Chapter 21

Hello everyone! This is probably my longest chapter for this story. I just got inspired to write a bit is all! Anyways, I wanna say go check out my Tumblr, The Wolf of Writingand send me a message, telling me that you came from Fanfic and what not. I'll be more than happy to say hello back :)

I don't own Naruto, just OCs

Naruto's Baby Chapter 21

Ai Uzumaki was many things. Awkward was one of them. Surprisingly one of them. As the child of the Hero of Konoha, she was well known back in Konoha. As an infant, despite what she knew, she used to be an outgoing child. Always smiling and happy, and approached strangers as though they were friends. Though in recent years, Ai's personality had changed. It was still shaping greatly but since she started at the academy and began her ninja training, the girl who stood out with a smile wasn't as prominent as before. Only recently had she taken on a dimmer demeanor. She didn't how to cope so easily and being by herself often didn't help.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm talking to myself," she spoke to the unknown person who had given her the tissue. "Well, ya see, my papa is getting married and that's supposed to be happy and all. At least people keep telling me that I'm supposed to be happy." She softened. Quickly, she began to scratch the back of her neck and nervously laugh, "I don't know why I'm not happy…I don't know a lot of things I guess. My papa might be my brother for all I know anymore," she rambled on. "I don't even know what I want anymore…all I know is that I want to feel better and…actually, talking to you helped a lot." She said. "Thanks…uh…what's your name?"

A man stepped out, long-haired and black-headed, with contrasting skin. "Please, call me Orochimaru," he said and knelt down to the girl's height. "And what is your name?"

Ai was bashfully embarrassed, "If I told ya that, you probably wouldn't believe me!"

"Try me," Orochimaru smiled.

"Well, it's Uzumaki Ai."

The man chuckled, "and why wouldn't anyone believe that to be your name?"

Ai shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe it's because I don't look like….Naruto," she used her papa's name and it felt so foreign to say. She'd heard many people call her papa "Naruto" before, but for her to say, sounded so wrong. She looked at Orochimaru, pouting, "you don't think I'm am Uzumaki, do you?"

Orochimaru chuckled lightly, "I believe you are. You are your Mama's daughter after all."

Ai blinked, "my mama? I don't have a mama."

Orochimaru stood up and offered his hand, "I can tell you about your mama if you want. Your papa as well. Your true papa."

Ai blinked and her nervous chuckle vanished, "my…true papa?" She paused and as she reached out to Orochimaru, but before they touched hands, she retracted and put her hands on her hips, looking at him suspiciously, "wait a minute! Is it Iruka-sensei! I bet it is! I look like him!"

Orochimaru laughed, "no my sweet child. It's not him. It's someone else. Someone your mama was very close to when they were kids not much older then you are right now," he said. "Now come along, I have some food at my base and warmer clothes."

"Do you have hot cocoa?" Ai asked as she took Orochimaru's hand, looking up at him.

"I think I do, but if not, I can have one of my subordinates go get you some." Orochimaru smiled and led the child further into the cave and into a secret entrance to his underground lair.

"Yeah, I know that brat!" The ninja said as she was shown a photo of Ai, the same one Naruto's been carrying and showing to random strangers. He just happened to show it to the worst person. "She tried to get me some sob story about how she was an Uzumaki and I told her to fuck off. She also stole my wallet! Nothing but a pit pocket." The man said.

The wrong answer on his end.

Naruto's eyes twitched angrily before he punched the guy in the face, "she is an Uzumaki and she's my daughter!"

Sakura and Hinata had to go over and pull him away from the man and Shikamaru looked down on the man, "do you know which way the kid went?"

"I don't know! She's a little thief! Uzumaki or not, she's a brat!" The shinobi said and headed away from the group.

Naruto was still seething with anger and once the other man was gone, he calmed down. Sakura punched Naruto on his head, "what were you thinking? You can't just attack people like that!"

"He called my daughter a brat and said she stole from him! My daughter would never do such a thing!" Naruto said, "I raised her better than that."

Shikamaru sighed, "what a drag. You can't just do stuff like that. You're a jonin now. Act like it."

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms angrily. Hinata walked over to someone who was watching the scuffle and had Naruto's picture of Ai, "have you seen this child?" The man looked it at and nodded, "yeah. She was walking around by herself. I think she went that way, just straight out the village," he pointed to the main road. "There is a hot spring out that way, so I would check there."

Naruto heard that and felt better, "okay guys! Let's go! She's not that far now!"

Sakura, Shikamaru, and Hinata looked at the sky and saw where the dark clouds were and how much it was raining over that way and how it was coming this way. "Hopefully we can find her soon. The weather is getting worse it seems," Hinata said as she followed after Naruto, along with Shikamaru and Sakura.

Ai sat in a medical office, sipping on some hot chocolate that Karin had made for the child, per Orochimaru's request. The woman helped run the secret bases and just so happen to in that particular hideout at the moment. "It's delicious," Ai chimed with a smile.

"I'm glad you like it," Karin said. "I had to go out of my way to make it," she said under her breathe, but Ai heard it and lowered her head, "sorry, I don't mean to be in the way."

Karin felt back and laughed nervously, "don't be. You're Orochimaru-sama's guest," she patted her head. She looked at Ai closely and wondered why Orochimaru wanted this kid here. She didn't look like she was special. Downright ordinary compared to others she had seen. She went over to get something file when Orochimaru walked. "I hope my assistant is treating your well Ai-chan," he smiled. Ai nodded in response. "Good, now, let's talk about you for a moment," he sat down across from her. "Tell me Ai, what do you like to do?"

Karin watched in confusion and curiosity at how Orochimaru was acting and treating this girl. And she was babbling on freely with no reserve. Was he trying to gain her trust? It seemed like it. The girl blabbed on about how she liked to run around Konoha and play with her friends, and how she liked drawing, etc. Typical kid things. Karin was right, there was nothing special about this brat. In fact, just hearing her talk just made her envious. Kids had no idea how lucky they had it anymore. The world was at peace and there wasn't going to any war anytime soon because the nations were all at peace with each other.

Karin just toned her out and was about to leave when she heard Orochimaru ask the child, "what do you know about Uchiha Sasuke?" She stopped at the doorway and began listening. Ai, on the other hand, pondered the question for the moment. "U…chi…ha Sasuke?" She asked aloud and shrugged, "It sounds familiar…I don't know."

Orochimaru stood up and went to the computer that Karin had been working on for a bit, "do you know what this is?" He asked the girl in question. Ai got up and walked over to look at the computer screen. "It's a computer?"

"It's a special computer. See, this device lets me see what's inside anybody if I have a sample of their DNA," Orochimaru explained. Ai looked amazed, "DNA? You mean like the ladder sculpture things with the little balls on the ends on them?" She asked as she only remembered something like that when she saw a visual on what it was.

"That's just a model that a lot of people know about. In simplest terms, DNA can tell a lot about people, for example, who your parents are." Orochimaru said. Ai's onyx orb lit up with amazement. "Is this what can tell me who my mama and papa are?"

"It can tell if there is a match in DNA," he said. "Remember the name I just said?" Orochimaru asked. Ai nodded vigorously, "yeah! Uchiha Sasuke! Is he my papa?!"

"Let's find out," Orochimaru said and went into his draw and had a plastic stick and a swab on it. Orochimaru turned to the child, "open your mouth for me," he said. Ai didn't even hesitate and Orochimaru began to swab her cheek. Ai looked around with her Perivale vision, seeing the red-haired woman now looking at them. She approached, "Orochimaru-sama, are you saying that this girl is Sasuke's child?! How is that even possible? She's too old!" She exclaimed.

Orochimaru finished and the girl closed her mouth, "you're her cousin Karin, you should be nicer to her."

"Cousin?" Karin asked and glared down at the child, who looked away when she was glared at. "I don't know what a cousin is," Ai mentioned.

"She's an Uzumaki, like you," Orochimaru clarified. Ai looked at Karin and smiled, "I always wanted a big sister!"

"I'm not your sister or cousin!" Karin said and turned to Orochimaru as he was getting Ai's swab into the computer. "Orochimaru-sama, with all due respect, what is going on here?"

Orochimaru looked at Karin, "she's Naruto's child. Uzumaki Naruto's child." Karin froze a bit and looked down at the girl, who didn't know what the subtext of that statement meant. She only looked shocked, and her eyes looked at the screen as Orochimaru was pulling up Sasuke's file. His file, along with some other, was under a tight security code and software that prevented anyone from just hacking into it. Orochimaru must have been serious when testing the little girl's DNA.

"Are you really an Uzumaki like me?" Ai asked. Karin looked at the girl and nodded, "yes. There are not a lot of us left I suppose." She said. Ai only smiled, "I like your hair! It's bright and red! Red's my favorite color!" She said.

"Is it?" Karin asked.

"Well, one of them! I have a hard time picking out my favorites, to be honest! I like red but it doesn't look good on me! I don't like orange that much because that's papa's favorite color and I can't have that favorite color! It's impolite!" Ai said and began to ramble on about the colors pink and purple. The girl's ramblings didn't seem that much annoying anymore. It just looked like the child was excited to have some attention from someone.

Orochimaru was only doing this amount of work for show. He already knew that Ai was Sasuke and Naruto's child. Though he was even thrown off a bit when he first saw her and her brown locks. She could easily fool anyone about lineage. However, there was no denying that if her hair was black, Ai would be the spinning image of Sasuke.

When the results came back, the machine made a beep, making Ai and Karin look over. The machine Orochimaru was using had an in-depth look into Ai's genetic code. Karin looked over Orochimaru's shoulder and read the results, freezing when she saw the paternal results. "No way…impossible."

Ai stood up and said, "I wanna look! I wanna look!"

Orochimaru looked over and picked up the girl, sitting her in his lap, "see that? It's a match with a sample of someone I know." He pointed to the screen. Ai read what it said and saw Uchiha Sasuke and the word, "Match" on the screen. She lowered her head. "So…I'm not…an Uzumaki after all." In truth, she had hoped that whoever this Sasuke was wasn't her papa. Despite her own doubts, she still loved Naruto as her papa.

Now she only felt hurt and lied too.

"So she isn't an Uzumaki after all," Karin said with her arms crossed, "but to be an Uchiha, and Sasuke's daughter is just…impossible. How? She's a child. He would have had sex when he was a-" she immediately stopped talking when she heard Karin talk. "What's sex?" Ai asked.

Karin looked dumbfounded, "how old are you?!"

"Seven."

"Sasuke would have been a child if he had…" she trailed off.

Orochimaru looked at Ai and tapped her shoulder, "look at the maternal part," he said. Ai looked up and blinked when she saw Naruto's name pop up. She blinked in confusion. "But…he's a boy. Can…boys have babies?"

"Your mama is special. Very special. And that makes you special," Orochimaru said. "Would you like to meet him? Your true papa?"

Ai let out a soft breathe she didn't know she had been holding in and looked at Orochimaru over her shoulder. "Is he here?"

"No, he's hard to track down nowadays. I saw him recently. He's doing well for himself," Orochimaru said. "Does he know about me?" She looked at the man as they walked. Orochimaru thought for a moment. Sasuke did know about Ai, but he hadn't told him about the parts where they were father and daughter. "He knows of you because you're his best friend's daughter, but I don't think he knows much else."

Ai didn't know how to feel about that. So, he knew her, but not that he was her child? How did that work? Should someone know if they have a child? Orochimaru patted Ai's head and ran his fingers through her hair until his fingers were caught in some knots. "It seems like you need a hairbrush," he commented lightly. Ai's hair was frizzy after the rain hit. "Does Sasuke have hair like mine?"

"I think so, but his hair is much darker. It seems you have a mix of your papa's dark hair and your mama's light hair," he commented. Ai had never thought of it like that. "So…I'm a mixture of my parents?"

"All children are a mixture of their parents genetically, and some of those traits are more dominant than others," he mentioned lightly. It was strange having to educate someone in such basics in genetics. "But hair color, while genetics play a part of it, it mostly changes the older you get with most people. However it seems many people seem to be born with the same hair color as the day they were born," Orochimaru explained.

Ai pulled at her hair and frowned, "I don't like my hair. It's not like pa…I mean…mama's hair. His hair is so gold and bright. I want hair like that! And his eyes! He has blue eyes! I want that as well!" Ai said. Orochimaru frowned a bit as she spoke about the things she didn't like about herself. No child should really notice things like that about themselves and hate it. The girl suddenly ran in front of Orochimaru and said, "wanna see what I wanna look like! I've been practicing the transformation jutsu!" She said and put her fingers together. "Transform!" In a puff a smoke, the bushy-haired, black-eyed girl wasn't there, like blush. Instead, stood a girl with bight blond hair, straight down to her shoulders and with pink circles on her cheeks, no whisker marks, and tan skin. She also had Naruto's feminine eyes with long lashes. "What do you think?! I look pretty good, don't I?" Ai said. "This is how I wanna look!"

Orochimaru walked passed her and didn't say anything. What could he say to a kid who hated what they looked like? He wasn't her parent. This was Naruto's territory. Orochimaru did know one thing. Ai's transformation looked really fake and easy to see through.

Ai popped out of the jutsu and frowned. "Did you not like it? I thought I did a really good job on it!" She ran after him. "Wait a minute? Where are we going?"

During their investigation, Naruto and his team found the mouth of the cave and found a photo that got left behind. Naruto picked it up and frowned. It was the photo of him when he was thirteen and Ai was a baby. It was one of the pictures he actually didn't let her see that often. She was getting to that age where she was noticing that he was too young to be her papa. "She's been here," Shikamaru said.

"Byakugan," Hinata said to see inside the cave. She could see through the walls and then some. "I can see tunnels and a set of steps that lead underground," she announced. "There are a few people here, but their charka signatures are faint," she said and deactivated it.

"We should investigate," Naruto said. "Let's Move!"

The four ninjas ran deep into the caverns and found their way down the stairs, watching out for any sort of traps that lurked in the area.

"I hope those fit you," Karin said as he had given the girl some clean clothes. Ai nodded. It had been a few hours since Ai had arrived and she was still reeling from the fact that Ai was Sasuke's biological child and an Uzumaki. No wonder Orochimaru wanted to treat her very well. She would become a powerful kunoichi someday. Ai was given a simple kimono to wear. It was white with a purple obi on it. It wasn't the best thing but the only thing he had in her size. Karin had wondered why had Orochimaru had something like that in that size.

"Ai, want me to brush your hair?" Karin asked. The child nodded softly and went over to her, "actually, can you cut it? It's long." She asked. Karin was surprised by that request, but laughed nervously, "it does seem a little unmanageable. How short do you want it?" She asked. "Um…my shoulders." She said. Ai smiled. "My auntie Sakura had a cute hairstyle I like. It's so silky and soft. I also wanna grow out my bangs to be the same length!" She said excitedly.

"I can't make hair grow longer, but I'll try my best to style it," Karin said and grabbed a pair of scissors and began cutting off the hair. Karin had no idea just how much hair she had. Like Sasuke, it was really fine but so much of it. Now he cut it and thinned it out. It still looked attractive though.

Karin tried to make it more of a blend of lengths, not that she was much of a stylist. Though when she was cutting, she noticed something interesting. "Ai, you have some blonde hair," she noted. Ai blinked. "I do? But I didn't do my transformation jutsu around you. I shouldn't." Karin smiled, "it's your roots. It means that your hair is just getting lighter. Just as hair gets darker, it can also go lighter as well. Some girls even bleach their hair to make it blonde or white." Karin noted.

Ai turned, "I can make my hair blond and not be in a jutsu?" He asked. Karin laughed, "maybe when you're older, yes, but you shouldn't worry about your looks at your age. You're not a bad looking kid," Karin said.

"My mama is pretty even though he's a man…I wish he hadn't cut his hair like he did. I don't like it short." Ai pouted.

"Hey keep your head straight or else I might cut you," Karin said as she continued to cut away the hair. It would take a while longer then she expected, but by the time she was finished, she looked like a different kid. "What do you think?" Karin asked as she gave Ai a handheld mirror.

Ai looked so different and she liked it. Her hair now complimented her round cheeks and her bangs were brushed over to the right side of her face, and she had a new part in her hair. The bushiness of her hair was turned in a soft curl in her short locks. "I looked great!" Ai said and hugged Karin. "Thank you big sis!"

Karin smiled, "not a problem, and now your hair is easier to manage," she said and went to go get a brush for all the hair she chopped off. Ai looked at the hair was amazed that all of that came from her head. She even saw different shades in her hair, like some strands were darker than others, and even some hair was blonde. "The blond is more prominent in your hair," Karin said, "like highlights."

Ai smiled and saw some tears forming in her eyes. "I don't think I've ever looked this amazing before."

Karin had no idea that something as simple as a haircut could make someone so happy. "Remember that feeling you're feeling right now. That's how you should always look at yourself kid."

Ai nodded, "I will!"

Orochimaru came in the room and smiled, "don't you look happier Ai," he smiled. Ai nodded and went to the old man, "Karin-nee-chan gave me a haircut and I love it," Ai said and twirled around, feeling the new breeze on the back of her next and the longer parts that framed her face fly about. "You look beautiful Ai. I have some news. Your mama is here and he wants to take you home."

Ai stopped twirling. "My mama?" She asked and then remembered that he was talking about Naruto. "Do I have to?"

"Yes Ai. He misses you, and you should show him your new haircut," Orochimaru. Ai pouted and turned to Karin, smiling, "bye Nee-chan. I hope I can see you soon," she said as she followed Orochimaru out.

Orochimaru and Ai walked a bit and saw the four Konoha shinobis running toward them. Naruto saw Orochimaru and while he was angry to see him, he saw Ai and stopped in his tracks. "Ai!" He said and opened his arms out. "Come to papa."

Ai frowned and cling to Orochimaru's robes, "no."

Naruto had to blink and shake his head. "What?"

"You're not my papa! You're my mama! Mama!" Ai said.

"Orochimaru! What did you tell her?!" Naruto asked angrily.

"The truth. I told and showed her her lineage and told her about her papa. Her true papa." Orochimaru spoke. "Ai, do you want to tell him who your papa is?"

Naruto's eyes widen in horror, fearing she actually did know the truth. He grew angry at Orochimaru. "You bastard! She's too young to understand what that means!"

"Sasuke!" Ai said. Naruto did a double-take that on that. "What?"

"Uchiha Sasuke. That's my papa!"

Naruto laughed, "that's not correct. Sasuke isn't your papa," he said and went over and took her hand. "Come on Ai, we're going home," he said, trying to get past it. Orochimaru frowned as he grabbed Ai's wrist and tried to make her move. She even began to struggle against him. "The machine said Sasuke was my daddy! Let me go! You're hurting me!" Naruto stopped and looked down at his daughter. Parent mode was on, "Uzumaki Ai. You are beyond grounded, do you understand me?" He said and she looked away from him. He grabbed her cheeks and made her look. "Don't ignore me, young lady. You're beyond ground. Not only did you run away but you caused a lot of problems for a lot of people," he said and let go. "I want you to think about what you did on our way back to Konoha," Naruto said and grabbed her wrist once more, dragged her out.

Ai looked back at Orochimaru and saw the other adults in her life looking down at her with disappointment. In a fit of anger, Ai reached over and bite Naruto's hand to make him let go. Naruto reached, letting go for the moment and in a blink of an eye, he hadn't realized what he had done until he heard Hinata gasp in shock.

He slapped his child.

Not only that, he slapped her so hard that she hit the nearby wall and hit the back of her head. Naruto saw Ai's slump down, indicating that she was completely unconscious and bleeding from the impact. "Ai!" Hinata went over and picked the girl up, and Sakura knelt down and began using medical ninjutsu on the girl. Shikamaru looked at Naruto and saw his hand bleeding, but that was something he could easily get over.

Naruto couldn't believe that he had hurt his child.