The Mission
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. The last chapter was really fun to write. Well this story seems to be wrapping up. My best guess is it will be this chapter and then an epilogue. But fear not, I have a surprise for everyone ^^.
My Angel: I just posted a new Sasuke x Hinata story for those interested. Basic idea is Sasuke finds out the truth about Itachi and just can't handle it. So his mind "shuts down" to protect him. He gets a severe case of amnesia and is found by Hinata's team. What Sasuke would be like if the massacre had "never" happened. Check it out if you are interested.
Chapter Notation: Here comes Sparky (who also appears in Fatherhood and That's My Boy.) I tried to find the physical description I gave him in That's My Boy, but couldn't seem to do it for some reason. So he might have gotten a makeover.
Chapter 21
A few months later and they were back in the hospital again. Hinata had gone into labor. Sasuke was to put it mildly a wreck. Idly, he mused that Itachi had been right about the chakra blocking thing. In the interest of protecting his manhood, he swiftly exited the delivery room.
"I told you so. It doesn't matter how sweet the woman is beforehand, women always turn vicious during childbirth. I'm told it is the worst physical agony that a person can experience." Itachi says.
"Fine, you were right." Sasuke says with a sigh and Itachi just nods smugly.
"SNAKE!" Someone cries out seeing Aoda's head peek through the window.
Sasuke sighs. That was Aoda for you. He wanted to be right where the action was.
"Relax. He's my Summon. He's not going to hurt anyone." The younger Uchiha brother informs the terrified medical staff.
They look skeptical for a few moments, but seem to decide to take his word for it. Soon enough they return back to their regular duties. Itachi chuckles and goes over to pat Aoda on the head.
"Human labor can take a long time. It's likely she'll be in great pain. So don't fret if you hear her cry out." He explains to the giant serpent.
"Humans have evolved such a strange reproduction strategy." Aoda muses and Itachi couldn't help but nod.
Sasuke winces as he hears Hinata scream. It sounded like he was in utter agony. He wanted to go to her, but Itachi stops him.
"It's probably best you wait out here. The medics know what they are doing." His elder brother reassures him.
Hiashi soon arrives. He raises an eyebrow when he sees that Sasuke and Itachi were in the waiting room. Why was his son-in-law not with his daughter?!
"You don't want to go in there. I tried." Sasuke mutters bitterly.
"Pft. First time fathers are always so pathetic. I know my daughter. Unlike you, I won't get kicked out." He states arrogantly and marches inside the delivery room.
"I bet you dinner he gets kicked out in 10 minutes." Itachi says.
"You're on. I say five." Sasuke replies with a smirk.
"Deal." His brother agrees to the bet and they both glance at the clock to see who would win.
The pain! It was unbearable! That was the only thought racing through Hinata's mind as yet another contraction hit. Unfortunately for Hiashi, that was when he entered the room. He got a face full of not so Gentle Fist.
He blinks and looks at his daughter in disbelief. She had attacked him?! Hinata had certainly never done that before. But he supposed it was merely a reflex. She wasn't in control of herself at the moment.
"Your technique has…improved as of late." He mutters.
"Sorry, father. It just hurts so much!" Hinata says.
"Childbirth is always painful." Hiashi says and he gets a rather dirty look from one of the female medics for pointing out the obvious.
"If you are going to be an idiot, then leave." The medic orders him.
Hiashi raises an eyebrow. Did this woman not know who he was? He was Hiashi Hyuga, leader of the Hyuga Clan! Today was the day that his first grandchild was going to be born. And she had the NERVE, the unmitigated gall to try to banish him from the delivery room?!
"AHHH!" Hinata screams as another contraction hits and she almost smacks Hiashi again.
"Hinata, remember that it will be worth it in the end. I love you, my daughter." He says and makes a hasty exit, returning to the waiting room.
Sasuke smirks at Itachi. He had so won that bet. Itachi sighs and nods as if to say, "You win."
"Unbelievable. Banished from the delivery room by my own daughter." He grumbles.
"How do you think I feel? I'm her husband." Sasuke sulks and Itachi pats him on the back consolingly.
Naruto heads into the waiting room. He heard that someone saw Sasuke taking Hinata to the hospital. She was nine months pregnant, so that could only mean one thing. His Godson was about to arrive!
"Hey, bastard! Is Sparky here yet?" The blonde asks cheerfully.
"If he was here, I would be in the delivery room with Hinata. You idiot. Women don't just magically teleport the baby out of their womb instantly." Sasuke scoffs.
"You are always such a bastard. But I'm gonna let that one slide because today is the big day. You nervous?" The blue eyed ninja asks his best friend curiously.
"Me? Nervous? Ha!" Sasuke says.
"Is that why your hands are shaking, little brother?" Itachi asks in amusement.
Sasuke glowers at Itachi. He didn't particularly appreciate the other ninja pointing that out. He just couldn't get his damn hands to stop shaking.
Hours later, at about half past midnight, Sasuke heard a rather loud cry. He gets up and immediately bolts to the delivery room. That was his son, he was sure of it. (It didn't occur to Sasuke that he was in the maternity ward and it could have easily been someone else's child, he just instinctively knew.)
"Congratulations, Mr. Uchiha. You are the father of a perfectly healthy baby boy." The medic says, smiling at him.
"Thank you." He mutters quickly and darts beside Hinata's bedside.
She looked so exhausted. Her hair was a complete mess and she was panting. Sweat covered her face. But she was smiling and it was a glorious smile of complete contentment. He noticed she had a white bundle in her arms.
He frowns. Sasuke couldn't see what his son looked like. He was wrapped too tightly in the blanket.
"Hinata, are you alright?" Sasuke asks and kisses her forehead.
"It hurt so badly. I'd rather face Pein a thousand times over enduring that pain. But it was worth it. He's so sweet, Sasuke." She says with a smile and hands him the bundle.
"Remember to support the back of the neck." The medic instructs the new father.
Sasuke nods and places one arm around his son's back and the other behind his head. He moves the blanket just enough so he could see his face. He smiles.
Adorable. His son was truly adorable. He had Hinata's lavender eyes. Definitely Hyuga eyes. The most adorable biggest bubble eyes that Sasuke had ever seen in his life. He had also inherited Hinata's skin tone and her little button nose. His hair though he'd definitely gotten from Sasuke. It was midnight black and already showed the telltale signs of being naturally spiky. His son definitely had his facial features. You only had to take one look at him to realize who his father was.
"He's perfect, Hinata." Sasuke says and rocks Arashi gently in his arms.
Hinata was about to tell Sasuke that he damn well BETTER be perfect after what she went through. But she smiles when she sees the look on her husband's face. Sasuke clearly already adored their son. It was so cute, that she couldn't be angry.
"Yes, he is." She says with a smile.
"And you are going to be rather spoiled, I'm afraid." Sasuke muses as he plays with Arashi's tiny little hands.
"What do you mean?" Hinata asks.
"Most women don't have breasts as glorious as yours." Sasuke says with a smirk, smiling down at his son.
"SASUKE!" Hinata shrieks and blushes scarlet red.
Arashi coos. He knew this voice. So this must be daddy. He yawns cutely and enjoys being rocked. He was tired. It had been a long day.
"I think he's falling asleep." Sasuke murmurs and gently hands him back to Hinata, who nods.
"You should get some rest too, kitten." Her husband says and caresses her cheek affectionately.
"I can't until the Welcome Committee is done with their greetings." Hinata says with an exhausted smile.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asks in confusion.
"I WANT TO SEE MY GRANDSON, RIGHT NOW! MOVE OR ELSE I WILL LOCK UP ALL YOUR CHAKRA POINTS, YOU OLD HAG!" Hiashi roars at the medic.
"Excuse me?!" The medic fires right back at him.
"You heard me. You will move or be moved." The Hyuga Patriarch informs her.
Hinata rubs the back of her head sheepishly. Well her father was definitely excited to meet his grandson. That had to be a good sign right? She just wished he wouldn't agitate the hospital staff so much.
"It's alright. Please let him in." She calls out softly.
She hears the medic muttering less than flattering things under her breath. Hinata couldn't blame her. Her father could be difficult to deal with at times. Hiashi didn't need to be told twice, he races inside the room.
"Let me see him. Is he healthy?" Hiashi demands.
"Perfectly healthy." Sasuke answers and Hinata shakes her head in amusement, handing Hiashi the little bundle of joy.
Hiashi smiles. He looks down at his grandson proudly. Ah ha! He had Hinata's eyes, maybe that was a sign he'd only display the Byakugan? Maybe he'd have both. Maybe it was just his natural eye color. He wasn't sure. He didn't care.
He continues his physical assessment of the baby. He definitely had Hinta's skin and her nose. The rest of this child though was purely Sasuke. Hmm that was quite a bit of hair for a newborn and it looked like it was going to be just as spiky as Sasuke's.
"He is truly a wonder, Hinata. You did so well. I am proud of you my daughter. And I am surprised at you, Sasuke. You sired such an adorable looking child. I half expected him to be born with fangs and claws." Hiashi muses.
"I think the world is going to end. Did your father just tell a joke?" Sasuke asks Hinata.
"I think he did." Hinata says and giggles.
Naruto heard the commotion. There was no way he wasn't going to see the bastard's kid! He darts into the delivery room, much to the medic's dismay.
"Is that him?" Naruto asks, looking at Hiashi holding the baby.
"No, loser. It's the other baby in the room." Sasuke says sarcastically and Naruto shakes his had at Sasuke's bastardlyness. (He didn't care that bastardlyness wasn't a real word because it fit!)
"Awe he's so cute. Guess he took after Hinata. God knows your ass isn't that cute!" Naruto muses.
"Actually, Sasuke does have a very nice ass." Hinata says.
"I didn't need to hear that! I really didn't need to hear that. Hey, Sparky!" Naruto says happily and tries to avoid being traumatized by thoughts of Sasuke's backside.
"Thank you." Sasuke says to Hinata, smugly.
"I would like to see my nephew." Itachi says as he walks in with Konan, who apparently had shown up at some point during all the chaos.
Itachi walks over and looks down at Arashi. He smiles. He definitely had Hinata's eye color, but Sasuke's bubble eyes from his youth. Oh and he had the famous Uchiha mane as well. Itachi wasn't an expert on babies, but he figured that was a lot of hair for a newborn.
"Truly, he is a wonder." Itachi marvels.
"Hey! What about us?!" Suigetsu grumbles as Team Hawk makes their way inside the delivery room and the medic shrieks about it being overcrowded.
"Awe. He's such a cute little rugrat." Suigetsu says looking at the baby.
"He looks just like you, Sasuke. Well he has Hinata's eyes." Karin adds as an afterthought.
"When he gets his teeth, I'll take him to the candy shop and he can pick out whatever he wants." Jugo comments.
"What?! My grandson is not going to get fat off of candy!" Hiashi protests.
"Oh boy." Sasuke mutters as Jugo and Hiashi square off on the merits and demerits of candy.
"Can I see the hatchling?" Aoda says, peering in through the window.
Sasuke shakes his head in amusement and holds his son by the window. He let Aoda get a look. Aoda smiles rather pleased to be included.
"A good hatchling. He'll have many females who will want to have clutches with him in a few years." Aoda observes.
"The snake…is thinking about my great grandchildren." Hiashi states.
"Aoda, really likes kids." Sasuke says with a shrug and pats the giant snake on the nose affectionately before handing Arashi to Hinata.
"EVERYONE OUT! This room is way too crowded! Everyone out besides the mother, father, baby, grandfather, and uncle." The medic puts her foot down and everyone scrambles out of there.
"I see what you meant by the Welcome Committee." Sasuke muses to Hinata and kisses her.
"Mhm." She agrees and kisses back.
"Aoda is right though. I imagine he'll be quite the heartbreaker. I remember how the girls used to chase Sasuke." Itachi muses.
"Oh God. I hope not. Fangirls were the bane of my existence back then." Sasuke mutters.
Itachi chuckles. It was a most amusing thought. He smiles at his nephew. Arashi was truly the spitting image of his father, in more ways than one…as the medic was about to find out.
"I have to give him his vaccinations." She states and the parents nod.
Arashi looks up at the healer. He didn't know her. Hmm…what was that thing she had in her hand? He soon finds out what a needle was and lets out a wail. His body suddenly turned blue with a crude version of the Chidori and sparked the ever living Hell out of that medic.
"AHHHH!" She cries out in pain.
"I don't think he likes needles." Sasuke observes.
"You think?!" The medic asks and couldn't wraps her mind around the fact that a NEWBORN had just ELECTROCUTED her!
"Oh yes, he definitely takes after you." Itachi says and Sasuke smiles smugly.
"Arashi, be nice to the nice doctor." Hinata murmurs at her son.
The medic clearly hadn't learned her lesson. She tries to give Sparky a second vaccination and he sparked her again. Hinata and Sasuke rub the back of their head sheepishly.
"He'll wear himself out soon. I doubt a baby can keep that up for long. Didn't you say Sasuke that when you first learned the Chidori, you could only use it twice?" Itachi asks.
"Yes, I did say that. Poor thing is going to wear himself out." Sasuke states.
"Poor thing?! He electrocuted me, twice!" The medic says in outrage.
"He's just a baby. He thinks you are attacking him." Sasuke says, shrugging it off, as if it was perfectly normal for a newborn to spark someone.
Three years later, Hinata smiles as she sees Sparky get into Pouncing Position. Sasuke had just returned home from work, having taken a position as Naruto's bodyguard. (Which most of the time was more of an adversary role. Let's face it, who was dumb enough to attack Naruto at this point?).
Sparky liked to try to sneak up on his father. It was his favorite game. Sasuke happily indulged him by letting the boy THINK that he had managed to sneak up on him. In reality, Hinata doubted that very many people could have managed it.
"Hinata, I'm home UMPF." Sasuke says as a black, white, and red blur lunged at him from behind the corner in the closest thing a three year old could manage to a tackle. (Sparky was wearing a red shirt and matching pants, hence the red part of the blur.)
"Daddy!" Sparky says happily and Sasuke shakes his head in amusement, wrapping his arms around his son.
It had been a close call, but he manages not to get toppled over. Sparky was growing rapidly now. Pretty soon his little bundle of joy was going to knock Sasuke on his ass one of these days.
"Sparky." He says with a smile.
"The baby kicked!" He says excitedly.
"Oh did she? That's very good news." Sasuke says and scoops up Sparky, letting him ride on his shoulders as he makes his way to Hinata.
"I missed you." Hinata says and kisses Sasuke.
"I missed you to. But someone has to make sure the loser doesn't run this village into the ground. There never was a ninja with such a bad case of A.D.D. I swear if a butterfly lands on his desk, he's distracted the entire day." Sasuke says
"Kissing! Yuck." Sparky declares and settles into his favorite "chair," Sasuke's shoulders.
Sasuke smiles in amusement. He gave it about ten years, maybe a little more before Arashi changed his mind. Sparky, as Naruto had so affectionately nicknamed him, was your typical three year old.
He enjoyed his piggyback rides. Loved to play, particularly the pouncing game. And he was extremely proud of his ability to make what he called, Spark sparks! In reality, it was an unrefined version of the Chidori. It seemed to work almost like Gaara's sand. It was an instinct as much as anything else.
"There's my favorite nephew." Itachi muses as he walks through the door and pokes Arashi on the forehead.
"Owe! Silly Uncle Itachi. I'm your only nephew." Arashi says and rubs his forehead.
"It still counts. You're getting so big, soon you won't be able to ride on Sasuke's back." Itachi replies with a chuckle.
Arashi looks horrified at the thought. Sasuke reassures him that he had at least a couple more years before he was too big. The younger Uchiha brother had decided 6 or 7 was the oldest he was going to indulge Arashi in these rides. By then, he hoped he would outgrow them. As adorable as it was, at some point it would just look odd. He definitely wasn't going to piggyback ride him around the village when he was a teenager.
"How is Konan and Yumi?" Sasuke asks.
"Both are fine. Yumi is babbling more. I think she'll say her first words soon." Itachi replies.
Yumi was Konan and Itachi's daughter. She was two years younger than her cousin. She had blue hair and black eyes. Yumi also had Itachi wrapped around her little fingers, Sasuke thought with a smirk.
"That's good." Sasuke says.
"You didn't wait too long before getting her pregnant again. I see my brother is very…attentive." Itachi muses.
"Page 36." Hinata mumbles with a blush and Sasuke sets Arashi down, wrapping his arms around his wife's waist, and nuzzles her affectionately.
"Ah. Well that explains that. Fun night, I take it?" He asks.
"You have no idea." Sasuke says with a smirk.
"What's on page 36?" Arashi asks innocently.
"You'll find out when you are older. MUCH, older." Sasuke tells his son.
"Awe. Why does everyone always say that? I can read! I'm smart!" Sparky protests.
Sasuke rubs the back of his head sheepishly. Itachi was very much a doting uncle and was teaching Arashi to read. Though he doubted the three year old could read anything more complicated than a children's book at this point, it was still impressive. He was going to be significantly ahead of most of his peers when he finally enrolled in the Academy. But still, he definitely wasn't letting Sparky find out about page 36 for a long, long time.
"He is very articulate for a three year old. Just don't let them have him graduate the Academy early, like I did. That never ends well." Itachi mutters.
"Got it." Sasuke agrees.
Hinata smiles and leans into Sasuke's hold. She never would have imagined her mission would end up like THIS. The bluenette never got over how warm Sasuke was physically. Being from a Fire Clan had its advantages, she supposed.
"Mind if I hang out here for awhile?" Suigetsu says, walking inside.
"What happened this time?" Sasuke asks and raises an eyebrow.
"Eh. I got Karin a sexy maid outfit for her birthday. I guess it just isn't her thing." Suigetsu says and rubs his bruising cheek.
"Sexy maid does have possibilities." Itachi and Sasuke muse.
"What's a sexy maid?" Arashi asks.
"You are too young to know." Itachi says and pokes the little boy's forehead again.
"WHY DOES NO ONE EVER TELL ME ANYTHING?!" Sparky grumbles.
"We will explain it when you are older, much older." Sasuke says and scoops up his son, spinning him around.
Sparky liked to be spun around. Honestly, Sasuke had no idea how his brains hadn't been scrambled yet. But as he seemed to enjoy it, well Sasuke was nothing if not an indulgent father.
"Can we go to the candy shop, now?" Sparky asks.
"Alright. Alright. Hinata, do you want to go?" Sasuke asks.
"Mhm. I'm craving sweets lately." The pregnant woman admits and heads off with her husband and son, leaving Suigetsu and Itachi to house sit, along with Aoda.
Aoda was their guard snake. Because honestly, who better to watch your house than a snake the size of a two story building? Suffice to say, they never had to worry about robbers.