didn't seem like the best of plans. "Just keep pushing. Little Aki will be here soon, and then it will all be over."
"I see his head!" The doctor said in an excited tone. "You're doing great Sakura-sama, keep pushing!"
"Keep it up sweetie. My grandbaby is almost here!" Sakura's dad added, excitement dripping out of his voice.
"You can do this Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered quietly enough so only she could hear. "We're almost to the start of our family."
If Sakura had been physically capable of smiling at that moment, she would have. But she wasn't. So instead she continued yelling and groaning as she pushed her first child out into the world. Finally, after what seemed like eternity to Naruto, the cries of a tiny baby echoed throughout the room. The nurses quickly set to cleaning the baby off and preparing the little boy to meet his mom and dad for the first time. As they were cleaning the baby, Sakura healed Naruto's hand with a slightly guilty look on her face. In no time at all, one of the nurses handed the now clean newborn to his mother, wrapped in a warm, fluffy blanket. Sakura let go of Naruto's hand to cradle their child, and Naruto sat on the bed, wrapped his arm around his wife and stared at their crying first-born for the first time.
"He's beautiful…" Sakura whispered. "Look at him Naruto! Our son is so beautiful! Don't cry little Aki, mommy's here."
"Yes he is." Naruto agreed as a new warmth he had never felt before surged through his body. "Welcome to the world son."
FLASH IN
Naruto could only chuckle as he thought about those first few years with Aki. Neither he nor Sakura had any idea what the hell they were doing. By the time Aki was six months, Sakura's parents, their friends and most of the villagers were asking them when Aki was going to get a baby brother or sister. However, seeing how there was a lot more to parenting than either he or Sakura had thought of, Sakura suggested they wait a few years to have a second child so they could get the whole parenting thing mastered; that was a suggestion Naruto happily agreed to. As he grew up, it quickly became apparent that Aki was destined to take after his father far more than his mother. He was brash, loud, prideful and determined to be the best kage (not just hokage) the world had ever known.
Aki was a handful growing up. He certainly took more after his father than his mother, and it was especially difficult to raise a rambunctious young boy when Naruto and Sakura had a village to guide as well. But the two young parents stuck together and made it work. It didn't hurt things that seemingly all the villagers in Konoha were always begging the Hokage and his assistant to let them watch their young son. When Aki turned six, Naruto and Sakura decided they were ready to have another child. One year later, Akari, their daughter, entered the world. She had Sakura's hair and his eyes, where Aki had his hair and Sakura's eyes. While Aki took after Naruto, Akari was clearly her mother's daughter. As a little girl, she had some confidence issues, but as she matured she became a smart, headstrong young woman, and no one wanted to risk being on her bad side. She was far more respectful than Aki, and a lot easier to raise as a result. And even though she took after Sakura, she was definitely a daddy's girl (something Naruto made sure to remind his wife of often). Still, Sakura enjoyed teaching Akari everything she knew, and the girl was one of the most highly-respected medical ninjas in the entire world. Akari had actually just turned 36 in the fall and was going to be taking over as head of the Konoha hospital at the first of the new year.
Naruto's eyes trailed over to his youngest son, who had remained silent until now. Their third and final child, Arashi was born three years after Akari. Unlike his brother and sister, Arashi was far more reserved; which was ironic given his name. Unlike his two siblings, Arashi was in no hurry to settle down and find his true love. The boy had a few serious girlfriends over the years, but he always seemed to be satisfied with the close relationship of the ever-expanding Uzumaki family. Naruto and Sakura were both hopeful though, as he had been dating a civilian girl for the past five months and he seemed very happy.
"Grandpa?" Jiraiya's voice snapped Naruto out of his reverie, and his eyes focused on Aki's middle son. The boy's pink hair made it clear that he had Haruno blood in him, and he got made of a lot for it when he was growing up. Maybe that's why he took to idolizing his grandpa so much.
"Hmm? You say something little Jiraiya?"
WHAP!
"Owwww Sakura! What was that for?" Naruto whined, his head now throbbing slightly from where his wife smacked him in the back of the head.
"I told you to stop embarrassing Jiraiya!"
"Fine." Naruto sighed. "Did you say something Jiraiya?"
"He was just asking you if you were still there." Sakura said. "You were sorta spaced out there."
"Oh yes, I'm still here. One day when you're an old man like me you'll randomly space out sometimes too Jiraiya, because you'll have so many memories to recall."
"So…" Sakura said, looking at her grandson with a smile on his face. "Minori tells me you're going to propose to her soon."
"WHAT?!" Jiraiya sputtered in shock. Minori, his girlfriend, was Ino's granddaughter and happened to share many of the mannerisms of her grandmother.
"Why are you so surprised?" Minori asked with an innocent smile on her face.
"We've only been dating for a couple of years! And we're only 22!"
"Grandma and Grandpa only dated for a day before they got engaged! And they had Uncle Aki when they were 22!" The pink-haired teenage girl pointed out.
"Grandma and Grandpa are not exactly normal, Kushina! Aunt Akari, help me out here!" Jiraiya begged.
"It worked out well for your grandparents." Akari mused. "Not to mention, your dad was married by the time he was 22, and I got married when I was 19!"
"I can always propose to you if you're too scared Jiraiya." Minori teased.
"Ah lay off the kid." Arashi spoke up for the first time. "He'll pop the question when he's good and ready."
"If you need any help you just come to me Jiraiya." Naruto boasted. "I'm the master of proposing, as you just heard from our story."
"You just wrapped it and gave it to Grandma as a Christmas present, Dad! Jiraiya, you just look to your old man if you need help proposing. My proposal was far more romantic than your grandpa's!" Aki countered. He certainly never seemed to miss a chance to compete with his father.
"I happen to be a fan of the way your father proposed Aki." Sakura said, smiling softly at Naruto.
"Well if Kaiko were here right now, she would…"
"WILL YOU GUYS STOP? I DON'T EVEN HAVE A RING!" Jiraiya yelled, blushing in embarrassment.
"You don't? My grandma is going to be soooo mad at you." Minori teased.
"Jiraiya, you should get a ring so Minori can be my sister!" Little Suki added. "And you don't want to make Auntie Ino mad!"
"Grandpa help!" Jiraiya whined, causing everyone to start laughing. Even though he was 22 years old, he still looked to his grandpa for help when he felt he was in over his head.
"Ok ok, fine. That's enough teasing everyone. If we tease him too much, he might accidentally say something dumb and piss off Minori, then they might never get married!"
"Gee thanks Grandpa." Jiraiya deadpanned.
"Anytime kid." Naruto grinned.
"What time is it by the way?" Sakura asked.
"6:15, why?" Aki asked.
"6:15?! DAMNIT!" Sakura swore. "Naruto we were supposed to meet with that author 15 minutes ago!"
"Oh was that today?" Naruto innocently replied. One of the advantages of being old was that he could feign forgetfulness whenever he wanted to try to get out of something.
"You know damn well that was today!" Sakura countered, smacking him lightly in the back of the head. "Come on! He did a great job with our first three Christmas stories, and he did a good job of chronicling the first Sakura Ball!"
"I just don't know why he wants to tell our story so badly!"
"You guys are two of Konoha's most celebrated heroes: everyone wants to know your story!" Minori said.
"We just did what needed to be done." Naruto replied. Even after all these years of adoration by his village and the world, he still found fame to be a little weird.
"He wants to make money, wants to pay us money and he believes our stories will sell well! AND he thinks our stories will help people!" Sakura scolded. "Come on, let's get up and get going."
"Anything for you Sakura." Naruto sighed. He stood up, pulling his wife up with him. Naruto and Sakura made it a point to hug each of their children and grandchildren, which took a little bit since all their grandchildren and children were there.
"Oh Mrs. Uzumaki, Grammy Ino wanted me to make sure you two were coming to the Christmas party tonight. She told me to tell you that old age is not an excuse to miss her and Grandpa Shikamaru's annual Christmas party!"
"Well you tell your Grandma that we haven't missed one of her Christmas parties for more than 40 years, and we don't plan on breaking that streak. If you're feeling particularly brave, call her a pig for me too." Sakura said with a playful wink.
"I'm just the messenger, she won't hurt her beloved granddaughter. Consider your message relayed!"
Sakura chuckled. She was sure to get an earful from Ino when they went to the Christmas party tonight, and she would likely be getting teased about her forehead now as well. But even after all these years she couldn't resist teasing her friend.
"Ok kids, we'll see you tomorrow for Christmas lunch. Be there by 2 or we're starting without you!"
The kids and grandkids said their goodbyes, and Naruto and Sakura took their leave. A light snow was falling as the old couple walked to their next destination.
"We don't want to be late to Ino's party you know." Naruto pointed out. "Remember when we were late 20 years ago? I still hear from her about that from time to time. Maybe we should skip this."
"It doesn't start until 8 this year, we'll be fine. Did you remember to get the white elephant gifts?"
"Oh yeah. Some unfortunate soul is going to get all 140 volumes of Gai-sensei's Chronicles of Youth books. And some other unfortunate soul is going to get all 40 volume of Lee's Tales of Youth books."
"You would." Sakura snorted. "I should never have left the white elephant gifts up to you!"
"But it's going to be hilarious when someone opens them! We should trick Ino into thinking it's something inappropriate again so she and Shikamaru get stuck with all of them!"
"I'm game for that." Sakura chuckled. A gust of cold wind blew through the streets, and Sakura leaned into her husband. Even after all these years, he was still just as warm as he was when he was 20. The tea shop where they were meeting the reporter came into view.
"Ready to tell more of our story?" Sakura asked, smiling at her husband.
"I guess." Naruto replied. "I don't see who would want to read all this sappy stuff anyways."
"Such a romantic." Sakura teased, pulling her husband into the tea shop. Sakura spotted the reporter and offered an apologetic smile for being late.
"Sakura-sama, Naruto-sama, it's nice to see you again!" The reporter greeted.
"Sorry we're so late. Our grandson's girlfriend read the stories to our grandkids and we sort of lost track of time."
"I hope they enjoyed it?" The author asked.
"They seemed to. I hear it's been selling well."
"The book stores are still having difficulty keeping it on their shelves! I've even gotten a couple of letters from readers who said that reading about the struggles you two had early in your marriage helped them a lot!"
"See Naruto? The books are helping people." Sakura smiled.
"I guess that's good." Naruto relented.
"It's definitely good!" The author grinned. "Now let's get started on the next one! Do you guys have anything you'd like to share to kick off the book? Maybe a quote about your lives overall?"
Sakura looked at Naruto and her smile widened.
"Sure. Naruto and I have been fortunate to have such a great story, and we are both very grateful for that. We hope that sharing our story will help those who are now facing similar struggles to the ones that we overcame, and we look forward to continuing our story."
"That's awesome Sakura-sama! Anything to add Naruto-sama?"
"Umm…" Naruto scrunched his face up in thought. Between the two of them, Sakura was always better with words. "Believe it!"
Sakura rolled her eyes at her husband, but couldn't help but giggle at him.
"Do you want that added to the quote Sakura-sama?" The author asked.
"Of course." Sakura smiled.
"Ok then, here's what the foreword of your next book will be then…" The author said.
"We have been fortunate to have such a great story and are very grateful for that. We hope that sharing our story will help those facing similar struggles to the ones we overcame. We look forward to continuing our story… Believe it!" -Naruto and Sakura Uzumaki
Fin! May the rest of your Holiday be merry!
-ND
