Title: Naruto & Sasuke: ...Daddy Potential? (N.S.D.P.)
Author: PrettyKitty93
Warnings: Mild Language, Suggestive Acts, Lemons/Limes in some chapters, slightly incestuous in some chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series or any of the characters, they are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is just for fun, I do not make any money from this fic.
Author's Notes: Kind of late, but I forgot to mention in the last chapter what the triplets' names meant. Not very important but you might find them kind of interesting. The girl, Kasumi (who looks like Kisame with her light blue skin and her long navy hair) her name means "mist" in japanese. The boy Katsuo (who looks like a mixture of them with his pale skin and navy hair) his name means "victorious child" while Tetsuo (the one who looks like Itachi with pale skin and black hair) his name means "wise hero". I think why I picked Kasumi's name is kind of obvious, with the added bonus that it kind of sounds like Kisame. I picked Katsuo's b/c it seems like Kisame would consider being victorious more important, while I picked Tetsuo's b/c it seemed like Itachi would find being wise and smart more important, plus they rhymed.
Anyways, hope you all enjoy the next chapter! :) Its extra long, because I always have time to update when I'm sick in bed with nothing but my laptop to keep me company, haha.
N.S.D.P.
Extra Twenty Five: Memories and Heartache
Miyaki was prancing around the house, holding a cookbook, excited as can be. "I think I know just the perfect cake to make for this weekend, it's going to be sooo fucking good I can just imagine it now. I can imagine it's taste all pineapple-y and lemony…"
"I can't wait," Riku remarked from his spot, sitting on the couch, with a grin.
"And I ordered the balloons too, aqua and blue, her favorite colors," Miyaki added, putting a post-it note on the page where the recipe for the cake was. "Now, I've just got to think of some good appetizers and snacks to make, plus get a CD of her favorite music…"
"I've never seen someone so excited for someone else's birthday party before," Riku laughed. "You're a really good friend."
"Well, I went all out for your twenty-first birthday too, remember?"
"You made so many things that had alcohol in it, plus the actual alcohol, that we got so wasted everyone crashed on the living room floor!"
"And was that not a fun twenty-first birthday?"
"It was appropriate, I'll just say that much. Even poor Shiori got a little tipsy herself, it was funny," Riku recalled fondly, laughing at the thought of buzzed Shiori and drunk Miyaki. Along with Namkishi, those three were the most fun, best drunks ever. "And that was not including everything we did the night before the party…"
"That was the best part!" Miyaki laughed, plopping down in Riku's lap, draping his arms over the other's shoulders, before kissing him.
"Damn right, you were the best part of my entire birthday, I loved my party," the brunette spoke, his voice lower, mouth close to the other man's ear as his hands fell to Miyaki's waist.
"Well I'm glad you loved your party Riku," Miyaki teased, "But, I think I know where you're going with this and I have a recipe book to find! We'll do stuff later."
Riku visibly pouted as Miyaki slipped away from him, prancing off to go find his keys. "I'm going to my parents' house, maybe I left it over there…"
The brunette nodded, turning back to the television as the hyperactive raven left the house for the short walk to his parents'.
XXXXX
That evening, he was walking to the grocery store, with a bundle of around twenty or so blue and aqua balloons in hand. He had just left the party store, but was starting to question whether picking up the balloons first was such a good idea. It was going to be very awkward trying to shop for ingredients while carrying all those balloons, but he could make it work somehow.
He idly thought of a few days ago, before Shiori left on her mission, when she was shopping around for a party outfit and insisted that she wanted Miyaki to tag along for his opinion. The raven wasn't really much of a shopper but, he figured it wouldn't be too hard just to offer his manly opinion of her outfit. At first it struck him as kind of funny because she never really used to care much about what she wore, however time does fly and she was turning eighteen, so maybe her opinions had changed? Whatever she normally wore looked okay in his opinion, but she and Shikamaru tended to get in arguments over her choices of clothing.
Naruto said it was a typical dad thing, that men didn't want to see their daughters looking so sexy, because they knew first hand how the boys notice from when they were younger themselves. But the girls want to wear what they want, so that was something they kind of butt heads on ever since she's gotten old enough to wear "sexy" stuff. Miyaki could partially understand from a very odd stance because on one hand, he did think the girl looked really sexy but on the other hand, he didn't like other guys looking at her that way because he felt like they had bad intentions for his friend. Luckily, she's never dated any scumbags (or never dated at all, rather), but now that she's an adult, he might have to look out for her whether she likes it or not.
Miyaki was brought back to his senses when he noticed his former sensei Shikamaru himself walk past, and he enthusiastically called to the man. "Hey Shikamaru-sensei!"
Shikamaru gave a slight smile, before his face returned to a more neutral position. He was walking somewhat slowly, his hands in his pockets, slight slouch… not too unusual for the lazy man however, something looked off. Miyaki couldn't put his finger on it. "Good afternoon Miyaki, what are you up to with all those balloons?"
"They're for Shimi's party," Miyaki boasted proudly. "I'm going to go get ingredients for the food right now, as a matter of fact."
The older man's dull eyes widened unusually, only for a second before narrowing again as he let out a slight hiss under his breath his usual, "Troublesome."
Miyaki looked kind of confused at his sensei's sudden distaste at the mention of the party. He was sure that he didn't mind it before, even if he was kind of feeling what most dads felt when their daughters turned eighteen. "It'll be good sensei, I'm even making her favorite cake, pineapple-"
"Miyaki, can we sit for a second?"
The young Uchiha nodded, him and the older man sitting on a wooden bench off to the side, just two men and twenty-odd bright blue balloons.
"If it's about me making sure she doesn't get drunk I promise-"
"No… no Miyaki it's not that at all," he assured him.
"Well if it's about other guys-"
"Miyaki, it's fine, that doesn't matter. But I need to tell you something and I'm kind of worried about how you might take it, so please try and stay calm,"
Miyaki nodded, looking at how discomfortingly intense Shikamaru looked, even if he was looking down at his hands that now held a single unlit cigarette, toying with it. He was now beginning to feel uncomfortable, and he really wanted to leave, because he had a strong feeling that he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear. And he still needed to get the ingredients to bake Shimi her cake before the store closed.
"I just found out that Shiori passed away,"
Click. The subtle sound of a lighter, and the smell of a cigarette. He was clearly trying to distract himself. He wished the least of his worries right now were his daughter's dress being too short, or her getting drunk, or having sex.
"Sensei, are you…" Miyaki started, before stopping himself. He wanted to ask if this was some kind of cruel joke, but Shikamaru wasn't really the type to joke, especially about something like this. "She can't be, what about her party? She's going to be eighteen."
"Was Miyaki," he sighed.
"It must be some kind of mistake, I mean, couldn't they have like…" Miyaki racked his brain for some kind of plausible excuse. But when someone died on the course of a mission, they didn't tend to make mistakes about that kind of thing. It happened, but never to anyone he knew. None of his friends, family, ever died on missions, it just can't happen. Not one of his best friends in the whole entire world. They were going to grow up together, hell they were practically born together. They were close back when neither of them could hardly speak.
"Miyaki," Shikamaru spoke, placing his hand on Miyaki's shoulder. It made him wonder how long had he been silent. Time felt heavy now, slow moving and thick, and the world just felt a little bit emptier. The balloons felt too heavy, and he barely registered that they had slipped from his hands, all twenty-something of them. They didn't matter anymore, as he watched them all float into the clear, blue sky, eventually turning into little specks of blue that eventually melded with the sky.
"Miyaki…"
"I'm sorry Shikamaru-sensei," was all he could think of to reply. "I'm… gonna go home now."
XXXXX
Somehow, the young man felt himself being guided to his parents' house.
He wasn't quite sure how his feet managed to carry him there, and the walk there was a bit of a blur. He remembered seeing happy, smiling people, and wondering idly how could they be so happy when his sunshine was taken away? The angel whom he fondly referred to as his little sister, who he lovingly called "Shimi" because when he was little he somehow couldn't pronounce Shiori.
When he got home, he hardly registered all the noise of the triplets running around, making havoc in their 'terrible threes' and Kisame trying to round them up for dinner. He didn't even give Kushina a hug and a kiss as the little red head was sitting at the dining room table, doing her kindergarten homework. He didn't even respond when he walked past Naruto who greeted him, only to wonder why his son suddenly looked so zombie-like in comparison to when he was over earlier. Miyaki didn't feel like explaining, he just cut to the chase and asked where Sasuke was. If he wasn't home, he would just about die. Die… it sounded like such an odd word in his head.
"He's in the room, taking a nap I think. He just got home so you probably shouldn't bother…" Naruto trailed off as Miyaki, on a mission, went straight to the bedroom anyways. His father's words were wasted on him now.
True to his word, Sasuke was asleep in the huge bed with the dark grey and blue covers that they all used to sleep in together. It felt funny to crawl in beside the man, who was stirred from his slumber. Miyaki felt painfully vulnerable as Sasuke turned around in his daze, to see a spiky mop of black hair, and sweet ocean blue eyes that had tears streaming from them.
He felt like a child again for the first time in a long time, and longed for the comfort of his mama to make everything better.
"Miyaki tell me what's wrong," Sasuke asked calmly. Oh did Miyaki love the sound of Sasuke's voice, it was like he had a special tone, a special calmness about him, only for Miyaki. It was one of his favorite voices in the world.
In the back of his mind, he faintly registered how stupid this must look for a grown man of twenty one to be crying to his mom, another grown man roughly his size. But after he thought about it, he really didn't feel like a grown man of twenty-one anymore, he felt almost like he was five again. He saturated Sasuke's shirt with tears and sobs and complaints about why someone would kill his Shimi and how it wasn't fair.
Sasuke personally loathed for the day when he would have to see his son like this. He remembered the talk they had when he was little: "When you're off doing dangerous work like that, it's not always guaranteed that you or the ones you love will come back. Sometimes things happen, and… sometimes people you know might die."
It pained him to see his son so hurt and so vulnerable.
"She was gonna turn eighteen two days from now mama… and she was so excited for her birthday party," Miyaki sobbed, muffled as his head lay on Sasuke's chest. "I was excited for her… she was finally going to be all grown up, like me, she always said. She couldn't wait because she was going to be an adult like me. Its… just not fair. I can't believe it."
Hours later, Miyaki woke up to realize he was still laying with Sasuke, whom had also fallen asleep. His eyes were red and puffy, and his head hurt as he silently slipped out of the house to head back to the apartment. He needed to see how Riku was doing.
XXXXX
When Miyaki arrived back at the apartment it was dark outside and very late, and the apartment was just as dark. He walked into the bedroom, taking the path from memory, to see a dark figure laying on the bed, whom he figured wasn't doing much better than he was.
Laying beside him, he discovered that Riku was still awake, his brown hair haphazardly sticking about and his obvious appearance in discord. His eyes were wide with worry, and as he looked into Miyaki's red and clearly distressed eyes, he knew he already knew.
Thinking he didn't have enough tears to possibly cry anymore, he unintentionally proved himself wrong because for the first time ever, it only just hit him how alike Riku and Shimi looked, just for being cousins. They both had those pretty Hyuga eyes.
Not having the energy to say anything else, he just fell asleep, holding his love close.
XXXXX
Shikamaru couldn't sleep. It was three in the morning and he was sitting on a mat on the floor, looking at the shogi set as he took a drag on yet another cigarette. He was worried that he was going to end up becoming a chain smoker if he lost anyone else, but at the moment he couldn't care. It brought him a slight comfort, a distraction, at a time where he had none. He was divorced, single, and except for his occasional encounters with a certain Hyuga male, somewhat alone. It didn't bother him much, because he had his friends and old teammates Ino and Chouji, and he had his daughters Shiori and Shizuka. Even if he and Hinako didn't really get along much anymore, he still had them, and they made up his entire world.
Earlier, Ino and Chouji came over to see him as soon as they heard, and they were patient with him, which was surprising for Ino, listening to him idly ramble on about things he quite honestly couldn't figure out the connection to Shiori. However, he just talked a lot more than usual and they listened intently, even if after awhile nothing was making sense anymore. After awhile Chouji suggested that he treat him to dinner and explained how food might cheer him up a little. Ino immediately got upset, exclaiming how a mere dinner wasn't going to take his mind off his daughter, but Shikamaru complied and agreed to go out with them.
Afterwards, the trio sat in the Nara's favorite secluded spot, where he recollected about how they used to sit up there when they were younger together, before they all had kids and didn't have time anymore. Then he recalled how he used to take Shiori up there with him and they would sit up on the hill together, cloud watching. It was something they enjoyed together ever since the little girl could walk.
"Dat's a cloud daddy," the little three year-old declared proudly from her spot in her dad's lap.
"Mmm-hmm," he replied, looking at which one she was pointing to.
It was a beautiful day for sky-gazing, just him and his daughter. He needed to get away from the 'troublesome woman' that was otherwise known as his wife, because she was just all sorts of upset for no reason.
"It looks like a midden!"
He chuckled, a mitten. The weather in Konoha hardly even got cold enough for mittens.
"Dat one looks like a turdle," she cooed.
She wasn't exactly the most quiet cloud-watching partner, but she did have a wonderful insight.
"Daddy, do you like dat one? It looks like a heart,"
"I like that one a lot Shiori, do you?" he questioned.
"Me too daddy, I like it too. It's so big!" she exclaimed, grinning excitedly. "I'll reach up and give it to you daddy, because I love you dhiiiiiiiiis much!" the child spoke, her arms stretched out as wide as she possibly could. Then, the little girl proceeded to jump out her dad's lap and reach up to try and grab it.
Smiling amusingly, Shikamaru picked up the girl and held her close, before explaining, "It's fine Shiori, I don't need that heart to know you love me, I have you here with me and that's all I need. As long as I can listen to your heartbeat and know that you're still with me, I'll always love you."
Shiori laid her head against her dad's chest and giggled when she realized she could hear his heartbeat. "You're still here too daddy! I'm happy,"
It was almost dinner time, so he began to carry the girl back home. He was so amused by her innocence, how she really didn't grasp what he was saying, but he still knew she loved him anyways. Even if he was going to have another little boy or girl in a matter of months, no one could take the place of his first.
Ino was worried as they were laying there and Shikamaru was totally silent, just staring up at the sky. Quiet tears streamed down the man's cheeks, and after awhile, he finally spoke.
"That cloud… it looks like a heart."
XXXXX
About a week or so later, Miyaki was at home again, this time he was laying on the couch, with his head in Sasuke's lap. He was doing a bit better, but the date of the funeral was ever encroaching, and there was something else weighing on his mind.
"They want me to speak at the service,"
"You should,"
"I don't what to say Sasuke," Miyaki confessed.
"Just tell them everything you've told me, how wonderful she is, the memories you've had together, etcetera. People want to hear your most fondest memories about her, the good things about her, what made her special to you. Because after all, funerals are supposed to be a celebration of ones life, and it would make the Hyuuga family and the Nara family happy that she made such a big impact in your life even though you weren't related," Sasuke explained.
"You really think so?"
"Of course, otherwise you wouldn't have been asked to speak. You know her well,"
"Sasuke… do you think that I'm being a big baby, running back to you practically everyday?" Miyaki asked.
"I think that you would rather me be here when you need me, than me not be around anymore when you need someone to run to. There's no shame in it, it's no fun being alone,"
Miyaki nodded and smiled. "I'm glad that you're here for me then, I don't know how I would deal with this on my own. I realized… even if you're not a girl, you're the best mom a guy could ever ask for."
Sasuke felt pretty proud of his son's realization and, the two of them just sat there for the rest of the afternoon, Miyaki talking about what he was going to say for Shimi.
XXXXX
Shikamaru sat at the small bar in the kitchenette, looking at the bowl of fruit on the counter. It's odd how people who die leave their presence everywhere, even in the smallest of ways. In that fruit bowl, he always left pineapples and bananas, for when the girls would come visit. Shizuka loved bananas, and Shiori loved pineapples. Now he felt very melancholy over the fact there was no one to eat the pineapples now.
He was broken from his thoughts as a knock on the door grabbed his attention. Heading to the door, who did he find but Neji Hyuuga.
"Hello Shikamaru, I wanted to come check up on you, see how you were doing,"
The pony-tailed man gestured for his visitor to come in, and closed the door behind him. "I'm just letting you know, that if you're here for what I think you're here for, I'm not interested."
"I was just merely checking up on you, I had no intentions in going in that direction," Neji explained. "Although I know how things have tended to lean that way, because you have a knack of having sex to escape reality-"
"That would be you," Shikamaru corrected, feeling oddly defensive.
"Regardless, of who it was, I just came here to see if you were alright,"
"I'm as alright as possible, I'd assume, thanks for asking," the Nara retorted, moving to light another cigarette.
"Ugh Shikamaru, you really need to stop that," Neji practically scoffed, frowning as the smoke drifted through the living room. "Unless you want to die in a year from lung cancer."
"I've always smoked, you never had a problem with it before when I was fucking with you," he stated matter-of-factly, eyes almost challenging the other man.
Not one to be talked to like that, Neji added, "You never used to smoke this much either. And I've always had a problem with it, because it's like you have an inability to cope, therefore you adopt all these mechanisms like smoking to take your mind off things. You're turning it into something worse than it already was."
"Obviously there are bigger problems than how much I smoke to be dealt with,"
"Do you want Shizuka to be left sister-less and fatherless too?"
Starting to get irritated with the fact that Neji was being the furthest thing from calming right now, Shikamaru complied and ground out the cigarette in the nearby ashtray on the coffee table. "You know, you're a lot more pleasant to be around when your mouth is shut."
"It's fine, you just need someone to take out your hostility on," Neji reasoned, sitting in front of the shogi board in the corner of the room. "You can beat me in a game of shogi if that'll make you feel any better."
Shikamaru couldn't really tell if Neji was trying to be a smart ass, or if he was really trying to help at all. Even when he was trying in vain to be nice, he had a habit of sounding like an asshole at the same time. Unfortunately this game of "trying to outtalk the other" was a usual prelude of their many romps in the past, and even if neither of them were trying to go there, it seemed like their chemistry seemed to make it go there. Even if Shikamaru felt it was terribly inappropriate for the situation to be having angry sex a week after his daughter died. It was just that right now Neji was terribly turning him on and pissing him off at the same time, and he felt like taking out his hostility on the older man's ass would be appropriate.
And he didn't want to think about how nice it felt just to have a bit of companionship. Although sure, lots of people visited him all the time, expressing condolences, bringing him dinner and what not, but somehow with Neji their love-hate relationship wasn't the same.
The man in question was now staring at him, wondering if he was ever going to come over and sit with him. With a sigh, Shikamaru grudgingly agreed to indulge the man in a game of shogi. That was all.
"…Why must the people I love play shogi with always die?" Shikamaru questioned under his breath. He thought about his sensei, the comforting smell of the nicotine, the joy of when he finally beat him. And his brilliant little girl was able to beat her old man at the age of eleven. "Shizuka never really was interested but, Shiori kept challenging me ever since she was five so she would be able to beat me at a game one day."
"She really was smart, she did come from two really intelligent family lines after all,"
"I don't even think it was just that. It was just the fact that she was mine that made her so special," he confessed. He laid down the piece he was holding and got up, walking over to sit on the sofa. He couldn't stand to play this right now, it made him too upset.
Neji, giving up on that, sat beside the pony-tailed man on the couch and put an arm around him, trying to comfort him as best as possible. He slowly let out a breath, before admitting, "I know this may not help, at all, but you know I still love you. Even if I'm not good at admitting things like that, I obviously came over here to see you for a reason. You're not alone as you think. You can't be afraid to seek out companionship when you need it."
"Obviously not in the arms of a married man, Neji. So it's not really helping,"
"I know it's not necessarily the right thing to do, but you need me right now," Neji explained. "I know you don't want to need me, but this trying to be strong on your own thing is going to kill you. Its hard, we've all lost someone, but especially no parent wants to bury their child. So… as hard as this is going to be, I'm going to need you to let it all out to me."
"Neji…"
"And one more thing: you're not weak, so stop trying to be the big guy and assure everyone your alright. Because everyone else might not be able to see through that shit, but I can. You've got to let go to somebody,"
"Well," Shikamaru finally spoke, with a sharp intake of breath, before leaning against the Hyuuga. "You can just stay here, and let me pretend I still have someone. Because when I'm with you for some reason, I'm thankful for the fact that rationality doesn't seem to exist anymore."
XXXXX
Unfortunately for these kinds of things, you can only escape reality for so long before it comes knocking at your door.
As everyone at the funeral service took a single white rose to lay over her grave, Miyaki realized the sheer number of people whom knew the girl and had a special place in their heart for her, whether it be big or small. So many people knew her, whether it be the extensive amount of Hyuuga cousins, people from the academy she knew growing up, elderly people she had helped, or just her friends. And most importantly her immediate family.
After Shikamaru, Hinako, and Shizuka, respectively, it was Miyaki's turn to speak. He was nervous, but the words just flowed naturally as if though he were recounting his entire life, which seemed to include the girl. From their first playdates, to the initial screwing up of the girl's name that stuck, to grade school hijinx and the crayon drawing of the two of them he still had to this day that said best friends. He made them laugh with fond memories of the girl, and ended with the statement, "She was my little sister Shimi, and no one else's." Because she was going to just be Shimi to him, even as he read the grave once again when the service was over and everyone had dispersed.
It was beautifully carved, and read: SHIORI ASUKI NARA-HYUUGA.
Miyaki looked up to the clear sky and thought aloud, "I hope you got your balloons in time for your birthday…"
There was a gentle hand on Miyaki's shoulder that he immediately registered as Riku's. The older boy spoke, "You know, after all these years, I never knew that she went by both last names."
"I think they changed it after the divorce," Miyaki explained.
Riku just replied with an "Ahh" before looking at Miyaki, wondering if he was ready to go. The Uchiha nodded, and the men headed off towards home, taking a short cut through the more secluded part of the park. It was afternoon now and the sun was low in the sky, orange beams shining through the trees. Cicadas were chirping, and it was just the two of them once again. It was odd, because this was the first time after the death that either of the two finally felt a bit at peace.
"Miyaki… I wanted to tell you that even though I know you just lost your very best friend, I'll always be here with you," Riku spoke, breaking the silence. Miyaki smiled sweetly and the Hyuuga kept going. "Even though I know I can never take her place, I hope you and I never have to be parted like that. As long as it's in my power to, I will always come back to you at the end of the day so you always feel loved. I never want you to feel alone, and I hope I can be your best friend too, so I can always make you happy. That's why I'm saying this."
"Saying what?" Miyaki wondered.
Before he even realized what was going on, Riku had taken his right hand, while pausing to gracefully get down on one knee, before pulling out a little black box from his pocket. He opened it slowly, presenting it to the shocked man before him.
"Miyaki Nozomi Uchiha, will you please marry me?"
To Be Continued...
AN: Ok, I have lots of things to say about this chapter. One, when I initially started writing it, it almost made me cry, and I'm the author. But I felt like the now main character- Miyaki- needed to experience the loss that comes along with being a ninja, how you get older and you lose good friends in the line of duty basically.
Two, I hope the chapter didn't come off too melodramatic, I was trying to deal with all the things people felt when someone dies, because I'm sure plenty of people know how surreal it is to lose someone, especially so young.
Three, no I don't hate Shikamaru, he just somehow ends up on the bad end of my depressing chapters doesnt he? I hope i didnt make him and Neji too OOC, i always worry about them the most, lol.
Oh and one more thing, did anyone manage to catch Shiori's middle name? Yep she was named after Asuma, go figure :P
Lastly, I hope the ending surprised you all! Now I will make you all suffer and wait hahaha! I will go TRY and write DollFace now... maybe if I don't get discouraged about it again...
Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers I really appreciate you all!
Read and Review please!