Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
[Konohagakure]
On a bright, sunny day, Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata are seen sitting together at the Konohagakure Training Grounds. Hinata's pointer finger is raised up by her nose as she stares in wonder at one of Shino's tiny Kikaichu bugs, which was crawling across her finger.
Ever since Kurenai's resignation from being a shinobi to attend her motherly duties; and Kiba and Akamaru joining the ANBU Black Ops, the two young jounin often times paired off together for missions.
Today, however, things were moving so much slower as far as work was concerned. They had the entire day off and decided to meet up in the park together. Neither has spoken much since they got there but the silence was mutually comfortable.
Shino looks at Hinata as she stares at the Kikaichu bug, which has now flown from her finger to resume it's home in Shino's sleeve.
Hinata let out a long, bored sigh and looked up from her spot on the ground to see a masked man stalking towards her, his long, brown hair blowing gently in the wind. He removes his mask and Hinata looks at him in confusion.
"Neji-nii-san? What are you doing here?"
Neji was pale and looked as though he'd just seen a ghost. He was out of breath and she could tell that something was seriously wrong.
"Neji?"
"Lady Hinata," he paused panting heavily, "we need to go somewhere and talk privately," again, he paused trying to catch his breath, "it's a clan matter."
Hinata nodded her head hesitantly and stood up.
"Shino-kun... I'll talk to you later, alright?"
Said man nodded his head, his expression never changing. Hinata and Neji walked over to another training ground to talk, when Neji finally looked at her.
"Have you spoken with Hiashi today?"
Hinata furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"No, I haven't been home all day. Why?"
"He's stepping down as head of the Hyuuga clan."
Hinata's eyes widened a fraction in surprise. "Wait so that means... I'm..."
"Hinata... He's arranged a marriage as terms of you gaining rule over the clan..."
"What?!" Hinata screamed, much to both her and Neji's surprise before her voice lowered again.
"To who?"
"Me."
[Mist]
The date is July 30th and a very pregnant, disgruntled, and overdue pink-haired kunoichi walked about her home impatiently awaiting on her twin boys – whom were due to be born almost a whole week ago – to decide that they were ready to be born.
"Damn stubborn Uchiha's," she mumbled, "they're all the same, I swear! They never do anything that they're supposed to unless it's absolutely convenient for them," she finished.
Her raven-haired husband—whom is seemingly maintaining his composure rather well, despite his mutual impatience of the birth of his twin boys—looks up at his wife, watching her pace back and forth before him, her hand on the small of her back and her swollen stomach visible through her over-sized t-shirt.
He tried his best to seem as if he hadn't heard her retort, though he failed to suppress raising his eyebrow at her in wonder as to whether or not her statement was to be a slam at him personally or not. He sighed, realizing that there was a 99% chance that it indeed was.
Finally, after pacing a total of 72 times back and forth (from what Sasuke had managed to count), Sakura had given up and thrown her hands up in frustration.
"You're both just like your father! Stubborn as hell and refusing to give in for once in your entire lives!" Sakura shouted, looking down at her stomach.
Sasuke's eyebrow raised again. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"
Sasuke's only response was Sakura hurling a fairly thick book towards his head, to which he barely managed to dodge.
"What the hell do you think it is, Sasuke?! Look at me! I'm pregnant, fat, my ankles are swollen—or at least, I think they are—though I really couldn't tell because I haven't been able to see my feet in months because of my enormous stomach blocking my view! I'm cranky, moody, irritable – and if you say one thing about my hormones being imbalanced, so help me kami, I will castrate you!"
Sasuke inwardly gulped, having no doubt in his mind that his frustrated wife would in fact "destroy his manhood", so to speak.
Sakura ran a hand through her hair before walking off towards the bedroom. Sasuke waits to hear the sound of the door shutting but it never did. Instead, he heard a loud, thankful voice shouting to the high heavens in rejoice.
"Oh thank kami! My water broke! Ow!!"
And so, it begins...
[Konohagakure]
A blonde, extremely overdue Nara Ino slouched down on the couch in her living room poking lazily at her swollen stomach.
Shikamaru, whom was sitting in a chair opposite of her, stared at her with little amusement. They were due over two weeks ago and Shikamaru was beyond anxious for his son to be born, as well as his wife Ino.
"He's not going to come any faster if you keep poking him, Ino." Shikamaru retorted lazily. Ino glared at him.
"It's worth a shot! Dammit Shika, I feel like it's never going to come out!"
"Troublesome woman," he mumbled before speaking in a more clear tone, "Ino, you're only two weeks late, and you heard what the doctor said—"
"Oh, to hell with what the doctor said! I want this thing out of me now, dammit!" Ino retorted before slapping his shoulder rather hard.
"What the hell was that for, Ino?!" Shikamaru said standing up and glaring down at his wife—whom was truly testing the last bits of his patience. Ino stood up as well—albeit, slower and with more effort—staring him in the face, balling her fists.
"Because your a stupid, lazy, and inconsiderate—"
Before Ino could finish her sentence, she felt her water break before letting out a long sigh.
"Shikamaru! My water just broke! You're a genius!"
His eye twitched in response before he let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's get you to the hospital then, huh?"
Ino grinned triumphantly in and nodded response.
[Mist]
Sasuke is seen running down his driveway alone, his destination being the hospital at the center of town. Meanwhile, Sakura sits down on the living room floor, waiting for her husband to return with her midwife.
Frantically, he rushes into the hospital and runs towards the front desk, panting heavily.
"My wife... is in labor... Need... Midwife..."
Yurichi stared at him for a moment in surprise before standing.
"Well, I am the hospital's only available midwife, where is she?"
"Our house. C'mon!" He yelled, pulling the woman's hand towards the hospital door.
"Doctor! I've got an emergency," Yurichi yelled as she is being pulled from the door.
The doctor, whom was several rooms away, shouted back in response. "Alright, I'll be here, Yurichi-san. Take your time!"
And with that said, the two were gone, both headed towards the driveway of the compound. Sasuke frantically unlocked the front door, to see Sakura sitting on the floor, her head pressed against the cushion of the couch. Her forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat and she was panting heavily holding her stomach.
"Yurichi-san," Sakura groaned, "help! Kami this hurts!"
Yurichi rushed to Sakura's side and took her hand, guiding her to lay back on a pillow that she had taken off of the couch.
"Alright, Sakura. I'm here. Uchiha-sama, please – I need lots of towels and some hot water."
Sasuke nodded and walked off to fetch the required items.
"Okay Sakura, you're doing fine. Remember, breathe in," Sakura took a deep breath in through her nose, "and breathe out," Sakura released her deep breath through her mouth, before repeating the notion.
[Konohagakure]
"Shikamaru! You baka! Get your ass back in here, now!" Ino screamed from her hospital room.
Her husband, whom was outside of her room pacing back and forth, ran inside to his wife's bedside. Her legs were hoisted up in two gurneys, and she was now wearing a hospital gown.
"Mrs. Nara," a black-haired nurse said softly, "I need you to push for me."
Ino sat up on her elbows and looked down over her stomach at said nurse.
"Dammit, I've been pushing since my water broke!"
The nurse looked up at the glaring kunoichi slightly fearfully, before regaining her calm demeanor and softly speaking again.
"Okay, good. Just keep pushing as hard as you can. The baby's doing great and you're contractions are coming closer and closer together, so the baby should be here soon. I'm going to go get Tsunade-sama! I'll be right back!"
"Hai," Ino responded as she relaxed a bit, trying her best to be kind to the nurse whom was simply trying to help her through this, despite the agony Ino was in.
"Thank you." Ino softly said before closing her eyes to rest before her contractions started back up again.
[Mist]
Sasuke ran back into the living room carrying several towels, and a large bowl of warm water. Yurichi took a smaller towel and dipped it into the bowl before wringing it out as tightly as she could, and dabbing it lightly across Sakura's forehead. Yurichi looked up at Sasuke, silently asking him why he was still standing there, and he took that as his cue to leave. Sasuke stepped outside and sat on his front porch, impatiently waiting for the labor to be over.
Sasuke looked up from his seat to see an older gentlemen whom he vividly recalled from his childhood, as well as a teenage boy appearing to be about 14 approaching him.
The older gentlemen waved at Sasuke, whom looked back at him strangely, not immediately recognizing him.
"Hello there! Remember me? You and your teammates escorted me to continue building the Great Naruto Bridge."
Sasuke's eyes widened for a moment. "Tazuna-san?"
The old man grinned widely. "Hai, and this is my grandson Inari."
Sasuke looked up amazed at how tall the young man—whom he hadn't seen since he was a small child—had grown.
"Hai. I remember you. What are you two doing here?"
Tazuna opened his mouth to respond, but his words were cut off abruptly by a woman's loud screams coming from the inside. Sasuke paled at the sound of his wife's screams of agony, as Tazuna simply gave him a knowing nod before sitting beside him, his grandson Inari following in suit.
"First?" Tazuna asked, his smile never wavering.
"Hai. Twins." Sasuke responded softly.
"Ah... To that pink-haired teammate of yours? She really was quite fond of you if memory serves me correctly."
Sasuke looked at the man curiously at his last statement, barely recalling his mission during his days spent as a Genin.
"Hai. She really was quite fond of you, even back then. When we thought you were a goner, I thought she would have just curled up and died right there beside you."
Sasuke sat there silently, before his face flinched at Sakura's loud screams.
[Konohagakure]
"Push, Ino! Push!" Tsunade yelled from her position between Ino's legs.
Ino was weeping heavily in pain now and Shikamaru had yet again, been thrown out of the hospital room – this time, more permanently.
Shikamaru paced back and forth outside of the hospital room, running his fingers through his ponytail. He finally sits down on a chair before noticing a tall figure advancing towards him, his hands in his pockets.
"How you holding up there, kiddo?" Shikamaru looked up at his father, Shikaku, whom sat down beside his son.
"Ino's finally in labor... Oh man, what a drag..."
Shikaku let out a soft, knowing chuckle. "Indeed."
A comfortable silence fell between father and son as Ino's loud screams could be heard echoing throughout the hospital halls.
[Mist]
Inside of the Uchiha residence, three women are inside of the living room during Sakura's delivery. Yurichi, Sakura's midwife, is seated near Sakura's feet. Yoko – Yurichi's young apprentice – was sitting at Sakura's side, gently dabbing a cloth across Sakura's brow whilst observing Yurichi's actions carefully. Sakura was laying down on her back on the living room floor. Her back was being propped up with two pillows and she was covered in a thin sheet.
Yurichi sent Sasuke after Yoko shortly after arriving at the Uchiha residence, as well as a long list of supplies that she would be needing Yoko to bring her, which included a hospital gown, several hospital sheets, latex gloves, and a medical kit full of many different medical supplies.
"Okay Sakura, you can do this! C'mon, I need you to give me another big push!" Yurichi sternly commanded from her position sitting on her knees in front of Sakura, her hands both placed over Sakura's stomach baring down on her.
Sakura nodded before leaning her head towards her knees, pushing with all of her might to birth the two twins, whom were proving to be quite a challenge.
[Konohagakure]
"Come on, Ino," Tsunade commanded, her tone serious, "I need you to keep pushing!"
Ino laid her head back on the pillow of her hospital bed in exhaustion, having been in labor the last three hours now.
Her contractions were very spread apart and Tsunade informed Ino when she arrived at the hospital that the birth could take awhile, but Ino was far too anxious about getting the delivery over with, stating that she was far too overdue and couldn't stand being pregnant any longer.
Eventually, Tsunade complied and agreed to induce the labor, and for the last three hours, Ino had been desperately attempting to obey Tsunade's constant commands for her to "push".
Ino's body was covered in a tin layer of sweat as she arched her back, finally rested enough to give another push as she leaned forward and tightened her grip on Shizune's hand.
Shizune focused some of her healing chakra into her hand to prevent any breaks which were bound to arise eventually from Ino's death grip on the small appendage.
[Mist]
"Come on, Sakura! You can do this, push!" Yurichi said, looking at her apprentice sympathetically as the kunoichi held her hand as tightly as she could, a strength firm enough to rival that aided by her chakra-infused fists.
"Ugh! I am pushing, dammit! Where the hell is that bastard Sasuke?! I swear to kami that I am done having kids!"
Said man raises an eyebrow at a chuckling Tazuna and a wide-eyed Inari before shaking his head and laying down on the porch with his hands behind his head, waiting patiently and trying to drown out Sakura's scream—and insults, now.
"Sakura," Yurichi exclaimed, "the first baby is crowning! I need you to give me another big push! Come on, we've almost got one out!"
Sakura replied with a loud groan, again leaning her head towards her knees and squeezing her eyes tightly shut.
"Great job Sakura, you're doing fine! Just give me one more push and have have the first child here.
Sakura gritted her teeth in pain, groaning loudly before giving that final push as Yurichi cut's the baby's umbilical cord, wrapping him in a towel and handing him to Sakura.
"Mr. Uchiha, you may come in to see your son," Yurichi exclaimed smiling brightly while wiping her arm across her sweating forehead. Sasuke hesitantly opened the door of his home to see Sakura holding their first born. He couldn't see what the child looked like as he was covered up in a blanket, so he walked forward, his eyes fixated on Sakura and the little bundle in her arms.
Finally, he got to see his son. The child had coal black hair and bright green eyes. He looked like Sasuke entirely, minus the eyes, of course.
Sakura looked up at Sasuke tiredly before smiling.
"Want to hold him?"
Sasuke nodded as she placed the child in his arms, making sure that he supported the head properly. Sasuke looked down at his son before brushing the pad of his thumb across the child's stomach. The baby responded by gripping his finger tightly, causing Sasuke to chuckle aloud.
"I take it you're the one who kicked me?"
The child looked up at him cooing as he stared at Sasuke with wonder.
Sasuke let out a small chuckle, "Well... That's okay... I don't mind it... You're going to be strong when you're bigger, I can tell."
Sakura giggled aloud but otherwise, said nothing else as she laid there smiling and watching Sasuke with mild amusement before she felt the second baby ready to enter the world as well. The pain caused Sakura to let out a loud groan.
Sasuke looked over at Sakura and Yurichi shooed him out of the room, and ushered him to follow Yoko into the bathroom so that they could finish cleaning and dressing the child.
[Konohagakure]
"Come on, Ino! Push!" A frustrated Tsunade commanded to Ino, whom was actually making an effort to do as told, despite Tsunade's belief.
"Dammit, I am pushing! This isn't easy, you know!"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the blonde, before shaking her head and looking at Shizune – whom was running low on chakra from all of the healing she had to do due to Ino's grip on her hand.
"Shizune! Let go of Ino's hand and bare down on her, the baby is stuck."
"What?! What do you MEAN she's STUCK?! Kami! Is my baby going to be okay?!"
Shikamaru's head darted up from the four chairs he was laying across in the hallway, his eyes widening in horror. His father looked at him, just as shocked and now worried about this.
Tsunade let out an aggravated sigh before explaining.
"Ino, you're baby is upside down and is going to have to be born breech... and as soon as possible. This is a very complicated issue... If we don't get her out of there soon, there is a great chance she could die, as well as you."
Shikamaru ran towards the door before his father could even flinch, but found himself caught in his family's shadow possession jutsu.
"Dammit, dad! Let me go," Shikamaru's voice became hoarse, "Ino's going to... the baby...they need—"
"They need you to be patient. Trust me son, everything is going to be okay, now sit down." He said before releasing the jutsu on his son, whom seemed to have reached his senses.
"Mendokusai..." Shikaku mumbled under his breath as his son sat back down on the chair beside him.
"Ya know, your mother delivered you breech, Shikamaru." His father smiled reassuringly.
"She did?"
"Yup. Scared me to death too. It took three Nara clansmen to hold me back, without the jutsu. I almost killed your grandfather trying to break free." He chuckled. "Then I heard you cry and knew that everything was fine. Finally, the doctor's told me I could come in and I refused to leave after."
"I never knew..."
"Eh... It's not exactly a moment of composure loss that I'm proud of. But now you know."
"Arigato... Hey dad?"
"Hm?"
"I'm scared... I mean for once in my entire life, I honestly don't know what to do..."
Shikaku let out a sigh before placing his hand comfortingly on his son's shoulder.
"I know son, I know. Everything will work out in the end though, trust me."
[Mist]
"Push, push, push, push, push! C'mon Sakura, almost! There we go! There we go!!"
Sakura let out a painful shriek before collapsing onto her back, Yurichi cutting the umbilical cord and wrapping the second baby up in a towel, before handing him to a very exhausted Sakura.
[Konohagakure]
"Oh my Kami! I can't do this! I can't Tsunade, I can't—"
"Oh yes you can, Ino and you will! Now come on, we're almost there, I just need one more push, I can see her feet!"
"ARGHHHHHHHHH!"
Ino let out a loud scream before falling onto her back, the sounds of a baby girl crying echoing the room.
"Shika...Mar...u..." Ino weakly yelled, but was unheard, so she tried again, "Shikamaru!"
Said man ran into the hospital room to see an exhausted Ino holding his newborn baby girl with pale blonde hair and charcoal eyes.
He let out a long sigh of relief as he ran to her bedside, Shikaku standing in the doorway smirking at Tsunade whom was scowling from exhaustion.
[Mist]
Sasuke walked back into the room carrying his first born son to see his second being cradled in his wife's arms affectionately.
Sakura was breast feeding the newborn when she looked up at her oldest son, and began to speak. "He's probably hungry. Here, trade me." She said, the second child now sleeping soundly in her arms.
He held his second son while sitting next to Sakura. Suddenly, Yurichi spoke to them both.
"Any ideas on what to name them?"
Sasuke looked down at his second born son.
"Akiro, for this one."
Sakura also looked down at the baby in her arms, thinking deeply.
"Well, they're twins so their names have to sound similar at least. How about... Akira?"
"Hn." Sasuke nodded his head in agreement, his long black eyelashes closing as he cradled his sleeping son in his arms lovingly.
[Konohagakure]
"Any ideas on a name?" Tsunade asked the blonde whom simply glanced at her husband in silent questioning.
He knew exactly what Ino wanted to name their daughter, but was still flattered that she cared to ensure that he was happy with it. Thus, he nodded his head in agreement.
"Sakura. I want to name her Sakura... in honor of Forehead's memory..." Ino responded, her eyes filling with tears.
Tsunade nodded before walking out of the room to head back to the Hokage tower.
A/N: Oh my god, I am soooo sorry that took so long! I got writers block for a day or so o.O But all is well again, I assure you =D R&R, hope you enjoyed. (10 pages btw)