Sorry about the lack of chapter last week. But, I do have my computer back and I will be continuing on with regularly scheduled chapters!
Until next Tuesday I will be incredibly busy with school. However, I may have a short one-shot relating to the story to release next week with the new chapter as a way to apologize for not posting one next week. It really just depends on how well I can manage my time between finals, papers, and homework.
The next morning, Naruto awoke with a familiar ache in his lower back. Groaning, the blonde sat up and looked down at his naked body to see bites and bruises across his tanned skin. Although Sasuke was currently not in bed with him, he knew that the man wouldn't look much better.
Pulling himself from the bed, Naruto stretched and got ready for his day. He could hear Sasuke in the kitchen making breakfast and talking to someone. As the blonde left the bedroom, he saw his husband with Hana on his hip, talking to her in the same way he would talk to any of the older children.
Approaching the two, Naruto placed a hand on Sasuke's cheek and pulled him into a quick good morning kiss. He stole a peek at Hana, who was drooling and just overjoyed to be held and talked to by her father.
"Someone's in a good mood today," Naruto pointed out.
"Aren't I usually when the sex is as good as it was last night?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly as he rolled eggs across a skillet.
Naruto couldn't help but to scoff. "Don't you tell me to watch my language around the children? What you just said is just as bad. Besides, I was talking about the baby." He poked Sasuke in the ribs, only to have the man flinch a bit. "Oh shit, I forgot about that. I'm sorry I kicked you last night."
Although, he didn't seem too remorseful as he tried to hide a smile by grabbing plates from the cabinet to set the table.
"You're not sorry in the slightest. But I would say we are even, considering the fact that you have a visible hickey on your collar bone."
An embarrassed flush made its presence on Naruto's cheeks as he slapped a hand over where he knew it would be. He'd had an inkling as to its formation last night from the smirk Sasuke had had on his face after making it. "I hate you."
"Keep telling yourself that." With his free hand, he carefully dumped the tamagoyaki he had been making on to a plate. "Breakfast is almost ready, do you want to go see if the kids are up?"
Naruto hummed. He was going to ask if Sasuke wanted him to take Hana, but the man was doing just fine with holding her while cooking, and the baby was just so happy where she was, watching him and everything he was doing while clutching his shirt.
By the time the kids were up and wrangled into the kitchen, Sasuke was just putting the last dish on the table.
The twins were bickering about something—which was nothing new, and quite frankly something they would be over by mid-morning at the latest. Kenta attempted to ignore them by working on the last bit of homework he had to turn in when he returned to the academy today. Sasuke had finally given up the baby and was asking Kenta harder questions about his homework than the assignment could have ever asked. This was often the only way to get the boy motivated enough to do his work because he always complained that it was too easy. And Naruto fed the baby between his own bites of breakfast, glad that she didn't have a fever and was smiling and happy.
After breakfast, the kids all went to get ready for their days and the two men cleaned up the kitchen, their teasing of each other from this morning continuing with verbal jabs at each other. Something Sasuke said had Naruto making fun of him and laughing so hard that he was bent over, tears gathering in his eyes when someone knocked on the door.
"Go get the door, " Sasuke muttered, sounding miffed. But the blonde knew that his husband was finding just as much humor in the situation from the small smile that was trying to make its way to his lips.
At the door, bright green eyes peered up at Naruto. "Good morning, Naruto-sama." The girl chirped, her light pink hair was tied into a bun. She had her mother's smile but sadly her eyebrows looked a little more like her father's.
"Good morning, Sayuri." Naruto returned just as brightly, letting the girl inside. "The twins are still getting ready, but they'll be out in a few minutes."
As if on cue, Ayumi appeared. "Sayu," she whined as her fingers made her way through her long black hair, braiding it was she walked. "Jun is being mean today, so watch out."
This cued Junichiro's appearance, and he immediately rolled his eyes. "No, you're just being stupid. If you just listened to me, I wouldn't be "mean" to you."
In the doorway, Sayuri just smiled pleasantly, completely use to their antics.
After the twins toed on their sandals, they both gave Naruto a hug and said their good byes, calling one to Sasuke as they left. "Be safe, and don't be late for dinner." Naruto called after them before closing the door and returning to the kitchen.
"Sayuri will have her hands full today if they keep this up." Sasuke remarked as he finished wiping down the counter top. "At least they're going out for independent training while Konohamaru is out on a mission, or he would work them to the bone today in annoyance."
The two bickered quite often, almost as much as he and Sasuke did. But, the twins each took parts of their parent's personalities, which caused them to get on each other's nerves more often than not. But at the end of the day, they were still brother and sister and they would make up and have a few days of peace between them.
"They'll be over it by lunch time. Besides, hopefully going out for the day will help them get rid of some energy." The blonde gave Sasuke a grin, and then heard a sigh from behind him.
Naurto turned around and drew a nervous looking Kenta into a tight hug. The boy buried his face in Naruto's stomach and squeezed back. "It will be okay. Teruo-sensei has been dealt with by the head of the academy, and he is sorry for what he said. Just get through the day, and if you want to come to my office during your lunch break, you can come and talk with us. We have a relatively open schedule today, so we'll be there if you need us, okay?"
Kenta nodded and pulled away from the blonde.
"He already feels like a fool for what he said, now go in and make him look even more stupid for ever doubting you." Sasuke advised, ruffling the boy's hair before handing him a bento.
"And if he ever says anything like he did again, we'll kick his ass." Naruto piped enthusiastically.
That finally got the boy to give a small smile.
"Yeah, what your mom said, but without the language. Now go on, or you'll be late."
Hugging both of them, Kenta continued to smile. "Thanks mom and dad."
He was then out the door and on his way to the academy.
Naruto picked up Hana so he could get her ready for daycare. "I'd say we're pretty good at this parenting thing sometimes."
Sasuke couldn't help but to smile. "For once, I agree with you."
They were headed to the southern training ground for their solo training. Sayuri was walking in front of them chatting lively, in an attempt to keep them from bickering again. She was good at that. With Sayuri's mom being as close to their parents as she was, the three of them had grown up together as best friends. They also knew that if they fought any more, the girl may lose her temper and her fists would fly. And that girl was terrifyingly strong for a thirteen year old.
Welcoming the distraction, Junichiro was listening to the Sayuri's idle chatting. But something caught his attention, and he swore he saw someone in a white, hooded cloak to his left. But just as soon as they were there, they disappeared again.
From the way that Sayuri kept talking, he could tell that she hadn't seen anything. However, Ayumi tensed up next to him and he knew that she was aware of their presence. And then he realized, there were two people following them. This was the first time he had ever seen one of them, and if they felt the need to conceal their identity then they had to be dangerous.
Junichiro felt his blood pumping strongly in his veins, a sense of foreboding washing over him. Ayumi reached out and took his hand, linking their fingers together to steady herself, but he could feel how nervous his twin was by how tightly she squeezed his hand. He was positive now from how alert Ayumi seemed that the same people who had been following him were following his sister and most likely their younger brother. And he didn't know what he should do, or what they would do. Would they attack them, and would the three genin even be able to fight back against them?
As soon as they were in the clearing of the training ground, their followers were gone, though. Looking around, Junichiro noticed someone lounging against a large tree with their hands in their pockets, and their eyes searching the woods behind them before directing their gaze directly at the children.
"I feel like I am experiencing déjà vu seeing you three walk out of the trees like that, except you're much prettier than your father, Ayumi." The person said with a certain laissez-faire quality.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sayuri chirped upon seeing the man, still unaware of what had just transpired.
Letting himself relax now that the man was here, Jun squeezed Ayumi's hand in an effort to get her to relax as well. He knew that as long as Kakashi was here, they would be safe and no one would dare approach them. And by the way that his sister slowly let go of his hand, the blonde could tell that the girl agreed.
"Where is Konohamaru? Are you meeting him here, or are the three of you by yourselves for the day?"
Sayuri was the one to answer as the twins continued to try and calm their nerves. "Konohamaru-sensei is on a mission so we are doing solo training. What are you doing here, though?"
"Oh, I was trying to find a nice, quiet place to write for the day. Dear Iruka-sensei has kicked me out of the house, saying that I was getting on his nerves and spending too much time working hard, and that I need to experience nature more." Though all three kids knew that even if that was the truth, it was only partially true.
Looking over at Ayumi, Jun pursed his lips. They both still had a nagging feeling at the back of their minds that there was definitely something wrong. They knew that if Kakashi left them along in the training ground, then they would be open targets. He locked eyes with Ayumi before talking. "Well, why don't you experience nature by helping us train for the day?" Junichiro offered, praying that the man would stay. Sayuri happily seconded the request, and Ayumi relaxed considerably at the thought.
Kakashi appeared to actually think about it for a moment, but in reality he would not leave these grounds until the children did. He would make sure that they were safe, especially knowing that Naruto and Sasuke were not yet aware of the possible danger that their children were in. "Well, I suppose that I can spare the time to work with you kids if you really want it."
Throughout the day, the twins were able to slowly melt away the anxiety that they had been faced with that morning and focus on their training. It was fun, and for the three genin it was quite an experience to be able to train with the man who had played a pivotal role in teaching their parents.
Kakashi even walked back to the main part of the village with the children and listened to their chatter until Sayuri pulled away to go home. And once it was only the three of them, he looked at the twins critically. "You really need to talk to your parents about what's been happening. Who knows what would have happened had I not been there today. For the time being, you two shouldn't be going anywhere without an experienced adult, and neither should Kenta, quite frankly. He is a much easier target since he is younger than you two, you know, and if you don't say something now then it may be too late when you do say something."
"We'll talk to them today, Kakashi-sensei." Ayumi promised quietly. It was rare for them to see the man look so serious. Growing up, he had babysat them quite a few times and was the one who let them do whatever they wanted when Iruka wasn't around. He had always regarded them with a laissez-faire style, making sure they were safe and cared for, but having fun with them or making fun of them more often than not. He was nearly like an uncle to them, a lazy and aloof yet flamboyant uncle, and seeing him look so concerned about their safety was disconcerting.
Satisfied, the man finally pulled his gaze away from the children. "Good, now come on and I will walk with you two to the office."
Once in the administration building, the trio ran into Sasuke and Iruka leaving the afternoon shift at the mission desk. Upon seeing her father, Ayumi immediately threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.
"Are you letting Naruto push his obligations on to you, Sasuke?" Kakashi teased the Uchiha.
Patting the girl's back, he shrugged. "No, I made him stay in his office and work on paperwork. You could build a forest with the amount of papers stacked on his desk." Surprised when Ayumi didn't let him go, he glanced down at the girl and could suddenly feel her apprehension. Looking to Junichiro, he could see that his son didn't look to be fairing much better. He was curious about why his two oldest children looked anxious.
"And what about you, weren't you going to stay home and work on your novel all day? You have a deadline soon." Iruka chided, looking sternly at Kakashi.
The former Hokage rubbed the back of his neck, completely use to being lectured about his lack of productivity. "I saw a dainty butterfly and decided to follow it. It was quite pretty."
Completely unsatisfied with the answer he received, Iruka hummed disapprovingly. "Please don't make your editor cry again." Turning to leave, he bid goodbye to Sasuke and the twins before leading Kakashi back towards his classroom so that he could grab his work and return home.
Finally prying Ayumi from his body, Sasuke placed an arm across her shoulders and did the same to Jun before leading them to Naruto's office. "And what is wrong with you two? You're not still arguing, are you?"
"No." Junichiro responded quietly. "But we need to talk to you and mom."
Sasuke was now concerned, and he looked to his children uneasily. He wasn't aware of it at this point, but the issue at hand would lead to a series of event that were near disastrous. Events that would forever change the peaceful lives of his children.
