A/N: Sorry about the wait. I've been very busy applying to vet school. Unfortunately, not screwing myself over for my future comes before this fic. I wish that I didn't have to worry about it and that I could write for you all every night, but 'tis not to be. I hate stress

Warprince2000: Since you apparently don't like scrolling down and reading my response to your reviews. This is something of a warning, but it's not much of a threat. If I see the same review from you again I will block you from reviewing. I'm tired of being insulted by your lazy reviews. I'm not trying to be mean or anything. I just want some respect. Thanks.

Hand in Hand

A couple lay sleeping peacefully in their bed as the day wound down. One of their children was still out for the night with his girlfriend.

Most parents would worry about them doing something inappropriate. Naruto and Hinata were not most parents. Besides, the father of the girlfriend was the Godaime Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand. He had made it clear to the young boy what would happen if he did anything that he didn't approve of. He didn't give him a list either. He wanted to keep him on his toes.

The blue haired girl grimaced in her sleep, snuggling closer to her husband for comfort. It didn't work. Even when he sleepily wrapped his arms around her she still felt ill at ease. Something was wrong. Her lavender eyes snapped open just before an explosion racked the outer walls of Konoha. Even before she had a chance to look to Naruto he was out of bed and sliding in to his pants. She blinked and his shirt was on. He extended his hand to her and motioned towards the window.

"Let's go."

He didn't have to wait long as she was as quick to get dressed as he was. In a flash they were outside, making their way towards the source of the noise. Fallen leaves whipped into the ground as the pair raced through the streets of Konoha. Before long people were starting to pour out into the streets to find out what was happening so the two shinobi were forced to take to the roofs. There feet made no sound as they ran so fast the people below couldn't even see them move.

In moments they arrived at where the wall had been breached to see several Konoha ninja already locked in combat with the attackers. One such assailant made the terrible mistake of trying to attack Naruto while he was still in shock because of suddenness of the onslaught. The sound of his ribs shattering under the Rokudaime Hokage's knuckles echoed through the city as his body made another hole in the wall. Naruto winced as he noticed whom he had hit.

"What the hell are the Sound doing here?"

Hinata slid into a fighting stance, preparing to join the battle.

"We always knew they would attack someday."

The blond just shrugged.

"Yeah, but I figured they would wait a while longer to prepare."

Suddenly Hinata's body went stiff.

"Oh no! What about Kanai and Ami?"

Naruto almost laughed at her concern. He knew what she meant, but she was severely underestimating their son and his girlfriend.

"They can take care of themselves."

As if to prove his point a sickle made of sand cleaved an unprepared sound-nin in half. Naruto smirked as the kids appeared next to him.

"Never seen your dad use that one before."

The emerald eyed girl shot a sly glance at the blond.

"My dad isn't the only one who likes to find new ways to use sand."

Naruto laughed just as his wife and son delivered jyuken hits to the hearts of two approaching sound-nins. Kanai chuckled wryly and shook his head.

"This is actually kind of boring. They're all too weak."

It seems Hinata was the only one taking this seriously. She was just about to scold the other three when another explosion ripped through the wall, pelting them with debris. A rock the size of a small house came hurtling directly towards the small group. Naruto was quick to wind up and throw what appeared to be a rasengan at the hurtling boulder. All that was left after the impact was a small cloud of dust. The entire group looked at him in shock as he smirked proudly. Kanai was the first to speak.

"When did you learn that one?"

The blond man casually scratched the back of his head as kunai and shuriken continued to fly through the air around them.

"Before you were born." He winked as he continued. "I like to have some secrets from you guys." Then he placed his finger to his lips. "Shhh. Don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry. I won't." An eerie voice said from the wall. "Not that it will matter in a moment."

The man did not get the reaction he had been hoping for. Naruto just started walking away, sighing deeply.

"Kanai. Ami. I'll leave this guy to you. I'm going to go help out someone else."

The man promptly puffed out his chest in indignation, glaring at the man who had just insulted him so greatly.

"Leaving children to fight me! I am the Otokage! The greatest ninja in all of the Sound!"

Naruto shrugged and continued to walk away.

"That's fine. You shouldn't be much of a problem for these two."

His eyes went black with rage. He had never been so insulted in his entire life.

"Oh?" He growled. "How about now?"

As he finished speaking black lines erupted from a mark on his neck. They shot straight out from the seal and covered his face and body in diagonal lines. Never did the lines curve. They simply wrapped around his body whenever they came to a bend. Whenever the lines met another they stopped, creating a series of black triangles all over the man's body. Naruto glanced back over his shoulder this time, but still only shrugged at the man's display.

"That's fine. Now I won't have to answer so many questions about what it's like to fight someone with a cursed seal." He looked over at Kana and Ami. "You two have fun." He said with a wave.

Both kids waved back as he started to walk away again with Hinata before crouching into their respective fighting stance. Kanai dropped into a modified jyuken stance. His knees were bent low and his arms were in the traditional guard, but his hands were loose, ready to form a fist or strike open hand at any moment. Ami barely bent her legs for her stance, instead choosing to stand tall with her hands held open in front of her. Kanai looked over to her, briefly marveling at the way her pure white hair swayed in the breeze before shaking that thought free.

"You ready?"

She smiled her radiant smile and nodded, and then they were off. Kanai darted forward, as the daughter of the Kazekage surrounded him with a cloud of blades made of sand. Moments before everything made contact a pillar of sand shot up behind the sound-nin, knocking him forward into the waiting fist of Uzumaki Kanai. The blow sent him careening back out through the hole in the wall and into the trees. The couple shared a brief glance before returning to the task at hand.

Meanwhile Naruto and Hinata were simply marching through the battlefield, defeating enemy ninja left and right. Naruto was growing so board with how easily the fight was going he was almost glad that the rest of the rookie nine plus Neji's old team were out on missions. He decided to make it a bit more fun. Smoothly he reached out and grabbed his lovely wife's slender wrist, pulling her close to him. His cerulean eyes locked on her pale lavender ones and he smiled.

"Care to dance?"

She looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"You're an idiot." She said with a smile.

He laughed.

"I don't hear you saying no."

Her eyes rolled slightly.

"Shut up and lead."

And so he did. He quickly spun her out and she whipped her open palm into the face of an unsuspecting enemy. He didn't even make a sound as he fell. Next Naruto swung her between his legs, driving her feet into the back of a nin who was occupied with one of Konoha's chuunin. The impact drove him forward into the chuunin's waiting kunai. A small grunt was all the noise he made as he crumpled to the ground clutching the hole in his stomach.

Hinata's younger sister Hanabi barely stifled a laugh as she watched the couple clearly enjoying themselves on the battlefield. They could afford to take it somewhat less than seriously. There were very few people in the world who could touch them in battle, let alone in the group of attacking nins. Even while goofing around they moved faster than most people there could even see. It hardly seemed fair.

The dark blue-haired girl giggled as her husband tossed her in the air. He delivered a spinning roundhouse kick to a nin that was foolish enough to attack him and the caught her in his waiting arms. A kunai zoomed at his face as he stared down at the lovely creature in his arms; the ever-observant Hinata intercepted it though, sliding a finger through the hole at the base and stopping it an inch before it made contact. She winked at him.

"I like your face just the way it is."

She tossed the kunai back at its owner, striking him in the throat. Naruto winced as he watched the man's lifeblood pour from the wound.

"I remember now why I try not to make you mad."

Before she could respond an anbu member appeared beside them.

"Hokage-sama, we need assistance at the east wall."

Naruto sighed as he set Hinata down. He knelt and offered his back to her.

"Your carriage awaits."

She rolled her eyes as she climbed on to his back, lacing her arms loosely around his neck. She gently dug her knees into his sides.

"Giddyap."

A/N: Ok, I'm stopping it there for now. I know it's not a great cut off point, but I'm tired. Don't worry, things will pick up next chapter. I hope you liked this one too though.

Blinkin: I know how that goes. I saw the sunrise many times over the summer, and it's not because I'm an early riser.

MichelLover: I'm leaning towards the dirty mind. You must have missed something though, Ami has known Naruto, Hinata, and Natsuki longer than Kanai has been alive. All animals have pheromones not just bugs. Ja ne is Japanese slang for "see you later" approximately. I give hobo names to people that want them. RLnaruhina was the first and he got one as a joke because I talk to him online a lot.

Dragon Man 180: Yes, yes they do. Who said anything about them going to Ichiraku? I like to think that Kanai, Ami, and Hinata would veto any ramen aspirations Naruto has. Ramen isn't a celebration meal after all.

Kai Otogi: Love is fun. Heh. As cheesy as it is, I love love.

RawD: Huargh? It's leading up to this. I wonder what you were thinking.

DarkDallas: There's a little Shikamaru in all of us I think. Yeah I know. I didn't plan on killing Sasuke originally. I just liked the whole idea too much to not use it. There are times when I wish he was still around though. Don't worry about Naruto lifespan or anything. I know how I'm going to end the story long before I'm even close to doing it. You'll just have to wait to find out though.

Raziel Tepes: Semi dark this chapter. Gets a bit blacker next time as the fighting picks up. I hope you realize you're my prime darkness fan.

Danny-171984: Yes she is staying at the Leaf again. I know my timeline jumping is a bit confusing but she has stayed there before. Kanai and Ami had been going back and forth between the villages for the past few years. Kanai and Natsuki are just extensions of the relationship. You can always see touches of their parents in them, and Hinata and Naruto are mentioned in every chapter unlike their kids. I think I'll just keep writing this story as it is. A lot of interconnected stories that all have to do with Naruto and Hinata's relationship in some way.

Jester12: Don't worry, there's still a lot more to come. A lot.

RLnaruhina: Watch out for the ones with the mini pitchforks. They suck. And the arc goes on.

Mythril dust: The cyclic part of 51 is one of my favorite things I've done with this story. I'm glad you appreciated it.

Aloi-chan: Well, they aren't married yet. That would be a touch too close I think. Maybe someday though.

Xs sparky: Don't worry about starting late. I get new reviewers all the time (they always make me happy). Welcome to the gang. And watch where you're poking.

No Jutsu: 52 chapters of fun I hope. Sorry though, no monkey. As much as I love them they just don't have a place in this story. Maybe someone who looks like a monkey though……

Hopeless-flame: It's a potent line. Use it and watch your boyfriend crumble. They will be swearing in their heads but smiling on their face.

Elisa7692: I'm working on my other story very slowly. Hopefully, by the end it will be good enough to publish. Thank you very much for your support and compliments. They mean a lot to me. I write for reviews, you review so I write. It's a great cycle.

Anime/Manga lubber: All family is embarrassing. But we love them so we don't care.

Madnarutofan: I think I covered Gaara's feelings on the issue satisfactorily in this chapter. I hope you agree. I'm all about the sunshine. Feel the warmth. Heh.

John Bellamy: 9 out of 10? Sounds good to me. If everyone gave me that rating I think I could consider myself a bonafide hit. That would be fun