I finally got through my writer's block so here it goes:

Family

Part 3

Chapter 9: Day Three

Two days has passed since Naruto came back, Konoha was still peaceful. The streets were busy and the villagers were pretty occupied with their everyday jobs. The Leaf-nins, regardless of their rank, continued their everyday routines…like training, doing a couple of missions…

Well as for our Rokudaime Hokage, he was still in his office…and he was pretty bored.

'Hmmm…this is really boring…' Naruto sighed. He then recalled some of the pranks he did when he was younger. He laughed. 'I wonder if Reiji pulled out some pranks too…'

He then looked at the papers piled at his table. He sighed and he pouted. 'So many paperwork…' He then stared at the wall of his office blankly.

'I'm hungry…'

'I want to see my family…'

'I wonder what Hinata-chan is doing right now…'

'…How about Reiji-kun?'

'Hmmm…'

'Damn I'm really hungry…'

"Excuse me; is the Hokage in right now?" Hinata asked the woman at the front desk. She was holding a basket with food inside it.

"Hai, he is in right now…"

"Thank you then."

Hinata went up the stairs and she went inside Naruto's office.

She saw that her husband was staring blankly at the wall. Naruto didn't even notice her.

'He didn't notice me? He must be REALLY hungry right now…' Hinata thought.

She then approached Naruto's table. She arranged the papers and she laid down the basket in front of him. He still didn't notice her presence. Hinata then brought out a Styrofoam bowl and a thermos jug. She opened the thermos jug and she poured its contents into the bowl.

She laid the bowl in front of Naruto.

Naruto smelled it.

'Mmmm… Ramen…Am I so hungry that I start hallucinating?' He thought.

Hinata cocked her head sideward.

'He hasn't noticed THE RAMEN?' Hinata thought. She then made her way around Naruto's table.

'Mmmm…ramen…' Naruto continued to think. 'I could swear that I really smell Hinata's cooking here…mmmm… Hinata-chan's homemade ramen…so tasty…I wish she would bring me some lunch here…ramen or not…anything will do as long as it is her cooking…' He thought.

He then felt someone's soft and tender lips touch his cheek for a while.

He turned his head slightly.

A woman was smiling gently and lovingly at him. It was his wife, Hinata.

'Praise Kami-sama! He has fulfilled my wish!' He thought. "Hinata-chan, what are you doing here? Did you bring me something to eat?" He asked.

Hinata pointed at the bowl lying at his desk. Naruto sweat dropped.

"So it was true…" He mumbled. Hinata gave him chopsticks and he broke them apart. "Itidakimasu" He said and he started to dig in. Hinata watched her husband eat her cooking with a big smile in her face.

"Hinata-chan…your cooking is always tasty!" Naruto said. The bowl was empty. "Are there more?" He asked.

"Yes but not that much…" Hinata said. She poured more ramen in Naruto's bowl. "Unfortunately Naruto-kun…your son shares the same passion for ramen with you…he came home for lunch and well he almost ate all of my cooking…If I didn't tell him I would be bringing some for you…he would have eaten it all…"

"I can tell that we really have a lot in common…even though I wasn't there…maybe this passion for ramen is in the genes…" Naruto said.

"Maybe it is in the genes…" Hinata smiled. "But you know…it is really amazing that he looked exactly like you…everyone could really tell that he is your son…"

Naruto smiled after he emptied the contents of the bowl.

"And you know what? Jiraiya-sama said that he thought that you transformed back to your young self when he met Reiji-kun…" Hinata added.

"Ero-Sennin never told me that…"

"Jiraiya-sama is glad… he is glad that Konoha has another energetic ninja…and he even added that Reiji has much more potential than you had…"

"He even said 'He would make a great Hokage some day…' " Hinata said, imitating Jiraiya's voice but not doing so well.

"He said that?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm very happy that Kami-sama gave us Reiji-kun…" Naruto said while he helped Hinata clean up his desk.

"Reiji-kun has been a very great gift for us…"

"I can see that…" Naruto smiled.

"So, when will you come home?"

"I don't know…I plan to finish all of these quickly and then I go spend some quality time with Reiji-kun and then we go home and then after that, I will spend some quality time with my wife…" Naruto said.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"Reiji really likes to spend all those time with you…"

"He does?"

"Yeah, when he was younger…he idolized you so much…one day; he was running around the market shouting 'I'm gonna be the next Hokage like my dad!' And everyone was telling me that someone replaced you…" Hinata paused. "But the truth is…I missed you more…Reiji-kun was so much like you…he reminded me so much of you…his father…my husband…the one I thought I lost…" Naruto hugged her.

"Oh come on, cheer up! I'm here now and I'm not gonna leave you…" Naruto said. 'I hope…' He thought. Hinata hugged him back.

"Then I guess…I'll see the both of you later at home…" Hinata said and she tiptoed to catch Naruto's lips. After a short kiss, she waved goodbye to her husband.

On here way out, Hinata encountered Jiraiya.

"Oh Mrs. Uzumaki, you're here!!!" Jiraiya said.

"Ah Jiraiya-sama…Are you here to visit Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, I am here to visit him, we have a lot to talk about…" Jiraiya grinned.

"Goodbye then, Jiraiya-sama…" She bowed down.

"Huh, you're leaving already?" He asked.

"I just finished giving him his lunch so now I'm gonna come back…" Hinata said.

"Bye then!!!" Jiraiya said.

"Before I go Jiraiya-sama, have you seen Reiji-kun?"

"Yeah, I believe he is in training area 22 now…"

"Thank you and bye, Jiraiya-sama…" Hinata left.

"Damn you Naruto, you get all the great things in life…" Jiraiya whispered and he went inside Naruto's office.

"Huh, Ero-sennin what are you doing here?" Naruto asked while a couple of papers were in his hand. He was looking at the document in front of him.

"I just wanted to pay you a visit since we didn't have a good talk yesterday…" He closed the door.

"Take a seat then…" Naruto said while signing a document.

Jiraiya sat down on the chair in front of his desk.

There was silence.

"I thought you were gonna talk to me about something…" Naruto said while he was still signing paper.

"It's so unlike you…"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"The last time I checked you hated doing paperwork…" Jiraiya said.

"Well, eight years can do a lot…"

"…"

"And besides, I want to finish this all so I can spend time with Reiji…"

"You're very fond of your son, I see."

"Of course, he is my son…"

"Do you feel wrong Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto didn't reply.

"I guess you're not sure… but Naruto…I could tell something is wrong with you…" Jiraiya said.

Naruto stopped signing the papers and he looked up at Jiraiya.

"How could you tell?" He asked.

"Just by looking at your eyes… how you move… and everything else…" Jiraiya said,

Naruto gently arranged the papers in his desk and he removed his forehead protector.

"Eh, what are you going to do now?" Jiraiya asked.

"Just watch me…" Naruto said. He then tried to mold charka. Jiraiya felt his usual charka. After a while, a seal started appearing in Naruto's head.

Jiraiya looked closely at the seal. "What's that seal, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto stopped molding some charka. "I don't know…but I think I'm not feeling alright because of it…" Naruto said.

The two stayed silent.

"Where do you keep that scroll anyway?"

"What scroll?"

"For the seal removal technique…"

"Here…" Naruto took out a key form his pouch and he unlocked a drawer. He pulled the drawer out and it revealed a scroll. Naruto took it and held it out to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya took it and examined it. "Hell what is this? It reads 'Warning…you must have a large charka capacity to master this move' what the hell is this, Naruto?" He asked.

Naruto laughed. "It is what it says…"

"No, that wasn't what I was trying to say…why did you put this here?" He asked.

Naruto sighed. "Well…that technique requires a lot of charka…when I tried that on Neji…I almost fell cold on the ground…" He said.

"…No way! The last time I checked, you could do MANY Rasengans before losing consciousness. You could probably summon all the frogs with your charka capacity…"

Naruto's face saddened. "That's why I am afraid that no one would be able to save me from this curse…" Naruto then wore the forehead protector. "I am afraid that…even if I am here…I won't be able to protect my home…my family…" He said.

Jiraiya patted Naruto on his shoulder "Don't worry Naruto…I'll talk to Tsunade about this and maybe…we can find a way around this…" Jiraiya said. He grinned. "Even if I have to give up my data gathering duties…"

Naruto smiled.

---

"Hey Reiji-kun!!!" Hinata called out.

Reiji turned his head and saw his mother waving her hands. "Okaasan…" He ran to her. "What are you doing here?" He asked upon reaching her. Did something happen to Otousan?" He asked.

Hinata bent down and pinched her son's cheek. Reiji smiled and rubbed his cheek.

"Oh don't be so paranoid, nothing bad happened to your father. Your father could take care of his self…" She smiled.

"Oh…" Reiji said. "Hey mom…!"

"Yeah…?"

"I have something cool to show you!!!" Reiji said. "Follow me?" He then ran towards a kneed-deep river.

Hinata followed him. Reiji then stopped before the river.

"Watch me, mom!" He said and grinned at her.

He walked towards the water and he started walking in it without falling in the water. He stopped at the middle and he faced his mother. "So, whaddya think?" He asked.

"Let me guess…your father taught you that…" She smiled. Reiji smiled and ran towards her. He then hugged her. Hinata hugged him closer. After a moment, Reiji looked up at her.

"Do you think he'll be happy?" He asked. Hinata smiled.

"Yes, I will be happy…" A man said. Reiji stopped hugging his mother and he looked around. He smiled when he saw his father.

Hinata turned around. "I didn't think that you'll be able to finish all those paperwork that quick… or you just didn't finish them at all…" Hinata said.

Naruto rubbed his neck and he grinned. "Well you know me…" He said. "Hey son, can you kindly do it again?"

Reiji nodded.

---

"NANI?! What seal? Where? Where is he? How come he never told me? God damn it!!! WHERE IS HE???" Tsunade shouted all of those questions.

Shizune and Jiraiya stopped covering their ears with their hands when Tsunade calmed down.

"Geez, Tsunade…I didn't know you could get worked up like that…" Jiraiya said.

"Who wouldn't be? Naruto just came back and look what he's hiding beneath that grin of his again!!! He's hiding another problem? He is hiding the truth of that god damned seal from us!!!" She said.

"Well…he wasn't so sure about that seal himself…" Jiraiya said.

"Here…" Shizune then held out a big book.

"Hmmm…Book of seals…" Jiraiya whispered.

"Good work Shizune…" Tsunade took the book. "Now come here you perverted geezer…we are going to find out about that seal…tell me what it looks like…"

---

Naruto ruffled his son's hair. He grinned. "Well, you did well." He said. "Hinata-chan…did you teach him Gentle fist?" Naruto asked while giving his son a playful headlock.

"Yeah I did…" Hinata answered.

Naruto nodded and he released his son's head. "Hey, let me show you something."

Reiji smiled at his father. He was surely having a good time. Naruto backed away from his son. He then held out his hand and a ball of charka formed in his hand. Reiji watched the ball of charka with fascination. Naruto then ran towards a tree and he thrust the ball into a tree.

Reiji saw the damage that the technique inflicted on the tree. He stared at it in awe.

"Cool, eh?" Naruto grinned. "Listen, do you…" Naruto then dropped down on the ground.

"Otousan!!!"

"Naruto-kun!!!"

"Hey that's the one!" Jiraiya said.

"Hmmm…let's see…it's called a seven day seal…what the?" Tsunade took a look on the book closer and she looked started. "My God…" She whispered.

"Why, what happened?" Jiraiya asked and he read the text aloud.

"The "seven day seal" is one of the forbidden seals created by the Takamura clan. The seal will only show its effect once it gets activated. This seal is also very deadly and it cannot be stopped once it is activated. The effects can vary but one thing is clear; the one that possesses the seal will feel weak and sick. On the First day of its activation, the possessor will not feel the effects yet. On the second day, he would start feeling weak. On the third day, when the possessor will use his charka, he will lose his consciousness and he will be bedridden from now on. On the fourth day, he would still be bedridden and he would start to have a high fever. On the Fifth day, his fever would be worse. On the sixth day, his senses would start to weaken. And on the end of the seventh day, the possessor would die." Jiraiya was shocked. "W-wait...Naruto could die?

"I fear he could…" Tsunade stood up from her seat.

---

Hinata and Reiji rushed to where Naruto collapsed. Confusion and worry for Naruto was clearly written in their faces. Reiji then planted his hand in his father's shoulder and he shook Naruto lightly.

"Otousan, what is wrong?" He asked; his voice was trembling. "Answer me, Otousan… I don't want to lose you anymore…" He whispered. His vision was blurred because of the tears building up in his eyes. He blinked and the tears freely fell.

Hinata's hand was trembling when she ran her fingers through her husband's blonde hair. She pushed him so he would lay on his back. She removed his forehead protector and she examined his temperature by placing her pale hand over his forehead. He was hot. His temperature was high. "Fever…" She murmured. "But… fever can't do this to him…" She said. "What exactly is happening?

---

After learning that Naruto had left the office, Tsunade and Jiraiya rushed to the training area because they supposed Naruto would go to his son.

"Otousan…!" They heard a boyish voice. They quickly rushed to where they heard it.

Upon arriving, they saw Naruto on the ground without consciousness. Beside him were his wife and son.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked.

Hinata looked at her. "He…just…collapsed…" She said while trying her best to avoid crying.

Tsunade kneeled near Naruto. "How is his temperature?" She asked.

"It is…high…" Hinata replied.

Reiji and Jiraiya just looked at them.

Tsunade's eyes crinkled in worry. "This is not good…" she whispered.

Hinata's eyes widened. "What do you mean, Tsunade-sama?" She asked.

"We need to get him to the hospital now!" Tsunade said. Jiraiya summoned a big frog and he placed Naruto above. He sat in it.

He tapped the frog's head. "I'll get the job done…" He said. The frog then hopped away from the spot.

Reiji trembled. He didn't know what was happening and he knew that his mother were as clueless like he was. He clenched his fist.

"Tsunade-sama, please answer me…what…is happening to my husband?" She asked.

Tsunade looked at her. "Another seal has been placed on him…" After that, her eyes did all the talking.

He could die…

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