Hi! I think I finished it now...phew...this chapters a long one so make sure you have a drink and a biscuit to go with it! Now before the story some replies to reviews...
SilverCrystal9: I haven't any tatoos myself because Im trying to figure out that special one to get! I'm too much of a wuss myself but I'd love to be covered with loads of tattoos that mean things! You'll be glad to know there are more tattoos to come...:P
Ichigo-dattebayo: Last chapter done! Took ages cause of lack of internet but glad you enjoyed the last one! This probably has more mistakes cause the ideas came faster than my fingers.
Kanemoshi: Hehe this is sappier than the last chapter! enjoy
BlackMystick: Again more fans and flames and heating up in this one...see if you can spot it. I was going to make it even cheesier and take the joke further but I restrained myself a bit :)
lilchishorty: YES! THERE IS MOOORRRRE! see...but no more after this ok? The chapters keep getting longer and longer and my fingers hurt :(
Mistress-starfire: Another mistress! Yay! Glad you liked it up to here...this chapter gets a bit weird but if you ignore the plot holes and ooc-ness its all god! And...ooooh good idea for a tattooo! puts it in her book of potential tatoos I'm still entertaining the idea of an anbu tattoo...yes im sad.
Elrothiel: Oh god you found it! Well you better read this one or I'll slap you when i next see you ;)
The troublesome twins: I did update! And its really long..I was gonna break it into a ocuple chapters but thought hey why not keep it as one. It wouldn't have worked well as too anyways. Hope you like it!
Nejigirl: I HAD to continue! It was my destiny...and the ideas were too sappy not to continue but if you want any more sasu/naru from me you're gonna have to wait til my fingers have recovered from this story.
Phew! Okay so all thats left for me before this chapter is to remind y'all I own none ofNaruto whatsoever, although I wish I did.
A family to call our own...
"She's perfect…" thought Naruto as he kissed her softly on the forehead. Her little nose wrinkled up and she frowned a little before falling back into sleep. Sasuke leant over his shoulder and smiled at the expression, wrapping his arm about Naruto's shoulders. His eyes held a soft look to them and Naruto melted inside, just catching the look in his peripheral vision. It was obvious that this baby had found a place in Sasuke's heart too.
"We'll take her." decided Naruto. It felt right that they adopt this baby. After all, he'd been picking up countless babies this afternoon and already with this one, it was almost painful to let go of her. Especially when he heard how her parents had just abandoned her in favour of having a son. She had been neglected by everyone for a reason beyond her control…even the nurses seemed reluctant to look after her.
"You sure?" Sasuke asked. "After all…didn't you say you'd rather have a son so you could teach him lots of cool jutsu."
"Mhmm..I did say that…" reasoned Naruto, "But then I saw the look on her face when the nurses were trying to change her nappy earlier. It was such an Uchiha glare..I couldn't resist her!"
"Hmph". Sasuke smiled. It was nice to see the tender looks in Naruto's eyes and even he could feel that this baby was just right for them. Plus he had to admit…this little girl just had a certain something to her. He was quite impressed with how she held herself, even at the age of 2 months she wasn't about to give in and let the nurses make her do something which she didn't want to. Nope, she'd rather try to chew on their fingers with her gums and glare with as much passion and stubbornness as a newborn baby possibly can. He chuckled inwardly. She had a strong will, he could feel it, and this was something which he and Naruto could shape into an invincible will of fire. He turned to the nurse.
"We'll take her" He said.
"Well…okay then. But are you sure?" She leant over to him and said quietly, " You know she is a real terror even at this early age, I swear that whenever some of the nurses pick her up she vomits on purpose, just to get them back for moving her and waking her up by accident…" She stood up and smiled almost scarily,
"However, if you would like to take her off of our hands then we'd be extremely grateful…"
Sasuke and Naruto grinned at each other in a creepy way then turned back to the nurse who now seemed rather spooked out by the shared look of glee.
"We'll take her."
After the papers were signed they took her back to her new home in the old Uchiha compound. It was the ideal place for kids, lots of room to run around and play as well as space to train and to relax. Already the baby had her own room, painted plain white with clean white sheets and long net curtains and her own little wooden cot. She also had lots of toys including a stuffed fox toy, a night time light-up mobile which threw stars across the ceiling and her own chibi dark blue kimono wrap-around with the Uchiha symbol on the back, which Sasuke swore was traditional for all Uchiha children to wear and that his child would be no different.
It took a couple of days to get used to the baby. For one, mid night feeding sessions were often in order and Sasuke generally left this up to Naruto, as he was often up for midnight ramen snacks anyways, although when he caught Naruto trying to feed the baby ramen soup on the first night he insisted on leaving out the childs food before they went to sleep just in case Naruto made the 'mistake' again.
On the third night however, Sasuke and Naruto were up late discussing names for the baby. Sasuke had no idea about baby names and so was trying to let Naruto pick, but all the names that kept coming up sounded stupid.
"How about…Usagi?"
"Too stupid."
"Mika"
"Nope"
"Lulu…"
"Oh come ON!"
Naruto scrunched his face hard and you could see the concentration in his face. Sasuke was about to make a cutting remark before all hell broke loose and the cries of their daughter resounded through the compound.
"I'll get it" Naruto got up and kissed Sasuke on the lips before going to feed the baby. When he returned, Sasuke had a thoughtful expression on his face.
" You know dobe…Sakura told me something once. It was after you and I had gotten together and she wanted to take me out to lunch whilst you were on a mission. She told me that she always felt like a small weedy flower next to Ino and that you and I had given her the courage to make something out of herself and to blossom in the kunoichi she is today. And you gotta admit, Sakura is such a strong kunoichi these days, with the strength of the fifth…it's the kind of thing I thought I'd like for our little girl. Like Sakura, we can't be sure that she has any special abilities or jutsu…but I'd like it if she could be as strong a kunoichi as possible. But calling her Sakura somehow feels too stupid…"
" I know what you mean…" Naruto got into the bed and snuggled up to Sasuke. " then how about…Hana…no….Hanako."
"Hanako." Sasuke pondered then smiled, " Perfect. She may have been unwanted and treated like a useless weed in the past but in the future she will blossom into a strong and beautiful flower."
Naruto grinned. " That was the second most cheesiest thing I ever heard you say…teme"
"What? Aren't I allowed to have high hopes for my daughter?" Sasuke's face changed from a mock-serious one into a playful one. "After all, she is an Uchiha of sorts and will be expected therefore to conduct herself with the charm and attractiveness of one, as well as be able to kick the shit out of anyone who attempts to take advantage of her or try it on."
Naruto looked serious all of a sudden. " No. That'd be my job." He cracked his knuckles and gave an ultra scary look that almost had Sasuke shaking in the bed.
Then the look softened and Sasuke could see that something was troubling his dobe.
"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered. Sasuke tilted Narutos face up to meet his own.
"Mhmm?"
"Sasuke…do you ever wish that we had something to pass down to our children? I mean, you have the sharingan, but that's only passed down through birth and I haven't anything to offer our child either. Don't you ever wish that they had something to protect them, a gift to call their own and no-one elses? Sometimes….sometimes talent just isn't enough."
The downhearted look on Naruto's face told Sasuke exactly what his dobe meant…both he and Naruto had more than just talent and their colleagues were the same. Techniques had been passed down to them starting from childhood, jutsus that were in their blood to be learnt and perfected. Even Sakura, with her lack of inherent talent during her genin days still had her naturally perfect chakra control and a perfect teacher in Tsunade, who had showed her how to harness that. Not all genins were as lucky as her to have found such a teacher. Sometimes talent wasn't enough, especially if the child accidentally ended up on dangerous a and s rank missions…that had happened all too often during Naruto and Sasuke's genin days.
Sasuke pondered on this… he knew that their child had all that she needed to make it as a strong kunoichi...but it would be nice to have something other than jutsu to hand down to their family…something other than love, something to bind them outside of family life but as shinobi of Konoha. Something like a bloodline limit or specialism.
It was a difficult feeling to describe. It was painful and almost embarrassing to admit but Sasuke could understand Naruto's wish, not just for a family, but for a clan. The two weren't the same…a clan needed a specialist skill- and not just one technique. Both boys had been deprived of this kind of specialised teaching whilst growing up, and Naruto obviously felt that he needed to compensate for this emptiness in his children.
"Sasuke…?" Naruto's worried voice pulled Sasuke out of deep thought and he looked down to see Narutos eyes almost brimming over with tears.
"Shhhh…." Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto, still with a far away look in his eyes, "Sorry, I was thinking it over…but I understand perfectly. After all, neither of us were exactly normal were we? In fact we all had a special something, even Sakura eventually found her speciality."
"…mhmm…"
They sat in silence. Each of them were thinking hard. Naruto was trying to figure out why he still felt like his family needed that something. After all, one of Konohas favourite couples even prided themselves on the fact that they had worked their way up using nothing but sheer determination and hard work combined with what little talent nature had provided for them. He sat there feeling guilty. Why shouldn't it be enough? Surely love and careful guidance was all that they needed?
Meanwhile, Sasuke was trying to figure out a solution to their problem. What had given both Sasuke and Naruto their power? What could they offer Hanako and any future children in way of clan and heritage? Not only were both he and Naruto orphans, with no remaining clan of their own to adopt, but they were both guys. They couldn't pass down talent through their genes so any sharingan work was out of their league. Nope, this would have to be completely original, yet something shared…something that would give strength but something that didn't have to be genetically inherited. Something like…
Sasuke almost starting dancing through his mansion but instead opted for jumping up and grinning at Naruto…who sat up with an scared look on his face.
"Sasuke! What's with you teme? Why are you smiling like that…it's creepy…oh god you've gone mad haven't you! All this talk of family…please don't kill me!"
Sasuke stopped mid-grin and glared at Naruto, one eyebrow raised.
"That's not what you should be saying after the brainwave I've just had."
"Ehhhhh?"
Sasuke continued grinning.
"How to create a legacy for our clan. A way to pass down some of our power and strength. A way which isn't necessarily passed down through genes."
" For real?"
" For real."
Naruto's eyes held an incredulous look as he held Sasuke's face in his hands and looked him straight on in the face.
" How…"
"…a seal."
Sasuke answered Naruto's unfinished question.
" A….seal…"
Naruto's face contorted into many expressions as he thought the idea over. Both he and Sasuke had been given seals during their lifetimes and it hadn't been a particularly good experience for either of them.
"Not like that," Sasuke read Narutos expressions like an open book, " Somewhere between a tattoo and a curse seal and…I don't know. I got the idea thinking about something we shared. Then I remembered the horrible power that I was given through Orochimaru's curse seal…" He shuddered.
"Then I thought. If we both know so much about seals and if Orochimaru could transfer power through them then surely there must be a way to transfer good chakra through it too. Both of us use high-power jutsu which require a lot of chakra and of course, it isn't any good if our children do not have the capability to use them. We need a way to give them the raw chakra that they need. We could create some kind of 'curse seal' except it wouldn't be a curse, but a blessing. You understand?"
Naruto nodded enthusiastically, "That's great…really well thought out…but how? How could we transfer this seal? I don't want to cause our children any unnecessary pain…" The thought of having to put a painful seal on Hanako hurt him inside.
"Well," Sasuke explained, " I already thought this through. I don't want to hurt our children either but then I also thought that it would be dangerous to attempt this at an early age anyways. Let's wait until Hanako is at an age where she can control her chakra. Then we can give her the seal. I've even thought of a good way to give her the seal." Here Sasuke looked smug.
"Tch…fucking genius." Still, Naruto couldn't quite contain his excitement and was bouncing on the bed.
"Tattoos."
"Tattoos?" Confusion, " But tattoos don't hold any secret power…"
"Not unless they're burnt in with chakra like your seal, and created using a written jutsu. Think of it like a summoning where the jutsu is visible like writing. It needs a lot of work but it should work something like this, with circles drawn and kanji written upon the body of whoever is to receive the seal. Then it is burnt/ sealed in with chakra. Also, that way if the bearer of the seal dies, the mark should fade away before anyone else has the opportunity to gain access to the workings of the jutsu."
"Woah…" The full potential of the idea was just beginning to make itself clear to Naruto, who was beginning to feel a bit sleepy and so, wasn't up to his usual speed.
"That's amazing Sasuke…just when did you learn so much about sealing jutsu?"
"After Orochimaru…during that whole time." Sasuke's face darkened slightly. "I did a lot of research to figure out the whole curse sealing technique, hoping to find ways to get rid of it.
"Ah. Well at least you can use it for something worthwhile now…all that research. It's really gonna pay off." Naruto kissed Sasuke tenderly on the lips and looked deep into his eyes. " You're providing both of us with a way of protecting our family, you're providing us with a clan and you're providing us with a way to make sure that noone forgets us. You've also found a way to achieve your goal. To rebuild your clan…kinda. You know, you're amazing." He kissed Sasuke full on the lips, his tongue caressing Sasuke's in a way which made him forget his dark past and see a way into the future. Yes, finally his dark past could be forgotten because he could see the reason for having gone through it. Not to defeat his brother, that was a forgotten goal, but to rebuild his family and protect those most precious to him.
Naruto finished the kiss and they held each other for a while. Both were sleepy but both were also anticipating working on this seal. However, even with all the excitement, they could feel their eyelids beginning to feel exceptionally heavy. Just before they went to sleep, Naruto turned to Sasuke lazily and asked,
" Hehe…so if it's a tattoo…what's it gonna look like? Can't have your Uchiha fan taking all the glory can we?"
Sasuke replied, eyes still closed but with a content smile on his face.
" Heh… it'd be a cross between my symbol and yours, dobe." He ruffled Narutos hair affectionately. " How about an Uchiha fan with a spiral in the middle? The Uchiha fan may fuel the fire but if you fan with all of your strength you could hope to create a whirlwind."
"Mhmm…cheesy but I like it." Naruto patted Sasuke's head, rolled over and went to sleep. It'd been less than a minute before cries were heard again and Sasuke started to poke him.
"Your daughter is hungry. Or something."
With a huge yawn Naruto tumbled out of bed and trotted off to wait on Hanako's every whim and Sasuke watched from the bed.
It would take a lot of work, but then he and Naruto were used to working towards their dreams. A clan to call their own was top of their priority right now but he knew that together they could accomplish all of their goals and leave a legacy for people to remember them by. Suddenly, just before his body allowed him to slip into more dreams, he realised something which made him chuckle. 'To think that it had all started with one tattoo…'
Hope you enjoyed the finale! Please R&R although I would like to remind everyone that I don't take too kindly to flames or badly put criticism. Don't put me down! If you have a suggestion please be considerate in your choice of wording. Sorry it took ages and sorry for the plot holes, OOC-ness and sapyness. Now I bid thee adieu til my next fic! God knows what that'll be about o.0