Disclaimer: if it were mine than the show and manga would be released more
often than once a week.
The last page of the album contained a simple letter and two photographs. It was an invitation to a party, a baby shower, at the Uchiha manor. It was unaddressed as it was probably a sample. It had the picture of a baby carriage and a teddy bear on it. The first picture had all the adults Taka and Ronin had come to regard as aunts and uncles all gathered around. The second was a sonogram pictured labeled in their father's neat computer- like handwriting "Our Three boys." "Three boys?" Ronin asked. He turned to Taka to see if she knew anything about this. On her face was an expression of annoyed confusion, as if this picture was a child who was playing hide and seek and refused to come out when she called. "How can that be? Neither Father nor Dad ever mentioned another sibling. I thought we were their only children. Plus, boys? Then how'd you get here?" "Stating the obvious doesn't solve the question at hand," Taka replied coldly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*
"Welcome!" Naruto said to Hinata and Neji who had just arrived. He sighed slightly. He wasn't sure why these people had come over exactly. Sakura had insisted on a baby shower. He wondered about the name but specifically about the purpose of the event. People were supposed to celebrate the coming of a new baby by giving them practical baby supplies, but why were they celebrating now? All of them had known since Sakura had started taken hormones that they were planning on having a baby. All of these people had known since Sakura's pregnancy test had been positive that a baby was truly on the way, but still Sakura insisted on having a party to celebrate this.
"Thank you Naruto, here you go," Hinata replied handing him a package.
"Thank you Hinata, Neji," Naruto replied taking the package and stepping away from the door so they could enter.
The entire bottom floor of the house had been transformed by Sakura. She had had them set up balloons and ribbons all over. The living room was filled with packages upon packages that were wrapped with sickeningly cute pictures of teddy bears and little babies. The dining room held samples of wall paper, rugs, wall colors and furniture magazines since Sakura insisted that there was no way she was allowing any child to grow up with a room in the Uchiha manor in its current state to sleep in. Naruto privately agreed with this since all the rooms were painted white or had stone walls. This was all very good, but it got quite frightening when every room in the house was decorated in this fashion. Sasuke liked the decoration of his house and took offense to Sakura's wanting to change it, but agreed that perhaps the room that would be the nursery could be repainted. The kitchen had finger foods which Sasuke found disconcerting. He believed it wasn't natural for hot dogs to be that small. Naruto however ate them by the handful.
Already loitering, or at least that's what Sasuke felt was what they were doing, at the Uchiha manor was Sakura's parents, Lee, Sakura, Jiraiya, Ino, Shikamaru, Tenten, Kiba and now Hinata and Neji as well plus the broads of each couple attending. They were still waiting for Kakashi and Iruka who were typically late.
"I guess we should start since Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei probably won't show up for at least another half hour," Sakura announced. "Well, let's cut to the chase and open the presents."
Sakura sat down next to the big pile pulling Sasuke and Naruto close to her to hand her the packages. Everyone gathered around except for Sakura's parents who looked on uneasily, still not sure how they felt about their daughter possibly carrying the fox demon's child.
The packages were opened with a mixture of haste and cautiousness. Sakura was very unsure if she wanted to save the wrapping paper or not, often being careful at first and then getting frustrated and simply ripping it.
Soon in place of the mountain of packages there was a mountain of dipers and teddy bears since apparently no one thought to get them anything else. Sasuke wondered how many teddy bears one child could have, but decided not to say anything except to Naruto. He saw Naruto was looking at him and so glanced at the pile with a slightly confused expression that no one except Naruto could have caught. To everyone else it looked as if he was simply gazing at the pile out of boredom.
Naruto's face lit up in a small grin and he nodded slightly with a slight "what the hell" expression on his face.
"See? Naruto thinks it's cute!" Ino argued. Naruto quickly glanced at the stuffed fur ball with googlie eyes. His eyes raised slightly in surprise and shock that anyone would make or want something that in neon pink. "You see! He likes it!"
"No he doesn't Ino-pig, he's just trying to be polite," Sakura argued. Sasuke bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing since neither Naruto's grin nor his shocked expression had been for either reason, a motion that was lost on everyone except Naruto. Naruto blinked heavily to say he too was amused by the fight that was now going on over the neon stuffed fur ball.
"Sasuke and I think it's a really good present," Naruto assured them. "We both think it's really thoughtful. Right?" Everyone turned to Sasuke to see if he would say anything. He half glared at them until Naruto gave him a scolding look behind everyone's back and Sasuke nodded grudgingly.
Once the entire pile had diminished into dippers and teddy bears, Kakashi and Iruka had shown up, Sakura had had a fight with her parents, Lee had promised some impossible goal at least twenty times, the guests had eaten, and everyone had argued about the planning of the room, Sakura decided to make an announcement which she decided was days over due. She knew she should tell Sasuke and Naruto first before announcing it, but common sense eluded her for the moment.
"Everyone! I have something to tell you!" Sakura said standing up. Lee had to help her up a bit. She was only five months pregnant but had a large stomach to show for it. "Well, I know the plan was that I'm going to have one baby, but apparently the embryo's like me, so I'm going to be having triplets! Two are going to be boys and the last one they couldn't really see, but I think its going to be a boy too!" Grinning faces smiled back at her.
Sasuke quickly glanced at Naruto to see his reaction. Naruto's chakra levels were fluttering slightly with excitement. Sasuke nodded at Naruto with agreement. Naruto's message that more children meant higher chances that they each had fathered at least one came through Sasuke's mind. Sasuke allowed himself to smile.
"Sakura! Thank you so much!" Naruto said happily. "Sasuke and I are very happy." Sakura smiled at her two former teammates brightly.
"While we're making announcements, I've got one," Ino said shifting her thirteen month old son on her hip. She opened her mouth to speak again but stopped when noticing her nine year old son was using the shadow technique on his nine year old brother. "Hey Reizo! Stop that before I take away you're board games." The older one grudgingly released the jujitsu. The younger opened his mouth but was stopped by his mother's glare. "Don't you think about annoying you're older brother Shikata!" Ino collected herself and turned back to the gathered adults. "Well, I'm pregnant again."
"INO!" many cried out in exasperation.
"Not again," Sakura murmured.
"He's coming around," Kiba assured everyone who was gathered around Shikamaru who had followed in his tradition to faint at the announcement of the coming of each of his children.
"Shikamaru, you know, for a lazy bastard you sure get busy," Naruto joked.
"Shut up Naruto," Shikamaru growled.
"Ino, I thought you went on the pill. This is your fourth one!" Sakura joked.
"I did, but it doesn't work!" Ino complained. "I'm sure this one will be a girl!" Her face took on a slightly proud note. She and Shikamaru had been hoping for a girl since their first child. The girl and boy pair of children Shikamaru had wanted simply hadn't happened. Ino knew Shikamaru's attitude that having so many children, specifically all boys was "troublesome" but she knew that deep down he really loved them. At the birth of each of their previous children he had held them for the first time with such wonder.
Ino and Shikamaru were the two most "meant for each other" people anyone in the town could think of. They had been best friends as small children and their families had been close. Once Ino stopped liking Sasuke at age fourteen, she and Shikamaru had started dating and their families started planning the wedding. They had married at eighteen with their first child at nineteen. The two seemed to be constantly getting into little fights. The making up process had resulted in their children now numbering four.
Many might say they married young, but for ninjas it was only practical. Young mothers were more likely to give birth to healthy babies, young mothers were more likely to bounce back quickly from child birth, young parents could more successful train children, younger couples had more time in front of them to have more children which was helpful to any ninja village and by the time ninjas reached twenty most already knew who they were going to marry and so figured to just get on with it. Most ninjas who had reached thirty-five without marrying were unlikely to have children as by the time they were thirty-five they had missions which took them away for months at a time.
"On that note, I also have something to announce," Hinata said quietly. Neji looked at her warily. Their twin daughters gave each other questioning glances. Neither had the traditional seal on their forehead yet since Neji and Hinata, who were now the heads of the clan, had decided that it should be simply obligation that head members be protected and not mandatory. Of course they had threatened all branch members who tried to get out of their protective duty with expulsion from the clan and seals over their blood line limit techniques. "I too am pregnant," she continued in a louder voice.
"We all get to be pregnant together!" Sakura squealed happily.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*
"I wish I knew what went on, it's so annoying having only half the puzzle," Ronin said exasperatedly.
"Let's look at the next one," Taka suggested. She hated to admit it, but this was bugging her just as much as it was bothering her brother. Where the hell was their other "brother?"
(A/N hope people don't mind if I'm messing around with the couples. No, I'm choosing not to give Ino and Shikamaru their preferred two children one being a girl the other a boy. Life doesn't always work out how you want it and I'm evil like that BWAHAHAHA, yes you can tell that this will not be Ino and Shikamaru's last child. What else to say? Oh, ignore A/N in chapter one, everyone's in their early twenties in that one and time progresses. Well, if you want to could keep a running list of all characters to tell which child is whose, but I'm going to put in each chapter whose son Reizo is and who Itchi and Rini are. So you just have to remember within a chapter who someone is. For anyone who's interested, here's the running list so far.
Shikamaru and Ino-28 Reizo-9 Shikata-6 Yokio-1 and a few months
Sakura and Lee-28 and 29 Ayame- 7 Kane- 4 and a half
Hinata and Neji-28 and 29 Rini and Ichi- 8
About the having children young thing- well, younger mothers are more likely to have children without genetic diseases. Plus if couples get married when they're young they can have more children as demonstrated by Shikamaru and Ino. A village of ninjas needs lots of ninja children to be the next generation and protect the village. Lots of ninja children means more ninja children even thought probably about a eighth will have kicked the bucket before they can procreate and another quarter or so will forgo marrying. Therefore marrying early will be encouraged to increase chances of more healthy children.
The last page of the album contained a simple letter and two photographs. It was an invitation to a party, a baby shower, at the Uchiha manor. It was unaddressed as it was probably a sample. It had the picture of a baby carriage and a teddy bear on it. The first picture had all the adults Taka and Ronin had come to regard as aunts and uncles all gathered around. The second was a sonogram pictured labeled in their father's neat computer- like handwriting "Our Three boys." "Three boys?" Ronin asked. He turned to Taka to see if she knew anything about this. On her face was an expression of annoyed confusion, as if this picture was a child who was playing hide and seek and refused to come out when she called. "How can that be? Neither Father nor Dad ever mentioned another sibling. I thought we were their only children. Plus, boys? Then how'd you get here?" "Stating the obvious doesn't solve the question at hand," Taka replied coldly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*
"Welcome!" Naruto said to Hinata and Neji who had just arrived. He sighed slightly. He wasn't sure why these people had come over exactly. Sakura had insisted on a baby shower. He wondered about the name but specifically about the purpose of the event. People were supposed to celebrate the coming of a new baby by giving them practical baby supplies, but why were they celebrating now? All of them had known since Sakura had started taken hormones that they were planning on having a baby. All of these people had known since Sakura's pregnancy test had been positive that a baby was truly on the way, but still Sakura insisted on having a party to celebrate this.
"Thank you Naruto, here you go," Hinata replied handing him a package.
"Thank you Hinata, Neji," Naruto replied taking the package and stepping away from the door so they could enter.
The entire bottom floor of the house had been transformed by Sakura. She had had them set up balloons and ribbons all over. The living room was filled with packages upon packages that were wrapped with sickeningly cute pictures of teddy bears and little babies. The dining room held samples of wall paper, rugs, wall colors and furniture magazines since Sakura insisted that there was no way she was allowing any child to grow up with a room in the Uchiha manor in its current state to sleep in. Naruto privately agreed with this since all the rooms were painted white or had stone walls. This was all very good, but it got quite frightening when every room in the house was decorated in this fashion. Sasuke liked the decoration of his house and took offense to Sakura's wanting to change it, but agreed that perhaps the room that would be the nursery could be repainted. The kitchen had finger foods which Sasuke found disconcerting. He believed it wasn't natural for hot dogs to be that small. Naruto however ate them by the handful.
Already loitering, or at least that's what Sasuke felt was what they were doing, at the Uchiha manor was Sakura's parents, Lee, Sakura, Jiraiya, Ino, Shikamaru, Tenten, Kiba and now Hinata and Neji as well plus the broads of each couple attending. They were still waiting for Kakashi and Iruka who were typically late.
"I guess we should start since Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei probably won't show up for at least another half hour," Sakura announced. "Well, let's cut to the chase and open the presents."
Sakura sat down next to the big pile pulling Sasuke and Naruto close to her to hand her the packages. Everyone gathered around except for Sakura's parents who looked on uneasily, still not sure how they felt about their daughter possibly carrying the fox demon's child.
The packages were opened with a mixture of haste and cautiousness. Sakura was very unsure if she wanted to save the wrapping paper or not, often being careful at first and then getting frustrated and simply ripping it.
Soon in place of the mountain of packages there was a mountain of dipers and teddy bears since apparently no one thought to get them anything else. Sasuke wondered how many teddy bears one child could have, but decided not to say anything except to Naruto. He saw Naruto was looking at him and so glanced at the pile with a slightly confused expression that no one except Naruto could have caught. To everyone else it looked as if he was simply gazing at the pile out of boredom.
Naruto's face lit up in a small grin and he nodded slightly with a slight "what the hell" expression on his face.
"See? Naruto thinks it's cute!" Ino argued. Naruto quickly glanced at the stuffed fur ball with googlie eyes. His eyes raised slightly in surprise and shock that anyone would make or want something that in neon pink. "You see! He likes it!"
"No he doesn't Ino-pig, he's just trying to be polite," Sakura argued. Sasuke bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing since neither Naruto's grin nor his shocked expression had been for either reason, a motion that was lost on everyone except Naruto. Naruto blinked heavily to say he too was amused by the fight that was now going on over the neon stuffed fur ball.
"Sasuke and I think it's a really good present," Naruto assured them. "We both think it's really thoughtful. Right?" Everyone turned to Sasuke to see if he would say anything. He half glared at them until Naruto gave him a scolding look behind everyone's back and Sasuke nodded grudgingly.
Once the entire pile had diminished into dippers and teddy bears, Kakashi and Iruka had shown up, Sakura had had a fight with her parents, Lee had promised some impossible goal at least twenty times, the guests had eaten, and everyone had argued about the planning of the room, Sakura decided to make an announcement which she decided was days over due. She knew she should tell Sasuke and Naruto first before announcing it, but common sense eluded her for the moment.
"Everyone! I have something to tell you!" Sakura said standing up. Lee had to help her up a bit. She was only five months pregnant but had a large stomach to show for it. "Well, I know the plan was that I'm going to have one baby, but apparently the embryo's like me, so I'm going to be having triplets! Two are going to be boys and the last one they couldn't really see, but I think its going to be a boy too!" Grinning faces smiled back at her.
Sasuke quickly glanced at Naruto to see his reaction. Naruto's chakra levels were fluttering slightly with excitement. Sasuke nodded at Naruto with agreement. Naruto's message that more children meant higher chances that they each had fathered at least one came through Sasuke's mind. Sasuke allowed himself to smile.
"Sakura! Thank you so much!" Naruto said happily. "Sasuke and I are very happy." Sakura smiled at her two former teammates brightly.
"While we're making announcements, I've got one," Ino said shifting her thirteen month old son on her hip. She opened her mouth to speak again but stopped when noticing her nine year old son was using the shadow technique on his nine year old brother. "Hey Reizo! Stop that before I take away you're board games." The older one grudgingly released the jujitsu. The younger opened his mouth but was stopped by his mother's glare. "Don't you think about annoying you're older brother Shikata!" Ino collected herself and turned back to the gathered adults. "Well, I'm pregnant again."
"INO!" many cried out in exasperation.
"Not again," Sakura murmured.
"He's coming around," Kiba assured everyone who was gathered around Shikamaru who had followed in his tradition to faint at the announcement of the coming of each of his children.
"Shikamaru, you know, for a lazy bastard you sure get busy," Naruto joked.
"Shut up Naruto," Shikamaru growled.
"Ino, I thought you went on the pill. This is your fourth one!" Sakura joked.
"I did, but it doesn't work!" Ino complained. "I'm sure this one will be a girl!" Her face took on a slightly proud note. She and Shikamaru had been hoping for a girl since their first child. The girl and boy pair of children Shikamaru had wanted simply hadn't happened. Ino knew Shikamaru's attitude that having so many children, specifically all boys was "troublesome" but she knew that deep down he really loved them. At the birth of each of their previous children he had held them for the first time with such wonder.
Ino and Shikamaru were the two most "meant for each other" people anyone in the town could think of. They had been best friends as small children and their families had been close. Once Ino stopped liking Sasuke at age fourteen, she and Shikamaru had started dating and their families started planning the wedding. They had married at eighteen with their first child at nineteen. The two seemed to be constantly getting into little fights. The making up process had resulted in their children now numbering four.
Many might say they married young, but for ninjas it was only practical. Young mothers were more likely to give birth to healthy babies, young mothers were more likely to bounce back quickly from child birth, young parents could more successful train children, younger couples had more time in front of them to have more children which was helpful to any ninja village and by the time ninjas reached twenty most already knew who they were going to marry and so figured to just get on with it. Most ninjas who had reached thirty-five without marrying were unlikely to have children as by the time they were thirty-five they had missions which took them away for months at a time.
"On that note, I also have something to announce," Hinata said quietly. Neji looked at her warily. Their twin daughters gave each other questioning glances. Neither had the traditional seal on their forehead yet since Neji and Hinata, who were now the heads of the clan, had decided that it should be simply obligation that head members be protected and not mandatory. Of course they had threatened all branch members who tried to get out of their protective duty with expulsion from the clan and seals over their blood line limit techniques. "I too am pregnant," she continued in a louder voice.
"We all get to be pregnant together!" Sakura squealed happily.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*
"I wish I knew what went on, it's so annoying having only half the puzzle," Ronin said exasperatedly.
"Let's look at the next one," Taka suggested. She hated to admit it, but this was bugging her just as much as it was bothering her brother. Where the hell was their other "brother?"
(A/N hope people don't mind if I'm messing around with the couples. No, I'm choosing not to give Ino and Shikamaru their preferred two children one being a girl the other a boy. Life doesn't always work out how you want it and I'm evil like that BWAHAHAHA, yes you can tell that this will not be Ino and Shikamaru's last child. What else to say? Oh, ignore A/N in chapter one, everyone's in their early twenties in that one and time progresses. Well, if you want to could keep a running list of all characters to tell which child is whose, but I'm going to put in each chapter whose son Reizo is and who Itchi and Rini are. So you just have to remember within a chapter who someone is. For anyone who's interested, here's the running list so far.
Shikamaru and Ino-28 Reizo-9 Shikata-6 Yokio-1 and a few months
Sakura and Lee-28 and 29 Ayame- 7 Kane- 4 and a half
Hinata and Neji-28 and 29 Rini and Ichi- 8
About the having children young thing- well, younger mothers are more likely to have children without genetic diseases. Plus if couples get married when they're young they can have more children as demonstrated by Shikamaru and Ino. A village of ninjas needs lots of ninja children to be the next generation and protect the village. Lots of ninja children means more ninja children even thought probably about a eighth will have kicked the bucket before they can procreate and another quarter or so will forgo marrying. Therefore marrying early will be encouraged to increase chances of more healthy children.