A/N Strange chapter. I'm fond of some parts of it and not so fond of
others.
Disclaimer: If it were mine there would never be the threat of Naruto being
legalized in the United States.
Sasuke smiled slightly to himself. It was funny how you could be awake until the wee hours of the morning and still not feel tired the next day. Sasuke supposed that sex could replace sleep, but he wasn't ready to say that it did for certain. All Sasuke knew was that he felt more ready to face the day after awaking next to Nartuo after spending the whole night making love than after getting a ten hours sleep in without Naruto being next to him. Naruto seemed to have that effect on him. It wouldn't be a good day unless he woke up next to Naruto or at least having Naruto wake him up. Naruto seemed to chase away his inner demons and give him energy to live.
Sasuke closed his eyes as he felt his lover and husband stir; he would let Naruto think that Sasuke was still sleeping. Sasuke relaxed into the pillows and stopped moving to mimic sleep. His arms itched to draw Naruto into a tighter hug than he had him in. Making love had become a sort of ritual for them. It was no longer passionate as it had once been except for occasionally, but Sasuke didn't mind. Perhaps with the leaving of passion, a sort of deeper love had settled. Sex now seemed to be more for expressing love and less from lust.
Naruto shifted, stirring himself away. Naruto, never one for staying in bed once awakening, slowly rose out of Sasuke's arms, careful not to disturb him. He rubbed his eyes slightly and gazed at the form of his husband. Looking at him made Naruto want to crawl back into bed to be next to him again. Naruto's skin almost ached from its separation from Sasuke's. A deep breath filled Naruto's lungs as he sought to truly wake up. He studied Sasuke and smiled confidently.
"Wake up love, I know you aren't sleeping," Naruto told him. Sasuke continued to play asleep, but Naruto knew better. He reached down and stroked Sasuke's pale skin which shivered slightly to his touch. "Come on bastard, it's time to train." Still Sasuke refused to move. Naruto leaned down and started kissing Sasuke's ear. Sasuke's eyes flew open. "Aha! You aren't asleep!" Naruto proclaimed triumphantly. Sasuke just shook his head and proceeded to get dressed. He turned around to see that Naruto wasn't doing the same.
"Its morning," Sasuke informed Naruto in case Naruto had forgotten. Even after knowing Naruto for most of his life and living with him for a number of years, Sasuke still wasn't completely sure about Naruto's brain capacity. Naruto was often smarter than he let on, but had moments where one wished he would kindly remove himself from the gene pool and stop the stupidity in its tracks.
"Congradulations Mr. Obvious," Naruto replied.
"We train in the morning," Sasuke told him. Sasuke wondered why Naruto wasn't getting ready. The two of them had been training at dawn every morning except for Sundays for the past ten years.
"I know," Naruto responded. Sasuke shrugged.
"Well, if you want to train naked be my guest, but I intend to whop your ass today."
"Like last night?" Naruto asked wickedly. "Nah, nah, just kidding. Sasuke, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What?" Sasuke asked while attaching his weapons pouch to his leg. He opened the draw and threw some clothes at Naruto who nodded and put the shirt over his head.
"Well, Sakura's whose half the size of a baby killer whale is going to have the babies in a few months and I was wondering, who's going to take care of them?"
"We are dobe, that's what parents do," Sasuke explained slowly.
"Shut up bastard. I meant well, we're both away a lot. Missions haven't really been coming in the last month, but sometimes we're both away for weeks at a time. Or sometimes one of us is away for a month and the other has small missions. I don't know, I was thinking..." Naruto trailed off.
"Congratulations, I knew you had the ability to think somewhere in you," Sasuke teased playfully. Naruto glared at Sasuke. Sasuke stuck out his tongue. Naruto pulled his lower eye lid down. "Anyway, what's your point?"
"Well, a kid should have both parents home most of the time. Both of us being in the ANBU takes up too much time to raise children. That's just my thought." Sasuke remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"You have a point. I'll think about it," Sasuke said neutrally. Naruto did have a point. They were both rarely in the house at the same time for more than a few daylight hours at a time. Sasuke stood up and threw Naruto's weapon pouch at him. Naruto caught it and smiled thanks.
"Ready to go?" Naruto asked.
"Wait a minute, can't find my contacts," Sasuke replied. The irony that someone whose life as a ninja depended mainly on sight was half blind was not lost on Sasuke. Upon hitting age seventeen Sasuke found he couldn't see things far away without having his Sharingun activated and even then things were blurry.
"Just wear your glasses," Naruto reasoned pointing to the case on the dresser.
"Can't train in glasses, stupid glasses," Sasuke muttered under his breath. Naruto stifled a giggle at Sasuke's rant. The glasses went on Sasuke's face causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow. However much Sasuke hated his glasses he did look exceptionally sexy with them on.
The two made their way to the spacious backyard. It was filled with various obstacle courses and training trees.
"Are we sparing today or just training?" Naruto asked.
"Up to you. Personally I wanted to work on taijutsu. I find myself lacking in that area. On my last mission I was almost all out of chakra and had to fall back on those techniques. It would have been a lot easier had I been training in that area," Sasuke explained.
"So how about an all Taijutsu battle?" Naruto suggested. Sasuke nodded and gave Naruto a quick kiss before moving away so they could start. The battle started out predictably with Naruto running at Sasuke with full speed. Sasuke went to dodge and noticed Naruto's feet placement suggested he was going to dodge around Sasuke. The battle continued for a good half an hour before a yell interrupted them.
"Hey! Sasuke! Naruto! Stop that right now and get over here!" Ino yelled from the top of the wall. The blond woman was now five months pregnant, two behind Sakura, and was looking as threatening as ever. Ino as usual refused to stop participating in ninja activities until she hit eight months and therefore found it impossible to move well. At that point she usually retired to the couch and yelled at Shikamaru to bring her food. Sasuke and Naruto stopped where they were; which was Sasuke about to sweep Naruto off his feet with a kick.
"Ino! Why are you interrupting our training?" Naruto asked angrily. In the past few years Training with Sasuke had become one of the highlights of the day and he hated it when people interrupted.
"Thought you might like to know that your children are about to be born! Sakura went into labor prematurely. Probably won't take her long since this is her third pregnancy so I'd get my ass over there if I were you two," Ino scolded them. Sasuke and Naruto nodded and disappeared in clouds of smoke leaving Ino all alone standing on top of the wall that surrounded the Uchiha manor. "Fine, go leave the pregnant woman all alone here!" Ino muttered indignantly to herself and jumped off the wall to start walking to the hospital. Ino had just recently found that she was carrying twins and so the period of inactivity seemed to be coming sooner than it had previously.
"We're here!" Naruto announced to a nurse as soon as he reached the hospital.
"Dobe, this is physical therepy, we're not supposed to be here," Sasuke reprimanded him. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," Sasuke told some rather disturbed looking people who were sitting waiting to be called. "Come on." Sasuke dragged Naruto to the right area of the hospital.
"Who are you looking for?" a nurse at the reception desk asked them.
"We're looking for Sakura, Rock Sakura," Sasuke told her firmly.
"She's not ready to go into the birthing room yet and is taking visitors. She's right through there," the nurse directed them. Sasuke and Naruto followed the nurse to a door. They entered to find Sakura doing her Lamaze breathing. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look. They had had to go with Sakura to her classes lately.
"Actually Sakura it seems you are ready to give birth, I'll wheel you into the room. Who's going in with you?" a young doctor asked.
"My husband and the fathers of the babies are," Sakura informed her.
"I'm sorry, we only allow one person in with you, which is generally the father. So who is coming?" the doctor asked again.
"We're both the fathers," Naruto explained.
"What about you sir?" the doctor asked Lee.
"I'm her husband. It was agreed that the three of us would go in," Lee told the doctor.
"Let me get this straight. You two are both the fathers of the babies and you're her husband?"
"That's corrected," Sasuke agreed.
"The law only recognizes one father so who is it going to be?" the doctor, now very frazzled demanded.
"It should be one of them," Lee piped.
"It should be Lee. He is her husband," Naruto protested.
"Yes, it should be Lee," Sasuke agreed. Sakura glanced at her friends while she was wheeled away.
"Tenten? Get your predecessor will you? She will take over and allow these two in," Ino, who along with Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Hinata had gathered and been watching the debate, said.
"You want me to get Tsunade? Ah, I see what you mean," Tenten realized. She nodded and disappeared.
"Oh, ordering around the person most likely to be next hokage, you got guts," Kiba snickered. Ino glared at him and he quickly cowered while his dog whined.
"Never mess with the Ino death glare," Shikamaru muttered.
"Is that why you're on your fourth and fifth children?" Hinata asked slyly. Shikamaru decided now would be a good time to practice sulking.
"Why couldn't Tenten order them to let Sasuke and Naruto in?" Hinata asked. "She's hokage now."
"Tenten is in charge of a military institution, not the laws. She can't change the laws here," Neji informed them.
"Sasuke, I've been thinking," Naruto started.
"Wow, that's a major accomplishment for you," Neji joked in his normal deadpan manor.
"Hardy har har," Naruto snapped.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Ino asked.
"Well, if they won't let Sasuke and me into the room, what happens when they children go to school? Maybe they won't allow them in school for being sons of gay parents," Naruto said.
"Listen, they try to stop your children from going to school and I pull mine out. The school could not afford to lose my children as their students. I mean, the first one is some kind of genius, and the second is simply really smart. We're not sure about this one yet," Ino told him, nodding at her current youngest Yokio. "But from the looks of it he's just smart. That's three smart kids they'd lose plus the two I'm carrying. Not to mention the fact that Shikamaru and I are the sole heirs to our clans and while they aren't prestigious clans, it's still a clan nonetheless. Then you think about all the kids my kids will have who will also boycott the school over this if need be. Not to mention that I'm probably going to end up having more children from the looks of things.
"Now Sakura would probably her children out of school if yours aren't allowed either. While hers aren't the most special bunch, they're smart and have great will power. They're probably going to be good ninjas that the school would be ashamed not to have as alumni. Then look at Hinata. I'm sure she'd pull her kids from the school if yours aren't allowed. Her twins are geniuses at their blood line techniques and have been hailed as prodigies. The one she's carrying will probably be the same. That's three more geniuses you're losing. Then you remember they're Hyyuga. Rule number one of Konoha, don't piss off the Hyyuga. Oh yea, they're main house members too and Hinata and Neji are the heads of the clan. Meaning all Hyyuga children will be boycotting the school.
"Think about it. Just counting yours, Sakura's, Hinata's and my children, we'll soon have thirteen between all of us. Each year only about nine graduate so by taking away thirteen children the school is screwed not to mention all the Hyuuga who wouldn't be going," Ino explained proudly.
"Huh?" Naruto said looking confused.
"She's saying there'll be no more kids in school," Shikamaru who had decided to stop sulking for a moment since the stupidity was bothering him beyond belief, said.
"Did you think of that all yourself Ino?" Hinata teased. Ino shot her death glare in the direction of the white eyed shinobi. Hinata looked down nervously.
"Yea, yea, did the Nara genius help you with that one?" Naruto asked.
"You mean Reizo?" Sasuke muttered under his breath, referring to Shikamaru and Ino's oldest son who was, at the tender age of eight, a genius to beat out his father.
"Sasuke, Naruto, get in here!" called a voice from inside the room Sakura had been taken in to. "Hinata, you're trained in medicine right? We're having problems getting nurses who won't protest to Naruto and Sasuke so get in here." The three mentioned nodded and moved in.
When they entered the room they found Sakura yelling curses, Lee telling her with his nice guy pose that it would be all better soon or else he'd do a thousand laps around the village and Tsunade yelling at Lee to shut up and for Sakura to push.
"Old hag, long time no see," Naruto greeted Tsunade.
"Hi brat. Married life seems to fit you," Tsunade said over her shoulder. "PUSH SAKURA!" Sakura yelled with pain, saying enough curses to make the oldest and most grisly of ANBU captains who went under cover as sailors blush. "Well it seems this one is just about out. Just one more push Sakura!" Sakura's cry was joined by that of a new born infant announcing their presence on earth.
"Tarou is here, the first born son," Sasuke said proudly slipping his arm around Naruto's waist.
"Here," Tsunade said handing the infant to Hinata. "Clean him up while I get the others." Hinata looked at the blood covered baby with a confused expression. "Did you or did you not receive medical training? Doesn't matter, just clean him up and give him to one of them." The older woman pointed vaguely in Naruto and Sasuke's direction.
"You're doing really well Sakura," Naruto told her assuredly though he had no idea.
"Why you little bastards! I'll kill you for this!" Sakura yelled.
"Don't worry, she doesn't really mean it, she said the same thing to me during the births of our children," Lee assured them.
"But as I recall she actually managed to throw katana at you that someone forgot to confiscate," Tsunade teased. "Here comes the next one. Push Sakura push. Only two more to go."
"I'd like to see you try this," Sakura muttered indignantly.
"Um, Tsunade?" Hinata asked quietly.
"Can it wait? Can't you see I'm busy?" the woman snapped.
"But it isn't a boy," Hinata murmured quietly.
"That's a good girl Sakura, here's number two," Tsunade said handing Hinata the next one.
"This one isn't right! He isn't crying; is breathing isn't right!" Hinata cried with horror.
"Get those damn excuses for doctors in here!" Hinata ran out the door with the infant calling for the doctors. Sasuke looked around worriedly. Naruto gave him a reassuring hug before walking over to the crying baby Hinata had wrapped and laid in a crib nearby.
"Look at him Sasuke, isn't he so perfect?" Naruto asked. Sasuke talked over as well. The baby had a cubby little face and a patch of black hair covering the head.
"He is, the second most perfect thing I've ever seen," Sasuke replied kissing Naruto on the forehead.
"I hate to spoil the moment, but here's the one," Tsunade said holding the bloody infant. "I'll clean him up and you go talk to Sakura. We'll find out what happened to the middle one in a moment." The pair nodded and made their way over to the bed where Lee was telling the exhausted Sakura what a good job she'd done.
"Thank you Sakura," Naruto said kissing his friend on the head. Sasuke did the same. Sakura smiled and nodded, leaning back into the soft pillows.
"Um, guys? You should take a look at this," Tsunade called. "You know how you were going to name the first Tarou, the second Ryuuji and the third Ronin? Well this one can't be Tarou." Tsunade pointed to the infant already in a crib.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
"That's what Hinata was trying to tell us. It's a girl, not a boy. You have two boys and a girl," Tsunade told them.
"But I thought there were going to be three boys," Naruto said.
"It was only know that two were boys, the other was unknown but we just assumed it was a boy," Sasuke said. "What should we call her?"
"How about Taka? It's a good strong name. They say names protect you, with this one she'll be able to protect herself," Lee suggested.
"So this one is?" Tsunade asked holding up the other baby in the room. This baby didn't cry as much as his sister did though it seems simply because he didn't want to, not because he couldn't. He had strawberry blond hair and when he opened his eyes they were a beautiful shade of blue, only slightly more green than Naruto's own.
"Ronin, the samurai without a master," Sasuke said.
"Why did you name him that?" Sakura asked sitting up.
"Because one day," Naruto explained while Sasuke took the baby boy in his arms, "he will be the master. He'll be the best and therefore master less." Naruto picked up the baby girl. She stopped crying and opened her eyes. They were green, the color of grass on a spring day, blending into a dark blue almost black color on the outside. "She's going to be a beauty one day," Naruto laughed. The little girl cocked her head to one side to stare up at Naruto. "Hello Taka, we're your fathers," he told her.
"Why are you telling her? She can't understand," Sasuke scolded him while looking down at the bundle in his arms. The boy seemed to be a perfect blend of Sakura and Naruto. The boy yawned slightly causing Sasuke to smile.
"Can I hold them?" Sakura asked.
"As soon as we tell Ronin his name," Naruto told her. He looked down at the little boy. "Taka, this is your brother Ronin. Ronin, we are your fathers and this is your sister." Ronin gave his father a 'what the hell?' type like making Sasuke smirk. "Oh shut up. Let's let Sakura hold them for a bit." Sakura took Taka in her right arm and Ronin in her left.
"They're beautiful!" she exclaimed. The door opened showing Hinata who walked into the room cradling the bundle. She looked up showing them the veins around her eyes which held tears.
"I'm sorry," she whispered softly. "There was nothing they could do." She handed the baby to Sasuke who took it. The child hadn't even been cleaned off. Sasuke looked down at the boy. He had brown hair and a cute button nose. He was breathing but it seemed off. It seemed that each time he exhaled he exhaled some of his life force.
"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked.
"His chakra, he can't hold chakra," Hinata told them sadly. "No one knew what to do so I used Bykagun. Every time he lets out a breath he loses his chakra."
"How was it he was born then?" Sakura asked fearfully.
"They were helping him, the other two. His chakra colors are patchy, mixes of several different colors. They were pumping their own chakra into him to keep him alive," Hinata explained.
"Why can't we put more chakra in him then, I have extra, I'll donate," Naruto offered quickly.
"It won't work," Tsunade told him. "It's amazing those two were able to keep him alive to be born, but they're both unusually low in chakra themselves. I think had they continued this process for the next two months of pregnancy, they would have died as well. I think they knew this that they had to be born if they or their brother had any chance of survival."
"But, he can't, he can't die," Naruto stammered.
"I'm afraid there's no hope. He's only got a few more minutes to live. I'm glad you can't see what I see; I'm glad you can't see how horrible it is," Hinata wept. She turned and ran from the room into Neji's arms outside. Naruto took the corner of the blanket and wiped some blood from the baby's face.
"Ryuuji, I want you to meet your family. We're your family. Naruto and I are your fathers, over there is your older sister Taka and your younger brother Ronin," Sasuke murmured. Tears swelled in Sasuke's eyes as he handed the child to Lee and walked out of the room.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called after him. He looked down when he realized Sasuke wasn't going to come back into the room. A nurse came into the room to take Taka and Ronin away. She looked like she wanted to take Ryuuji too, but didn't even try after taking a look at the determined look on Naruto's face.
"What are their names?" she asked.
"Taka and Ronin Uchiha-Uzumaki," Naruto replied.
"Can you please signed the birth certificates?" the nurse asked.
"They'll do that later," Lee said firmly for Naruto. The nurse nodded and left.
"We'll be back within half an hour." Naruto gave Sakura another kiss on the forehead and left the room.
He walked down the various corridors, just letting his husband's chakra presence guide him. He clutched the baby in his arms to him and ignored the protests of doctors who told him he couldn't take the baby. Naruto found Sasuke in front of the baby window. He was staring at the two empty baskets that had the Uchiha-Uzumaki name on them. Sasuke was leaning against the glass, his tears fogging it up. His dark hair fell around his face making his pale skin. Like so many times before Naruto thought him an angel.
"Sasuke," Naruto whispered softly. Sasuke turned around to look at him. "We should spend time with him; this is the only time we'll ever get to spend with him."
"What do you want me to do? You want me to pretend he's ok?" Sasuke asked.
"Just talk. Maybe he can hear you," Naruto suggested. Sasuke sighed and took the baby in his arms.
"Ryuuji, we named you that because we wanted you to be strong like a dragon. We're sorry that we'll never get to know you. We're sorry that we can't give you the life we always wanted. We promise to raise your brother and sister the way we wanted to raise you. We promise never to forget you. We'll always love you." Sasuke kissed the child on his forehead and handed him to Naruto.
"Well, I guess I should say my peace before going after him. Ryuuji, as he said, we love you. I'm sorry I'll never be able to introduce you to ramen. I'm sorry you'll never take your first steps or say your first words. I'm sorry I'll never be angry with you for fighting with your brother and sister. I'm sorry I'll never get to be proud of you as you graduate from the academy. I'm sorry I'll never get to see you go on your first date. I'm sorry I won't get to dance at your wedding or hold your first child. I'm sorry you won't be one of the ones burying me one day. I shouldn't have to be the one burying you. I guess you have to go but I'm going to ask you to be good and to watch over your sister and brother as they watched over you," Naruto also kissed the child on the forehead. "Let's go back. We have two other children too you know."
"I'm glad that his hair is brown so that we won't know for sure whose it is. I don't think I could live with that," Sasuke said quietly.
"Me either, I like the idea of him being our child better rather than just yours or mine," Naruto replied. Sasuke put one of his arms around Naruto and his other around the baby. "Let's repaint the nursery green."
"Why?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, both Taka and Ronin have green eyes and it seems more fitting than green."
"Maybe we should give them separate rooms."
"Nah, let's have them share a room while they're babies to make it easier on us. When they're toddlers we can give them the two adjoining rooms," Naruto decided.
"Let's go back now," Sasuke said. He guided Naruto down the hall with one hand on his shoulders.
"We heard, oh are you two ok?" Ino asked as soon as she saw Naruto and Sasuke.
"Yea, one isn't going to make it, but we have two healthy children, why you all go home and we'll invite you all in tomorrow to visit Sakura and the babies. They're probably be ready to go home even if they were premature," Naruto suggested.
"What about that baby?" Neji asked.
"He's the one who isn't going to make it. Hinata can explain it all later. Naruto, let's go back to Sakura, I'd think she'd want to be with us and him when he passes," Sasuke put in. Naruto nodded and the two bid good bye to their friends. They entered Sakura's room once again.
"How is he?" Sakura asked. She held out her arms for the baby.
"He's not doing so well," Naruto said honestly.
"What's his name?" Lee asked. "I'm sure they'll find a way to help him."
"There is no way," Sasuke informed him.
"I'm so sorry," Sakura wept. Naruto was unsure if the comment was addressed to Ryuuji or to Sasuke and himself.
"You aren't to blame, no one is. It's no one's fault," Lee assured her.
"I could have taken better care of myself," Sakura cried.
"You took fine care of yourself Sakura. It's not your fault," Naruto said.
"I feel so helpless," Sakura whispered.
"We all do," Sasuke said.
"He's right. We need to be thankful that Taka and Ronin are strong," Lee agreed with conviction. Then again, Lee did everything with conviction.
"I don't think he's breathing," Sakura said in a panicked voice. Sasuke lifted the child out of her arms and watched him intently. The baby coughed slightly and drew in a breath, one he did not let out.
"He's gone. At least his spirit is at peace," Sasuke commented.
"What do you mean?" Lee asked.
"He breathed in. The first thing you do when you are born is breathe in, the last thing you do is breathe in. When your last breath is out, your spirit is trapped in this world," Sasuke explained.
"Good, he knows we loved him," Naruto affirmed. "If you feel like you can get out of bed, we should arrange to have the funeral within a few days to make sure his spirit is happy."
It turned out that Taka and Ronin needed to be kept in the hospital for two weeks extra to make sure they were ready to live on their own even though they had both demonstrated they had amazing lung power and were not kicking any buckets anytime soon. A quiet ceremony was held for Ryuuji. His tomb stone read 'Uchiha-Uzumaki Ryuuji, Beloved son and brother, we will never for get you.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*
Ronin opened the next album and looked inside. The first few pages were absolutely filled with pictures of babies and smiling group photos. Even the birth certificates and adoption certificates were included. Ronin noted that on his birth certificate only his father was listed in the place for the paternal parent to sign and on Taka's his dad was listed. The adoption certificates listed the other adopting the children. There was a third birth certificate, along with one for death, for Uchiha-Uzumaki Ryuuji. "Letter," Taka said, pointing to a paper. "It seems Dad liked writing these." "No, this one is from Father. That's strange, he hated letter writing," Ronin pondered. "At lease his handwriting is easier to read." "Read it aloud will you?"
~Dear Taka and Ronin,
Currently you are about a week old. We haven't been able to take you home yet since the doctors are afraid of health problems. Naruto insisted I write this to you though looking at the two of you sleeping now I wonder why. You're right here for me to tell you anything I'm going to write even if you won't understand or remember. I'm writing this letter partly about your brother. Naruto and I have agreed we'll raise you without telling you about your brother. It makes more sense; we don't want the two of you to feel guilty. I want you to know that neither Naruto nor I blame you for anything what so ever and thank you for keeping your brother alive long enough for us to meet him. Taka was born first, though we thought she'd be a boy whom we were planning to call Tarou, then Ryuuji and then Ronin."~
Taka paused. "So I am older." "You haven't brought that up in years," Ronin said grinning. Taka glared at him and continued reading.
~Naruto and I want you to live your lives to the fullest. Personally I hope you can forgive us for all the mistakes we're going to make. Neither of us had parents growing up, well I did, but only in the beginning, so we don't really know how it's done. Ino insists that all parents screw up their children in their own unique way. From her children I'd have to agree. I'm out of things to write, but Naruto just told me he wants me to write my hopes and dreams for you two. I find that pointless, its false expectations since I will probably be proud of you no matter what. What I want for you? Well, for Ronin you to be strong. We named you that because we want you to be the top. Naruto wants you to be Hokage since he probably won't get to be. I want you to live a good life. I want you to fall in love and I want you to have your heartbroken a few times since you can't appreciate love without heartbreak. I want you to always try no matter what. I want you to keep going even when it seems pointless. I hope you get Naruto's sense of wonder and I hope you never tire with the world. Taka, I want the same for you. I want you to be a tribute to our clan. I don't want you to back down without a fight nor do I want you to be one of those silly girlie girls. (sorry Sakura.) I want you to always use your head and I want you to be careful with your heart. Like I said to Ronin, having your heart broken helps you realize how special love is, but still, be careful who you give it to. Taka, I want you to try for Hokage, or whatever height you want to reach. Don't expect us to raise you with dolls and teddy bears. I don't want you to sit on the sidelines. Unfortunately the task of carrying on our clan falls now to you. I'm sorry to give you that responsibility, but I have no doubt that one day you will be glad to. I want you both to take care of each other. Ronin, I want you to beat up any guy (or girl) who breaks your sister's heart and Taka I want you to do the same. We will always love you. Love, Your Father, Sasuke
Sasuke smiled slightly to himself. It was funny how you could be awake until the wee hours of the morning and still not feel tired the next day. Sasuke supposed that sex could replace sleep, but he wasn't ready to say that it did for certain. All Sasuke knew was that he felt more ready to face the day after awaking next to Nartuo after spending the whole night making love than after getting a ten hours sleep in without Naruto being next to him. Naruto seemed to have that effect on him. It wouldn't be a good day unless he woke up next to Naruto or at least having Naruto wake him up. Naruto seemed to chase away his inner demons and give him energy to live.
Sasuke closed his eyes as he felt his lover and husband stir; he would let Naruto think that Sasuke was still sleeping. Sasuke relaxed into the pillows and stopped moving to mimic sleep. His arms itched to draw Naruto into a tighter hug than he had him in. Making love had become a sort of ritual for them. It was no longer passionate as it had once been except for occasionally, but Sasuke didn't mind. Perhaps with the leaving of passion, a sort of deeper love had settled. Sex now seemed to be more for expressing love and less from lust.
Naruto shifted, stirring himself away. Naruto, never one for staying in bed once awakening, slowly rose out of Sasuke's arms, careful not to disturb him. He rubbed his eyes slightly and gazed at the form of his husband. Looking at him made Naruto want to crawl back into bed to be next to him again. Naruto's skin almost ached from its separation from Sasuke's. A deep breath filled Naruto's lungs as he sought to truly wake up. He studied Sasuke and smiled confidently.
"Wake up love, I know you aren't sleeping," Naruto told him. Sasuke continued to play asleep, but Naruto knew better. He reached down and stroked Sasuke's pale skin which shivered slightly to his touch. "Come on bastard, it's time to train." Still Sasuke refused to move. Naruto leaned down and started kissing Sasuke's ear. Sasuke's eyes flew open. "Aha! You aren't asleep!" Naruto proclaimed triumphantly. Sasuke just shook his head and proceeded to get dressed. He turned around to see that Naruto wasn't doing the same.
"Its morning," Sasuke informed Naruto in case Naruto had forgotten. Even after knowing Naruto for most of his life and living with him for a number of years, Sasuke still wasn't completely sure about Naruto's brain capacity. Naruto was often smarter than he let on, but had moments where one wished he would kindly remove himself from the gene pool and stop the stupidity in its tracks.
"Congradulations Mr. Obvious," Naruto replied.
"We train in the morning," Sasuke told him. Sasuke wondered why Naruto wasn't getting ready. The two of them had been training at dawn every morning except for Sundays for the past ten years.
"I know," Naruto responded. Sasuke shrugged.
"Well, if you want to train naked be my guest, but I intend to whop your ass today."
"Like last night?" Naruto asked wickedly. "Nah, nah, just kidding. Sasuke, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What?" Sasuke asked while attaching his weapons pouch to his leg. He opened the draw and threw some clothes at Naruto who nodded and put the shirt over his head.
"Well, Sakura's whose half the size of a baby killer whale is going to have the babies in a few months and I was wondering, who's going to take care of them?"
"We are dobe, that's what parents do," Sasuke explained slowly.
"Shut up bastard. I meant well, we're both away a lot. Missions haven't really been coming in the last month, but sometimes we're both away for weeks at a time. Or sometimes one of us is away for a month and the other has small missions. I don't know, I was thinking..." Naruto trailed off.
"Congratulations, I knew you had the ability to think somewhere in you," Sasuke teased playfully. Naruto glared at Sasuke. Sasuke stuck out his tongue. Naruto pulled his lower eye lid down. "Anyway, what's your point?"
"Well, a kid should have both parents home most of the time. Both of us being in the ANBU takes up too much time to raise children. That's just my thought." Sasuke remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"You have a point. I'll think about it," Sasuke said neutrally. Naruto did have a point. They were both rarely in the house at the same time for more than a few daylight hours at a time. Sasuke stood up and threw Naruto's weapon pouch at him. Naruto caught it and smiled thanks.
"Ready to go?" Naruto asked.
"Wait a minute, can't find my contacts," Sasuke replied. The irony that someone whose life as a ninja depended mainly on sight was half blind was not lost on Sasuke. Upon hitting age seventeen Sasuke found he couldn't see things far away without having his Sharingun activated and even then things were blurry.
"Just wear your glasses," Naruto reasoned pointing to the case on the dresser.
"Can't train in glasses, stupid glasses," Sasuke muttered under his breath. Naruto stifled a giggle at Sasuke's rant. The glasses went on Sasuke's face causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow. However much Sasuke hated his glasses he did look exceptionally sexy with them on.
The two made their way to the spacious backyard. It was filled with various obstacle courses and training trees.
"Are we sparing today or just training?" Naruto asked.
"Up to you. Personally I wanted to work on taijutsu. I find myself lacking in that area. On my last mission I was almost all out of chakra and had to fall back on those techniques. It would have been a lot easier had I been training in that area," Sasuke explained.
"So how about an all Taijutsu battle?" Naruto suggested. Sasuke nodded and gave Naruto a quick kiss before moving away so they could start. The battle started out predictably with Naruto running at Sasuke with full speed. Sasuke went to dodge and noticed Naruto's feet placement suggested he was going to dodge around Sasuke. The battle continued for a good half an hour before a yell interrupted them.
"Hey! Sasuke! Naruto! Stop that right now and get over here!" Ino yelled from the top of the wall. The blond woman was now five months pregnant, two behind Sakura, and was looking as threatening as ever. Ino as usual refused to stop participating in ninja activities until she hit eight months and therefore found it impossible to move well. At that point she usually retired to the couch and yelled at Shikamaru to bring her food. Sasuke and Naruto stopped where they were; which was Sasuke about to sweep Naruto off his feet with a kick.
"Ino! Why are you interrupting our training?" Naruto asked angrily. In the past few years Training with Sasuke had become one of the highlights of the day and he hated it when people interrupted.
"Thought you might like to know that your children are about to be born! Sakura went into labor prematurely. Probably won't take her long since this is her third pregnancy so I'd get my ass over there if I were you two," Ino scolded them. Sasuke and Naruto nodded and disappeared in clouds of smoke leaving Ino all alone standing on top of the wall that surrounded the Uchiha manor. "Fine, go leave the pregnant woman all alone here!" Ino muttered indignantly to herself and jumped off the wall to start walking to the hospital. Ino had just recently found that she was carrying twins and so the period of inactivity seemed to be coming sooner than it had previously.
"We're here!" Naruto announced to a nurse as soon as he reached the hospital.
"Dobe, this is physical therepy, we're not supposed to be here," Sasuke reprimanded him. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," Sasuke told some rather disturbed looking people who were sitting waiting to be called. "Come on." Sasuke dragged Naruto to the right area of the hospital.
"Who are you looking for?" a nurse at the reception desk asked them.
"We're looking for Sakura, Rock Sakura," Sasuke told her firmly.
"She's not ready to go into the birthing room yet and is taking visitors. She's right through there," the nurse directed them. Sasuke and Naruto followed the nurse to a door. They entered to find Sakura doing her Lamaze breathing. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look. They had had to go with Sakura to her classes lately.
"Actually Sakura it seems you are ready to give birth, I'll wheel you into the room. Who's going in with you?" a young doctor asked.
"My husband and the fathers of the babies are," Sakura informed her.
"I'm sorry, we only allow one person in with you, which is generally the father. So who is coming?" the doctor asked again.
"We're both the fathers," Naruto explained.
"What about you sir?" the doctor asked Lee.
"I'm her husband. It was agreed that the three of us would go in," Lee told the doctor.
"Let me get this straight. You two are both the fathers of the babies and you're her husband?"
"That's corrected," Sasuke agreed.
"The law only recognizes one father so who is it going to be?" the doctor, now very frazzled demanded.
"It should be one of them," Lee piped.
"It should be Lee. He is her husband," Naruto protested.
"Yes, it should be Lee," Sasuke agreed. Sakura glanced at her friends while she was wheeled away.
"Tenten? Get your predecessor will you? She will take over and allow these two in," Ino, who along with Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Hinata had gathered and been watching the debate, said.
"You want me to get Tsunade? Ah, I see what you mean," Tenten realized. She nodded and disappeared.
"Oh, ordering around the person most likely to be next hokage, you got guts," Kiba snickered. Ino glared at him and he quickly cowered while his dog whined.
"Never mess with the Ino death glare," Shikamaru muttered.
"Is that why you're on your fourth and fifth children?" Hinata asked slyly. Shikamaru decided now would be a good time to practice sulking.
"Why couldn't Tenten order them to let Sasuke and Naruto in?" Hinata asked. "She's hokage now."
"Tenten is in charge of a military institution, not the laws. She can't change the laws here," Neji informed them.
"Sasuke, I've been thinking," Naruto started.
"Wow, that's a major accomplishment for you," Neji joked in his normal deadpan manor.
"Hardy har har," Naruto snapped.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Ino asked.
"Well, if they won't let Sasuke and me into the room, what happens when they children go to school? Maybe they won't allow them in school for being sons of gay parents," Naruto said.
"Listen, they try to stop your children from going to school and I pull mine out. The school could not afford to lose my children as their students. I mean, the first one is some kind of genius, and the second is simply really smart. We're not sure about this one yet," Ino told him, nodding at her current youngest Yokio. "But from the looks of it he's just smart. That's three smart kids they'd lose plus the two I'm carrying. Not to mention the fact that Shikamaru and I are the sole heirs to our clans and while they aren't prestigious clans, it's still a clan nonetheless. Then you think about all the kids my kids will have who will also boycott the school over this if need be. Not to mention that I'm probably going to end up having more children from the looks of things.
"Now Sakura would probably her children out of school if yours aren't allowed either. While hers aren't the most special bunch, they're smart and have great will power. They're probably going to be good ninjas that the school would be ashamed not to have as alumni. Then look at Hinata. I'm sure she'd pull her kids from the school if yours aren't allowed. Her twins are geniuses at their blood line techniques and have been hailed as prodigies. The one she's carrying will probably be the same. That's three more geniuses you're losing. Then you remember they're Hyyuga. Rule number one of Konoha, don't piss off the Hyyuga. Oh yea, they're main house members too and Hinata and Neji are the heads of the clan. Meaning all Hyyuga children will be boycotting the school.
"Think about it. Just counting yours, Sakura's, Hinata's and my children, we'll soon have thirteen between all of us. Each year only about nine graduate so by taking away thirteen children the school is screwed not to mention all the Hyuuga who wouldn't be going," Ino explained proudly.
"Huh?" Naruto said looking confused.
"She's saying there'll be no more kids in school," Shikamaru who had decided to stop sulking for a moment since the stupidity was bothering him beyond belief, said.
"Did you think of that all yourself Ino?" Hinata teased. Ino shot her death glare in the direction of the white eyed shinobi. Hinata looked down nervously.
"Yea, yea, did the Nara genius help you with that one?" Naruto asked.
"You mean Reizo?" Sasuke muttered under his breath, referring to Shikamaru and Ino's oldest son who was, at the tender age of eight, a genius to beat out his father.
"Sasuke, Naruto, get in here!" called a voice from inside the room Sakura had been taken in to. "Hinata, you're trained in medicine right? We're having problems getting nurses who won't protest to Naruto and Sasuke so get in here." The three mentioned nodded and moved in.
When they entered the room they found Sakura yelling curses, Lee telling her with his nice guy pose that it would be all better soon or else he'd do a thousand laps around the village and Tsunade yelling at Lee to shut up and for Sakura to push.
"Old hag, long time no see," Naruto greeted Tsunade.
"Hi brat. Married life seems to fit you," Tsunade said over her shoulder. "PUSH SAKURA!" Sakura yelled with pain, saying enough curses to make the oldest and most grisly of ANBU captains who went under cover as sailors blush. "Well it seems this one is just about out. Just one more push Sakura!" Sakura's cry was joined by that of a new born infant announcing their presence on earth.
"Tarou is here, the first born son," Sasuke said proudly slipping his arm around Naruto's waist.
"Here," Tsunade said handing the infant to Hinata. "Clean him up while I get the others." Hinata looked at the blood covered baby with a confused expression. "Did you or did you not receive medical training? Doesn't matter, just clean him up and give him to one of them." The older woman pointed vaguely in Naruto and Sasuke's direction.
"You're doing really well Sakura," Naruto told her assuredly though he had no idea.
"Why you little bastards! I'll kill you for this!" Sakura yelled.
"Don't worry, she doesn't really mean it, she said the same thing to me during the births of our children," Lee assured them.
"But as I recall she actually managed to throw katana at you that someone forgot to confiscate," Tsunade teased. "Here comes the next one. Push Sakura push. Only two more to go."
"I'd like to see you try this," Sakura muttered indignantly.
"Um, Tsunade?" Hinata asked quietly.
"Can it wait? Can't you see I'm busy?" the woman snapped.
"But it isn't a boy," Hinata murmured quietly.
"That's a good girl Sakura, here's number two," Tsunade said handing Hinata the next one.
"This one isn't right! He isn't crying; is breathing isn't right!" Hinata cried with horror.
"Get those damn excuses for doctors in here!" Hinata ran out the door with the infant calling for the doctors. Sasuke looked around worriedly. Naruto gave him a reassuring hug before walking over to the crying baby Hinata had wrapped and laid in a crib nearby.
"Look at him Sasuke, isn't he so perfect?" Naruto asked. Sasuke talked over as well. The baby had a cubby little face and a patch of black hair covering the head.
"He is, the second most perfect thing I've ever seen," Sasuke replied kissing Naruto on the forehead.
"I hate to spoil the moment, but here's the one," Tsunade said holding the bloody infant. "I'll clean him up and you go talk to Sakura. We'll find out what happened to the middle one in a moment." The pair nodded and made their way over to the bed where Lee was telling the exhausted Sakura what a good job she'd done.
"Thank you Sakura," Naruto said kissing his friend on the head. Sasuke did the same. Sakura smiled and nodded, leaning back into the soft pillows.
"Um, guys? You should take a look at this," Tsunade called. "You know how you were going to name the first Tarou, the second Ryuuji and the third Ronin? Well this one can't be Tarou." Tsunade pointed to the infant already in a crib.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
"That's what Hinata was trying to tell us. It's a girl, not a boy. You have two boys and a girl," Tsunade told them.
"But I thought there were going to be three boys," Naruto said.
"It was only know that two were boys, the other was unknown but we just assumed it was a boy," Sasuke said. "What should we call her?"
"How about Taka? It's a good strong name. They say names protect you, with this one she'll be able to protect herself," Lee suggested.
"So this one is?" Tsunade asked holding up the other baby in the room. This baby didn't cry as much as his sister did though it seems simply because he didn't want to, not because he couldn't. He had strawberry blond hair and when he opened his eyes they were a beautiful shade of blue, only slightly more green than Naruto's own.
"Ronin, the samurai without a master," Sasuke said.
"Why did you name him that?" Sakura asked sitting up.
"Because one day," Naruto explained while Sasuke took the baby boy in his arms, "he will be the master. He'll be the best and therefore master less." Naruto picked up the baby girl. She stopped crying and opened her eyes. They were green, the color of grass on a spring day, blending into a dark blue almost black color on the outside. "She's going to be a beauty one day," Naruto laughed. The little girl cocked her head to one side to stare up at Naruto. "Hello Taka, we're your fathers," he told her.
"Why are you telling her? She can't understand," Sasuke scolded him while looking down at the bundle in his arms. The boy seemed to be a perfect blend of Sakura and Naruto. The boy yawned slightly causing Sasuke to smile.
"Can I hold them?" Sakura asked.
"As soon as we tell Ronin his name," Naruto told her. He looked down at the little boy. "Taka, this is your brother Ronin. Ronin, we are your fathers and this is your sister." Ronin gave his father a 'what the hell?' type like making Sasuke smirk. "Oh shut up. Let's let Sakura hold them for a bit." Sakura took Taka in her right arm and Ronin in her left.
"They're beautiful!" she exclaimed. The door opened showing Hinata who walked into the room cradling the bundle. She looked up showing them the veins around her eyes which held tears.
"I'm sorry," she whispered softly. "There was nothing they could do." She handed the baby to Sasuke who took it. The child hadn't even been cleaned off. Sasuke looked down at the boy. He had brown hair and a cute button nose. He was breathing but it seemed off. It seemed that each time he exhaled he exhaled some of his life force.
"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked.
"His chakra, he can't hold chakra," Hinata told them sadly. "No one knew what to do so I used Bykagun. Every time he lets out a breath he loses his chakra."
"How was it he was born then?" Sakura asked fearfully.
"They were helping him, the other two. His chakra colors are patchy, mixes of several different colors. They were pumping their own chakra into him to keep him alive," Hinata explained.
"Why can't we put more chakra in him then, I have extra, I'll donate," Naruto offered quickly.
"It won't work," Tsunade told him. "It's amazing those two were able to keep him alive to be born, but they're both unusually low in chakra themselves. I think had they continued this process for the next two months of pregnancy, they would have died as well. I think they knew this that they had to be born if they or their brother had any chance of survival."
"But, he can't, he can't die," Naruto stammered.
"I'm afraid there's no hope. He's only got a few more minutes to live. I'm glad you can't see what I see; I'm glad you can't see how horrible it is," Hinata wept. She turned and ran from the room into Neji's arms outside. Naruto took the corner of the blanket and wiped some blood from the baby's face.
"Ryuuji, I want you to meet your family. We're your family. Naruto and I are your fathers, over there is your older sister Taka and your younger brother Ronin," Sasuke murmured. Tears swelled in Sasuke's eyes as he handed the child to Lee and walked out of the room.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called after him. He looked down when he realized Sasuke wasn't going to come back into the room. A nurse came into the room to take Taka and Ronin away. She looked like she wanted to take Ryuuji too, but didn't even try after taking a look at the determined look on Naruto's face.
"What are their names?" she asked.
"Taka and Ronin Uchiha-Uzumaki," Naruto replied.
"Can you please signed the birth certificates?" the nurse asked.
"They'll do that later," Lee said firmly for Naruto. The nurse nodded and left.
"We'll be back within half an hour." Naruto gave Sakura another kiss on the forehead and left the room.
He walked down the various corridors, just letting his husband's chakra presence guide him. He clutched the baby in his arms to him and ignored the protests of doctors who told him he couldn't take the baby. Naruto found Sasuke in front of the baby window. He was staring at the two empty baskets that had the Uchiha-Uzumaki name on them. Sasuke was leaning against the glass, his tears fogging it up. His dark hair fell around his face making his pale skin. Like so many times before Naruto thought him an angel.
"Sasuke," Naruto whispered softly. Sasuke turned around to look at him. "We should spend time with him; this is the only time we'll ever get to spend with him."
"What do you want me to do? You want me to pretend he's ok?" Sasuke asked.
"Just talk. Maybe he can hear you," Naruto suggested. Sasuke sighed and took the baby in his arms.
"Ryuuji, we named you that because we wanted you to be strong like a dragon. We're sorry that we'll never get to know you. We're sorry that we can't give you the life we always wanted. We promise to raise your brother and sister the way we wanted to raise you. We promise never to forget you. We'll always love you." Sasuke kissed the child on his forehead and handed him to Naruto.
"Well, I guess I should say my peace before going after him. Ryuuji, as he said, we love you. I'm sorry I'll never be able to introduce you to ramen. I'm sorry you'll never take your first steps or say your first words. I'm sorry I'll never be angry with you for fighting with your brother and sister. I'm sorry I'll never get to be proud of you as you graduate from the academy. I'm sorry I'll never get to see you go on your first date. I'm sorry I won't get to dance at your wedding or hold your first child. I'm sorry you won't be one of the ones burying me one day. I shouldn't have to be the one burying you. I guess you have to go but I'm going to ask you to be good and to watch over your sister and brother as they watched over you," Naruto also kissed the child on the forehead. "Let's go back. We have two other children too you know."
"I'm glad that his hair is brown so that we won't know for sure whose it is. I don't think I could live with that," Sasuke said quietly.
"Me either, I like the idea of him being our child better rather than just yours or mine," Naruto replied. Sasuke put one of his arms around Naruto and his other around the baby. "Let's repaint the nursery green."
"Why?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, both Taka and Ronin have green eyes and it seems more fitting than green."
"Maybe we should give them separate rooms."
"Nah, let's have them share a room while they're babies to make it easier on us. When they're toddlers we can give them the two adjoining rooms," Naruto decided.
"Let's go back now," Sasuke said. He guided Naruto down the hall with one hand on his shoulders.
"We heard, oh are you two ok?" Ino asked as soon as she saw Naruto and Sasuke.
"Yea, one isn't going to make it, but we have two healthy children, why you all go home and we'll invite you all in tomorrow to visit Sakura and the babies. They're probably be ready to go home even if they were premature," Naruto suggested.
"What about that baby?" Neji asked.
"He's the one who isn't going to make it. Hinata can explain it all later. Naruto, let's go back to Sakura, I'd think she'd want to be with us and him when he passes," Sasuke put in. Naruto nodded and the two bid good bye to their friends. They entered Sakura's room once again.
"How is he?" Sakura asked. She held out her arms for the baby.
"He's not doing so well," Naruto said honestly.
"What's his name?" Lee asked. "I'm sure they'll find a way to help him."
"There is no way," Sasuke informed him.
"I'm so sorry," Sakura wept. Naruto was unsure if the comment was addressed to Ryuuji or to Sasuke and himself.
"You aren't to blame, no one is. It's no one's fault," Lee assured her.
"I could have taken better care of myself," Sakura cried.
"You took fine care of yourself Sakura. It's not your fault," Naruto said.
"I feel so helpless," Sakura whispered.
"We all do," Sasuke said.
"He's right. We need to be thankful that Taka and Ronin are strong," Lee agreed with conviction. Then again, Lee did everything with conviction.
"I don't think he's breathing," Sakura said in a panicked voice. Sasuke lifted the child out of her arms and watched him intently. The baby coughed slightly and drew in a breath, one he did not let out.
"He's gone. At least his spirit is at peace," Sasuke commented.
"What do you mean?" Lee asked.
"He breathed in. The first thing you do when you are born is breathe in, the last thing you do is breathe in. When your last breath is out, your spirit is trapped in this world," Sasuke explained.
"Good, he knows we loved him," Naruto affirmed. "If you feel like you can get out of bed, we should arrange to have the funeral within a few days to make sure his spirit is happy."
It turned out that Taka and Ronin needed to be kept in the hospital for two weeks extra to make sure they were ready to live on their own even though they had both demonstrated they had amazing lung power and were not kicking any buckets anytime soon. A quiet ceremony was held for Ryuuji. His tomb stone read 'Uchiha-Uzumaki Ryuuji, Beloved son and brother, we will never for get you.'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*
Ronin opened the next album and looked inside. The first few pages were absolutely filled with pictures of babies and smiling group photos. Even the birth certificates and adoption certificates were included. Ronin noted that on his birth certificate only his father was listed in the place for the paternal parent to sign and on Taka's his dad was listed. The adoption certificates listed the other adopting the children. There was a third birth certificate, along with one for death, for Uchiha-Uzumaki Ryuuji. "Letter," Taka said, pointing to a paper. "It seems Dad liked writing these." "No, this one is from Father. That's strange, he hated letter writing," Ronin pondered. "At lease his handwriting is easier to read." "Read it aloud will you?"
~Dear Taka and Ronin,
Currently you are about a week old. We haven't been able to take you home yet since the doctors are afraid of health problems. Naruto insisted I write this to you though looking at the two of you sleeping now I wonder why. You're right here for me to tell you anything I'm going to write even if you won't understand or remember. I'm writing this letter partly about your brother. Naruto and I have agreed we'll raise you without telling you about your brother. It makes more sense; we don't want the two of you to feel guilty. I want you to know that neither Naruto nor I blame you for anything what so ever and thank you for keeping your brother alive long enough for us to meet him. Taka was born first, though we thought she'd be a boy whom we were planning to call Tarou, then Ryuuji and then Ronin."~
Taka paused. "So I am older." "You haven't brought that up in years," Ronin said grinning. Taka glared at him and continued reading.
~Naruto and I want you to live your lives to the fullest. Personally I hope you can forgive us for all the mistakes we're going to make. Neither of us had parents growing up, well I did, but only in the beginning, so we don't really know how it's done. Ino insists that all parents screw up their children in their own unique way. From her children I'd have to agree. I'm out of things to write, but Naruto just told me he wants me to write my hopes and dreams for you two. I find that pointless, its false expectations since I will probably be proud of you no matter what. What I want for you? Well, for Ronin you to be strong. We named you that because we want you to be the top. Naruto wants you to be Hokage since he probably won't get to be. I want you to live a good life. I want you to fall in love and I want you to have your heartbroken a few times since you can't appreciate love without heartbreak. I want you to always try no matter what. I want you to keep going even when it seems pointless. I hope you get Naruto's sense of wonder and I hope you never tire with the world. Taka, I want the same for you. I want you to be a tribute to our clan. I don't want you to back down without a fight nor do I want you to be one of those silly girlie girls. (sorry Sakura.) I want you to always use your head and I want you to be careful with your heart. Like I said to Ronin, having your heart broken helps you realize how special love is, but still, be careful who you give it to. Taka, I want you to try for Hokage, or whatever height you want to reach. Don't expect us to raise you with dolls and teddy bears. I don't want you to sit on the sidelines. Unfortunately the task of carrying on our clan falls now to you. I'm sorry to give you that responsibility, but I have no doubt that one day you will be glad to. I want you both to take care of each other. Ronin, I want you to beat up any guy (or girl) who breaks your sister's heart and Taka I want you to do the same. We will always love you. Love, Your Father, Sasuke