A loud bell clanging insistently in Naruto's ears jerked him awake.
"Whaa…" he groaned, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.
Hinata was still asleep next to him, a sweetness burrowed into the covers.
The ringing continued, and Naruto focused his attention on its source.
"Ayumi…what's with the bell?" he asked the perpetrator, who was standing at the foot of the bed, a little midget in her nightgown.
The little girl paused, and smiled innocently at him, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
'I want breakfast." she said, as if it was a perfectly normal reason to ruin one's sleep with a bell.
"Ayumi…it's barely six" said Naruto, yawning and stretching. "And it's a Saturday. Go back to sleep, we'll-"
Ayumi moved to resume her clanging, but Naruto quickly snatched it away.
"Hah! Too slow", he smirked, holding the bell just out of her reach.
The girl's face dropped, and she pouted. "But Mommy always makes breakfast early for me. She says it's better, and that we shouldn't wake up as late as you."
The threat of tears was evident, the little eyes were glassing over and so Naruto let the comment slide.
He glanced at Hinata, who looked so peaceful with her dreams; he couldn't bear to wake her up.
Muttering, he got off the bed carefully, and walked with Ayumi to the kitchen.
Spoilt lil brat, he thought, getting the eggs.
Ayumi grinned and sat at the table, the twinkle back in her eyes.
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Naruto and Hinata watched the girl train in their backyard. She was doing Kunai practice, with an uncanny accuracy as she hit the bull's eye on the figure every time.
"Erm, why does that figure look so much like me?" asked Naruto, frowning.
Hinata giggled, and patted his back. "She made it herself, so don't pester her." she said in a low voice. "She reminds me a bit of you, back when we were in the Academy. She's just as stubborn as you."
"Wah! No way! There's a difference! She just wants her own way all the time…" Naruto trailed off as they saw Ayumi miss a shot and punch a hole into the figure in frustration.
"Did you SEE that!?" said Naruto, astounded. "She's just like Sakura-chan! Those punches, do they run in the family?"
Hinata bit her lower lip, and looked concerned. She didn't know what to do when Ayumi was upset, and the child's green eyes were flashing angrily right now.
"The poor little thing" she whispered. "Why is she trying so hard? She's already ahead of the other students in her grade…"
Naruto smiled, somewhat proudly. "It's so when her mom comes back, she can show her how much more she's improved. Now THAT is like me. Living with us for the past four months, a bit of me must have rubbed off on her. ", grinned Naruto.
Sakura-chan, come back soon, Your little girl is waiting…
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Ayumi sat on a cushion in front of Naruto and glared at him.
"I want to see Mommy and Daddy. NOW!" she demanded.
Naruto looked up from his paperwork and sighed. This kid…
"Ayumi, you know your parents are busy, they're off doing an important missi-"
"I don't care!" Ayumi cried, her cheeks flushed. "I miss them. I want them back…" she said, her voice cracking.
Naruto scratched his head and pulled out a small mirror from his pocket.
"Here…you can see them in here" he motioned, giving her the mirror.
She looked surprised, but her anger returned as soon as she looked into the mirror.
"It's just my reflection" she said, glaring at him.
Naruto smiled and shook his head. "See those green eyes? Aren't they just like your mom's? And that black hair? Isn't that your dad's?" he asked her.
She contemplated it for a moment, stroking her short black hair, and seemed to calm down.
"They're returning in two days, Ayumi" said Naruto, " We received a message today."
A smile lit up the girl's face and she handed the mirror back to Naruto. "My genius parents are coming back" she cried, doing a jiggly-dance-thing around the room.
"Your dad's not a genius, he was once evil" said Naruto, a teasing note in his voice.
Ayumi stuck her tongue out at him. "My dad's the best" she said, opening the door.
"Why do you carry a mirror around anyways?" she asked, while leaving, "Are you a gi~irl?"
It was a bad combination, thought Naruto. A child of two smart brains…Not only was she clever, she had a cheeky mouth too.
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When Sakura and Sasuke finally showed up two days later, Ayumi threw herself into her mom's arms in delight. Naruto handed her bags to Sasuke, and Hinata just stood around trying to be helpful in that meek way of hers.
"Where's my hug, Ayumi?" asked Sasuke, when she let go of Sakura.
"Uncle Naruto says you're evil, dad. I can't hug evil people" she said, a sneaky smile on her face.
"Naruto. WHAT. DID. YOU. TELL. MY. CHILD.?" asked Sasuke, his eyes flashing dangerously, as he grabbed Naruto's collar, causing him to let out a string of incoherent apologies.
When they finally left, Hinata sighed and snuggled upto Naruto, who was massaging the bruises on his arm. "She looks happy, ne? It was fun having her around" she said.
"Insufferable little brat. I'm glad she's gone. Nosing around the house, ruining my sleep, playing pranks…" he trailed off, choking slightly.
Hinata didn't have to see to know that Naruto's eyes were teary. "I'll miss her too." she whispered, squeezing his arm.
"Say…Do you think…maybe…we should try to have a child of our own?" asked Naruto, as the idea occurred to him.
Hinata nodded furiously, a slight blush on her cheeks. After four months of training with a girl like Ayumi, they were more than ready to be parents.
This child would belong to them though. Forever.