First Posted 10/14/2014
Phew! Sorry for the late update. I was just extremely busy yesterday and extremely tired by the time I got home. Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews yet again!
Also! Everyone is picking out the KibaHina from the last chapter, but I really didn't intend it to come across as strictly romantic! I have a headcanon in which he becomes such best friends with her that the Hyuuga clan has to deal with his obnoxious, uncouth self all the time. I don't really know if they get together or not—I am really hoping that Kishimoto will give us an idea who Hinata will end up with in The Last because I cannot really picture her with any of the main guys very easily at all. If you want this fic to have KibaHina, that's cool. If you'd rather them be friends, that's kind of what I was leaving it open for.
I mean you gotta admit, it would be pretty hilarious for him to be her bff who gets jealous and (just a little) possessive whenever some other guy shows interest in her. OKAY GUYS MAYBE I'M KIND OF SHIPPING KIBAHINA SUDDENLY BECAUSE THEN HE'D REALIZE THAT HE REALLY LIKES HER AND WOULD START TRYING TO WOO HER BUT FAIL THE WHOLE TIME BECAUSE HE'S SO UNCOOL AND IT WOULD BE REALLY CUTE? HELP.
Naruto could not wait to get out of the office. His leg had maintained a continuous quaking for the last thirty or so minutes as he felt his friends, one after another, gather at his home. He had long since come to the only logical conclusion: there was a party going on, and he needed to be there.
He had spent the last fifteen minutes musing over what the party was for and why it seemed to be missing most of the girls.
"-to. Naruto." He looked expectantly up to Kakashi-sensei at the call of his name.
"Yeah?" He asked attentively, as though it'd cover up the fact that he hadn't been listening for the last however-many-minutes. Kakashi sighed.
"Nevermind, you're too distracted right now. We'll talk about this later." He said. Naruto looked startled, then pleased.
"You sure? Cuz I don't wanna..." He was already getting up and rolling his scroll back together messily in his delighted haste.
"I'm sure." Kakashi muttered resignedly. Naruto was already gone.
He burst in the door to his home excitedly and marched into the overfilled living room. Then, catching a glimpse of Sakura's murder-bent expression, he immediately made a loop and began to march right back toward the door again.
"Naruto." She commanded his name like one might talk to their disobedient pet dog. He froze and turned to look at her, a nervous smile plastered onto his face.
"Sakura-chan. What's the, uh, party for?" He swallowed. "Guys, hi" he said, waving stiffly at them while Sakura slowly approached him, the killing intent around her palpable. She had left Shinachiku in Ino's arms. This couldn't be good.
"The party, Naruto, is for Shinachiku's godparents. You know, Ino and half of Konoha's shinobi?" Naruto's expression changed immediately then. He blinked in surprise, then broke out in an actual grin.
"Oh!" He said, beaming. "Good! So is this like a godparent thing? Wait, should I go bring Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei too, then?"
"You... you asked them too?" She asked, incredulous.
"Yeah, why not? Oh and there were a few others. But some of 'em are in Suna..." He frowned at that. He started to shift as though he were leaving, then he paused. "Wait, tell me why you're mad." He requested, concern creeping onto his features. Sakura still had no words. She was still stuck on how he didn't seem to realize what was wrong here.
The sound of someone behind her slapping their forehead brought her out of her stupor.
"Naruto," she started slowly, "Shinachiku is only supposed to have one godfather."
He blinked several times in silence and scanned the room full of people. Over there were Chouji, Kiba, Shino, and Shikamaru. On this side were Sai, Sasuke, and Konohamaru. Rock Lee was doing pushups. And he was supposed to pick just one?
"Well that's dumb." He stated matter-of-factly, hands lacing on the back of his head. He gave her an irritated look. "Is that why you're mad? That doesn't even make sense. He could learn all kinds of stuff from all of them! Plus, this way he'll never have to be alone!" He grinned and then carefully stepped past her, but only when he was sure she wouldn't punch him through the wall. He greeted his friends again (with thoroughly unreturned excitement) and gathered his baby from Ino's arms.
Shinachiku happily pawed at his face.
"Geez, you don't even know what a godparent is, do you Naruto-niichan?" Konohamaru asked with an amused shake of his head.
"Hey! Don't act all high and mighty! I just got done teaching you about—" Konohamaru suddenly bolted over the couch, diving through both Chouji and Shikamaru in order to clap his hand over Naruto's mouth before he could finish the sentence. He laughed nervously as Naruto leveled him with narrowed eyes.
"Not the place," his words uneasily sang out from clenched teeth. Then he backed away, face still red, and jogged to the Uzumaki kitchen, laughing with embarrassment all the way.
Sakura looked curious for a second, and she almost asked. Almost. But then she quickly decided that she didn't want to know. What she did want to know, however, was why Konohamaru seemed to know his way around their kitchen so well. And why he thought it was okay to raid their fridge. She'd be asking about that later.
"Well anyway," Kiba interrupted the silence after clearing his throat. "You're an idiot," he finished in a deadpan, eyes on Naruto.
"Definitely an idiot," Sai said, smiling.
"Hn," Sasuke agreed, although there was definitely some amusement in his expression.
"I thought that I alone had been asked," Shino stated. His glasses flashed almost menacingly.
"No kidding. What a drag," Shikamaru muttered.
"What—Hey! You should all be proud to be Shinachiku's godfathers! I mean... look at him!" He raised his arms a bit so that the baby was prominently displayed. "You wanted a lot of godparents, didn't you?" He asked the infant.
Shinachiku chose exactly that poetic moment to spit up all over himself. Then he began to emit a high-pitched, wailing cry. "That's a yes, I swear!" Naruto exclaimed over Shinachiku's loud voice. He looked suddenly very nervous though, rushing to wet a rag at the sink. "Sakura-chan!" He called in near-panic, eyes wide and hands almost shaking as he wiped Shinachiku clean. She sighed yet again as she approached and put a pacifier into the baby's mouth. Shinachiku, as always, calmed down considerably once he was passed to his mother's arms again. Naruto gave Sakura an irritable frown for that.
"Man, what a dork," Konohamaru stated from in front of the fridge where he was amusedly staring at the inexperienced parents in front of him. His words, however, came out warped since he was speaking around a sandwich.
"YOU'RE THE DORK!" Naruto shouted, shaking his fist. "And hey! You're eating—Sakura-chan made that for me!" He pointed accusingly.
"That explains why it sucks," Konohamaru snickered, although he took another bite just after.
"I recommend spitting it out," Sai said.
Without a word, Sakura handed Shinachiku back to Naruto. Then she looked from Konohamaru to Sai.
She really had to decide. She had to think about who to hit first.
Sai was closer.
"Out." She told both him and Konohamaru. They didn't have to get told twice, what with the bumps on their heads. "In fact, all of you, go on. Shinachiku needs a nap."
"Wait, we must know who will be the true godfather!" Lee proclaimed, almost hopping with excitement. He had his fists balled earnestly.
"You heard Naruto." She said, expression sour. "Now get out."
"Sakura-chan," Naruto said in surprise.
"Seriously? All of them? You're really going for that, Forehead-girl?" Ino asked incredulously. The look of jealous bitterness was back on her face when she turned her gaze to Naruto.
Lee, on the contrary, punched the air victoriously. He darted up to Naruto and looked at the tiny bundle that was Shinachiku.
"As your godfather, I will ensure you have the most vibrant childhood possible! Naruto, thank you!" He grabbed Naruto's free hand and clasped it in both of his.
"No problem, Bushy Brows! You'll be a great godfather!" He grinned.
"Maaan, we all got stuck here for nothing, and you didn't even give us food. I mean, we are that idiot's idiot-baby's godfathers!" Kiba said with annoyance. A few heads turned to him with quizzical expressions. Despite all his caterwauling, however, he gave a somewhat proud gaze to Shinachiku before he stalked out of the Uzumaki home, his hands in his pockets.
"Yeesh. I guess that settles that. Kiba's the real idiot here. Let's go, Chouji." Ino swept out the door, giving Shinachiku a smile and a little finger-pat on the head before she left. The others followed suit soon after her, finally leaving Naruto and Sakura alone in quiet.
After a moment, Naruto cleared his throat.
"So... what is a godfather, exactly?"
So I have this fascination with Naruto's upbringing and how that could have affected his perception of the world. Actually, my other NaruSaku fic entitled "Is This Genjutsu?" touches upon the same concept a little bit. When I thought about how Jiraiya abruptly showed up when Naruto was 12ish and trained him, I considered about how Naruto's working definition of the term "godfather" could have come about. ...and how it is probably very different from Sakura's definition. Most people understand that a godparent is someone who acts as next-of-kin when family cannot take care of the child. Essentially: they are the ones who raise the kid when the parents pass away or something else happens. Naruto's definition could not possibly match up with this because his godparent did not function in this way for him.
Listen, I really just love psychology.
Chronological Arc/Chapter List:
Confession: Chapters 33-37 (NaruSaku ages 18-19)
Let's Wait: Chapters 5-6 (NaruSaku ages 20-21)
Stealing First: Chapter 1 (NaruSaku ages 21-22)
The Uzusagis: Chapters 3-4 (Narusaku ages 21-40)
It'll Be Okay: Chapters 18-24 (NaruSaku ages 21-22)
The Godfathers: Chapters 13-14 (NaruSaku ages 22-23) * You Are Here
Momma's Boy: Chapter 27 (NaruSaku ages 24-25)
The Day Kakashi Tried: Chapter 2 (NaruSaku ages 25-26)
Kakashi Tries Again: Chapter 16 (NaruSaku ages 29-42)
A Tiny Crush: Chapter 25 (NaruSaku ages 33-35)
That Jutsu, Part 1: Chapter 8 (NaruSaku ages 37-38)
Bedtime Routine: Chapter 7 (NaruSaku ages 37-38)
That Jutsu, Part 2: Chapter 9 (NaruSaku ages 37-38)
Every Family Has One: Chapters 10-12 & 17 (NaruSaku ages 38-39)
A Terrible Dream: Chapter 32 (NaruSaku ages 38-39)
A Not-So-Tiny Crush: Chapters 26, 28, 30-31 (NaruSaku ages 42-44)
Teenage Girls: Chapter 15 (NaruSaku ages 44-45)