Always and Forever
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews.I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 25
A month later and the Uchiha Clan now had three new members by blood and one by adoption. Currently, the Uchiha brothers were sitting in their respective lovers' laps and watching as the twins met their cousins. All four men thought that this was rather adorable to put it mildly.
The Uchiha sisters were slightly older and therefore bigger. Sasuke thought that his daughters might actually realize this. They seemed a bit smug. Then again, he might be imagining it.
Sasuke was intelligent enough to realize he might be projecting his own feelings onto his daughters. After all, his daughters were slightly older than Itachi's children. He couldn't help but feel smug at that knowledge.
"Why did you name the eldest Kosuke, anyway?" Sasuke asks his brother.
"It means rising Sun. He was born just as the Sun was rising and hasn't missed a sunrise since." Itachi replies.
Kosuke was Itachi's biological son. He had his father's midnight black hair and facial features. Yes, that included the markings on his face. Surprisingly, he had inherited the ivory cream skin tone of his uncle though. Even more shocking was that the baby's eyes were identical to his mother. They were pure gold.
Nothing seemed to rattle the infant. He wasn't scared of his cousins or his adoptive brother. He rarely cried and was just quietly glancing around his surroundings. Yes, this was definitely Itachi's son, Sasuke muses.
"Bit annoying really. He wakes us up every day at the crack of dawn, but the brat is too cute to stay mad at him." Kisame muses as he kisses Itachi's cheek.
"Did you just call our son a brat?!" Itachi glowers at him.
Sometimes he wished that he still had the Sharingan. That would make his glowers much more effective. Kisame deserved a rather scathing one for such a comment.
"With love, of course. He's a good brat. Also without your freaky eye thing, you just aren't as scary looking when you do that. I like the new eyes though. They are very pretty to look at. Obviously, I prefer the originals though." The Akatsuki member informs him nervously.
"The glower was effective. You're babbling. I'm satisfied." Itachi mutters.
"Well if you REALLY want to be satisfied, maybe your kid brother and his boy toy will agree to watch the kids for a couple days." The blue skinned man says and Itachi just rolls his eyes playfully at his lover's antics.
Nori giggles as if he understood what his parents were saying. He was Kisame's biological son. The only child of the four who wasn't an Uchiha by blood. To say the least, he was more exotic than his cousins and brother.
The baby had dark blue hair like Kisame. Mercifully, he hadn't inherited his father's aquatic colored skin. His skin tone was closer to Itachi's really. Nori had dark green eyes like his mother. He did take after Kisame in one more key area though. His teeth.
"I can't believe that kid was born with a full set of teeth." Naruto observes.
"Eh. He takes after me. Itachi insisted we formula feed him for obvious reasons though." Kisame says as he messes up his son's hair affectionately.
Sasuke nods in approval. Nori's teeth weren't as sharp as his father's yet, but they were pretty sharp. He mentally winces as he pictures someone trying to nurse that baby.
"So why did you name him Nori?" Naruto asks.
"Oh it means belief. I believed that eventually Itachi would stop playing the part of a martyr and not get his sexy ass killed. So I thought it was fitting." The shark toothed man says cheerfully and Itachi twitches.
"Adorable, Kisame. Truly." The eldest Uchiha grumbles.
Sasuke smiles as he watches the newborns all "play" together. Mostly they were just looking at each other and occasionally making small movements. His daughters were only two months old and the other couple's children were even younger. At this point, there wasn't much they could do.
Nori was by far the most active though. Kushina was the most vocal and aggressive. Kosuke was definitely serene. Mikoto seemed the most aware of her environment. She kept glancing back at the parents as much as at her playmates.
"They really are cute though." Kisame says.
"Yeah. How could they not be? I mean they have great genes." Naruto says cockily and that's when they heard a knock on the door.
Naruto goes to answer it and blinks when he saw a messenger. A Leaf Villager messenger at that. Oh that couldn't be good.
"Lord Naruto, forgive me for intruding, but Lady Tsunade instructed me to give you this." He says as he hands the other man the scroll.
That immediately got Sasuke's attention. He quickly got up and was at his Mate's side in an instant. He recognized that uniform. That brown eyed ninja was definitely from the Leaf Village. Instantly, he was on high alert.
"What does it say?" Sasuke whispers.
Dear Naruto and Sasuke,
I am going to be visiting the Sound in the next few days. I believe it is time that the Leaf and Sound try to move beyond the rather unpleasant past with each other. I do hope that we can work out a peaceful coexistence.
That and I can't deny that I am eager to meet your twins. I heard that you had two daughters? Identical? You two are going to have your hands full in the next few years.
Sincerely, Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.
Sasuke frowns. He didn't like the sound of that. Of course, he knew that it was only natural. Tsunade was going to want to come to the Sound Village sooner or later. She'd be an idiot not to do so.
"What do you think about this?" Sasuke whispers.
"I don't really like it, but we can't exactly say no. If we say no, she'll get suspicious. We'll figure something out. We always do." Naruto says.
Meanwhile in the Sand Village, Gaara got Mei her cupcakes. The cupcakes had a ridiculous amount of frosting on them. Apparently, their child had a sweet tooth.
It still fascinated him to know that there was another human being inside his wife's womb. A human being who was very hungry and perhaps a Taijutsu Specialist in the making. Their child kicked a lot.
"Here you go. How are you feeling, besides hungry?" Gaara asks.
"Oh I'm fine. I am worried about Naruto and Sasuke. Tsunade is eventually going to want to see their children. The twins look too much like them for the Hokage to sincerely believe that only one of them is the biological father. What if she asks too many questions?" The pregnant woman inquires.
Gaara sighs. It was something that he had spent quite a bit of time pondering. Mikoto and Kushina did look a great deal like both of their parents. Tsunade was bound to ask and he could only hope that his friends had a good excuse ready.
"I don't know, but she can't prove it without a paternity test. She can't conduct one of those without consent. Tsunade isn't going to get consent from either of them. Perhaps they will simply say they found a surrogate that looked a great deal like both of them because they wanted their twins to resemble both Naruto and Sasuke?" The red head suggests.
"I'm not entirely certain that she would buy it." Mei says.
Gaara sighs and nods in agreement. Well one could hope anyway. Still there wasn't much they could do about it at the moment and he did have a lot of matters to attend to.
"Well things seem to be on track for the International Academy." He muses.
"Mmm. I know what you are doing. You are trying to change the subject, so that you won't worry as much. You're lucky that I'm a kind woman and I'm going to humor you. I'm glad that the Academy is coming along nice though." She informs him and kisses his cheek.
"Yes, I'm very fortunate to have married such a kind woman. Now I do believe that they should spend at least a year in their home village's Academy. We don't want accusations of violating the sovereignty of other villages." He muses.
Mei couldn't disagree with that. A child should get to know their own village first before being thrust into another. That way they had some sort of worldview. A baseline to build from.
"That sounds like a good idea to me. Anything else?" She inquires as she bites into her cupcakes.
"I think that the various lesson plans should be tailored towards a child's age. That seems only proper, really." He adds.
"That's true. There are some weapons that you just don't want a ten year old messing with. No matter how gifted they might be." The pregnant woman replies.
"True enough." Gaara agrees as he glances over the mountain of paperwork that he had to finish.
It was far from the most glamorous aspect of his job. Still he knew that it had to be done. If he was going to make an International Academy, that meant that the Kazekage was going to have to battle and defeat the dreaded Paperwork Monster of Doom. Life just wasn't fair sometimes, he muses to himself.
A few days later, Tsunade arrives in the Sound. The entire Sound Village was aware of her arrival. To say the least, she received a rather frosty, though civil reception.
Most of the people in the Sound had been in the Bingo Book. A year ago, she would have arrested or killed them on sight. While their ethics might be questionable, most Sound Villagers weren't stupid. They knew this and that was why the atmosphere was suddenly very, very tense.
"Hey, Granny Tsunade! Sorry, about all this. I mean things got kinda crazy. Glad you could make it." Naruto says happily.
Maybe somehow they would get through this. Somehow Tsunade could have a look around and wouldn't ask too many questions. Perhaps she wouldn't notice that the twins looked too much like Sasuke and Naruto for it to be a coincidence and somehow she wouldn't find out the truth about Sakura.
"It's amazing really. Sakura somehow manages to be annoying, even in death. Sasuke was certainly right about her. I have to give our Mate that much." Kurama mutters in annoyance.
"Kurama! That's not very nice. Sakura was our friend. She meant well. I just couldn't risk losing Sasuke and the twins over her. That's all. I didn't enjoy killing her and she wasn't annoying." Naruto protests.
Tsunade smiles at Naruto. Well he seemed the same. If she tried, she could easily imagine that this last year hadn't happened. She could fool herself into believing that Naruto was still a Leaf Ninja and that Sakura was still alive. As tempting as that fantasy was, Tsunade knew that she couldn't indulge in it for too long.
This was reality. She had to live in the real world. Living in a dream world would only make reality even more painful when she woke up from her dream. Yes, she had to move forward. It's what Sakura would have wanted.
"I'm glad too. Well I have to say that I'm impressed. If I didn't know any better, I would say this was a respectable ninja village. Everything seems rather well organized." She muses.
"Hey! It IS a respectable ninja village. Yeah, most of these people had colorful histories before coming here, but things are different now. We are the real deal." The blue eyed ninja says brightly.
Tsunade doubted that. Maybe the Sound Villagers were good at putting on an acceptable public face. Still a leopard couldn't change its spots. She doubted that ninjas were much different in this capacity.
"Well I wish you all the luck in the world. I can't wait to meet your daughters. Where is Sasuke?" She inquires.
"I'm right here." Sasuke says as he pushes a stroller towards her.
He couldn't believe he was doing this. His every instinct was screaming at him to keep the twins as far away from Tsunade as possible. It wasn't because he thought that the medic would hurt innocent babies, but because of their strong resemblance to him and Naruto.
The busty blonde might realize something was up. She was highly intelligent. Even worse, she was a medic. Tsunade knew all about genetics and the odds of them being able to find a surrogate who looked enough like Naruto for this to be believable, were low. Damn it.
"Ah it's good to see you again, Sasuke. How are your girls doing?" She asks curiously as she heads over to the strollers.
"They are thriving." The raven haired man informs her proudly.
There was a subtle hint of steel to his voice. Sasuke didn't come out and say it directly, but the implication was rather clear. "They are thriving and they are going to say that way."
"That's wonderful news. I'm glad." The cinnamon eyed woman says as she leans over into the stroller.
She smiles. Well they were certainly adorable. They had Sasuke's dark hair, fair skin, and face. Other than Naruto's smile. They definitely had Naruto's smile. Oh and those gorgeous blue eyes and adorable whiskers were show stoppers.
Wait. The girls shouldn't have Naruto's features. Sasuke was the only biological father. Something was amiss here. She bites her lower lip and decides to pretend she hadn't noticed. She'd get to the bottom of this soon.
"They're adorable." Tsunade says.
"Yes, they are. They're really well behaved too!" The blonde says happily.
They spent the rest of the day showing Tsunade around. As night began to approach, the Hokage was forced to privately admit that they seemed to know what they were doing. She didn't know if that was supposed to make her feel better or worse though.
"Good night, Granny Tsunade. The girls have had a long day and it's probably best we put them to bed." Naruto says.
"Of course. I'll see you in the morning." The busty blonde says as she heads off.
Once Naruto and Sasuke were home and put the twins to bed, Sasuke sighs heavily. Tsunade hadn't come out and said it, but he knew. He knew that she knew that Mikoto and Kushina were their biological daughters.
He doubted very much that she had figured out how that was possible, but that was only a matter of time. The Uchiha knew that he would have to act quickly to protect his family. It wouldn't be pretty, but he knew what was required of him.
"It's going to be okay, Bastard. I know you're worried, but don't be. Everything is going great so far." Naruto says as he kisses his lover.
Sasuke smiles and kisses back. He loved Naruto. He loved his loveable dumb blonde and their children more than anything. If that meant he had to do something unsavory to protect them, then so be it.
"Yeah. You're right. That was really stressful though. I think a long, hot bubble bath might be just what we need to relax." Sasuke says.
Fortunately, Naruto was easily distracted. That was one of the things that Sasuke really appreciated about his Mate. He was both the most unpredictable ninja and the most predictable at the same time.
They spent most of the night together. At some point, they had made it to the bed. Sasuke smiles as he watches his sleeping lover and brushes the bangs out of his eyes.
"You protected us before. Now it's my turn to protect our family. You don't have to have anymore blood on your hands." Sasuke whispers.
Naruto was a mercifully heavy sleeper. The raven haired father knew that he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Despite this, he writes him a note anyway. He didn't want to risk that the blonde might wake up, while he was out and come looking for him.
Dear Naruto,
We were running low on formula. I went out to get some. I'll be back soon.
Love, Sasuke.
It wasn't a complete lie. They were running low on formula and he fully intended to pick some up. He just didn't mention that he was planning to kill the Hokage.
With that in mind, he swiftly heads to the hotel that Tsunade was staying in. It was pouring down rain and he planned to use that to his advantage. If nothing else, Sasuke was a master tactician.
It didn't take him long to get to Tsunade's room. Sasuke knocks on it. Scarcely a minute later, the busty blonde answered the door.
"Oh good morning, Sasuke. It's rather early for a visit. Isn't it? Would you like some tea or sake?" The Hokage asks.
"Tea would be fine. I know that it's early, but I think that we should talk. About the twins. I saw the way you looked at them." He states bluntly.
That made Tsunade's blood run cold. She had thought that she had successfully hidden her initial reaction. Mentally, she scolds herself. Of course, Sasuke was going to notice. He was very observant and most of all protective of his daughters. If someone looked at those kids funny, Papa Bear was going to come out to play and quickly.
"I have no idea what you mean." She protests.
"Tsunade, don't play dumb. It's an insult to both of our intelligence. You know that Mikoto and Kushina are mine AND Naruto's biologically." He seethes at her.
"Yes. What I don't understand is how?" The Leaf Villager replies in confusion.
Sasuke sighs. Well he was going to kill her. He supposed it wouldn't matter if she knew the truth or not.
"I used the Sexy Jutsu and carried them." He informs her.
Tsunade blinks. How was that even medically possible? More importantly though, how did Naruto get the proud Uchiha to agree to such a thing?
That's when it clicked. Sakura had taken her own life while their "surrogate" was pregnant. She had done so shortly after visiting the Sound. Sakura hadn't committed suicide. Her apprentice was murdered!
"You killed her! You killed Sakura! You filthy, backstabbing murderer! Poor Naruto has no idea what sort of vile treacherous, snake you really are!" Tsunade snarls at him.
"Actually, I didn't kill her. You see, Naruto most of the time is an angel. He can become a demon really quickly when it comes to protecting our family though. He's the one that did it. It doesn't really matter though." Sasuke says as he approaches her menacingly causing her to back up.
Slowly but surely, he kept walking towards her. Each time he did, she took a step back. Finally, they were on the balcony. Sasuke smirks. Perfect.
"YOU CORRUPTED HIM! YOU TURNED NARUTO INTO A KILLER!" The Hokage accuses him.
"Maybe I did corrupt him. Maybe deep down he was just like me all along. I don't know. Like I said, it doesn't matter. You are going to be joining Sakura soon enough anyway." The raven haired man informs her in a bored tone.
"OH YEAH?! TAKE THIS!" Tsunade says as she slams her fist into the floor of the balcony.
Her intention was to have it crumble and have him fall to his death. His neck would be snapped instantly. If that didn't do it, the rubble would crush him to death.
It didn't work out that way. Sasuke summoned Garuda just as the balcony was giving way and got on the bird's back. Tsunade had managed to cling to the edge, probably as she planned.
"It's nothing personal. I just can't have you tattling that Naruto killed Sakura. It'd set off another Great Ninja War. Garuda, shove her off." Sasuke says simply.
The Summon did as asked. Tsunade flails desperately as she tries to grab onto anything to keep her from falling. It didn't work though. She landed with a loud crash and Sasuke noted afterwards, she wasn't moving.
"Looks like her neck was snapped. Good. Good boy." Sasuke says smugly as he pets the Summon and has him fly him back to their home.
It was storming so badly and still dark enough out, that it was unlikely anyone had noticed the Summon. Sasuke mentally patted himself on the back for successfully carrying out his plan. It had worked like a charm.
When he found out that Tsunade was coming, he quickly gathered a lot of terminates and set them in the balcony of the Kage Suite. Only visiting Kages could use it. So he knew no one else would have to die with Tsunade.
"When they check, they will assume the rain caused her to slip and fall. Her weight caused the already weak wooden balcony to break and that she snapped her neck during the fall. A tragedy, but not one worth going to war over." He muses to himself.
A few moments later, Sasuke bounds through the door. He hoped that Naruto was still asleep. He wasn't. Damn.
"You forgot the formula." Naruto says.
"Yeah. I'll go out again. Sorry. I just got a bit sidetracked." Sasuke says.
"Sasuke, we have the Mating Bond. I can feel what you feel. I know you aren't lying to me, but don't treat me like I'm completely clueless. Did you kill her?" He demands.
Sasuke had the decency to look at his feet in contrition. Yeah. He killed her. Yeah. He'd do it again in a heartbeat. Sasuke would do anything to protect his family.
"Yes, I killed her. I killed her just like you killed Sakura. I did it for our family." The young father snaps at him.
"How'd you do it? Did she suffer?" The blonde demands.
"She fell off the balcony and snapped her neck. They'll never know that I did it. This way there won't be a war and she can't hurt us. It was over instantly. She didn't suffer. I'm sorry, Naruto. I know that you were fond of her." Sasuke says with a sigh.
Naruto shakes his head. He did love Granny Tsunade. He had liked Sakura too, but he loved his family more.
"It's okay. You did what had to be done. Now we don't have to worry about the Leaf ruining everything anymore." He says and Sasuke smiles.
"Yes, exactly." Sasuke says and suddenly Kushina starts crying.
"Though it would have been nice, if you really did pick up some milk. I think we have a couple bottles left though." Naruto says as he heads off to feed his more boisterous daughter.
Sasuke smiles and follows Naruto. He watches as his lover feeds Kushina and scoops up Mikoto in his arms. It was such a surreal experience. She looked enough like her grandmother, that it was like holding a ghost. That just made him even more protective of her through and Kushina.
"Don't worry. The Leaf won't get another chance to hurt our family." Sasuke says and he smiles as Mikoto coos happily, as if she understood him.