Kushina Uzumaki

For Sarutobi, the day could not be any better. The sun shined brightly in the sky, the wind was calm, the birds were chirping happily, the villagers were moving about, doing their every day things; the village was receiving a rather large amount of missions. And he, Sarutobi, was sitting on his balcony, enjoying a nice smoke.

But best of all, there was no paperwork, no bothersome Jounin complaining to him every five seconds, no Council Members to deal with, no speeches to come up with, just nothing. Instead, his successor, Minato, was taking care of all of it. He didn't regret any of it.

His thoughts were broken as Minato walked in, looking like a man who needed serious rest. Sarutobi didn't feel any sympathy for him. 'Been there, done that already.'

"How are they doing?"

"You mean Kakashi's group?"

Minato nodded, "Yeah them. Well…how's Naruto doing?"

Sarutobi shrugged, "Fine, I guess, considering he's only been here for a day. Oh, and its Akuro now. They agreed that it was best to use a codename at all times."

Minato sighed, "Akuro, huh? I guess that's a good idea. But, man, that's awkward. I can't even call my son by his own name. I wonder what Kushina will say about that? You know her; probably won't hear of it."

Sarutobi winced, "By the way, Minato, how did she react when you told her about him?"

Minato groaned, "You know her, Sensei. Stared at me like I was crazy and then she began peppering me with all sorts of questions"

Clearing his voice, Minato tried his best to imitate his wife. "WHAT? A man came from the future who's our son? Why didn't you tell me right away? You didn't invite him over. Blah, blah, blah. I can't even remember half the things she asked me. So anyway, she wants me to invite him over."

Sarutobi chuckled, "Hah, that woman sure is impulsive. Doesn't know anything about the guy, and she's still demanding you bring him in for tea."

"Tell me about it," said Minato, shaking his head. "So…where is he again?"

"Down by that practice area where you used to go when you still had your team."

Minato nodded, "I see; the one with the three stumps right? What are they doing there?"

Sarutobi tossed him his crystal ball. "See for yourself."

Minato caught the ball, before waving a hand over it. He watched the scene closely. "Well…I see they are having fun. I'm going to visit them."

"Okay. And Kushina…What about the Nine Tailed Fox? Are you going to tell her about our plan?"

Minato nodded, "Kakashi's coming over too."

He quickly stood up, tossing the ball back to his Sensei. "Well, I'll leave the office in your capable hands, Sensei. Gotta introduce my son to his mother. There should be some paperwork coming in. Take care of it for me, yeah? Thanks."

Sarutobi's eyes widened, as he rapidly raised an arm. "Wait!" But it was too late. Minato vanished in a puff of smoke. The pipe fell out of the Third's mouth, bouncing away on the floor. "Minato… you're dead." There was a knock on the door. Sarutobi groaned, "Not again…"

Practice Area Three

-Poof-

With an amused smile, five Narutos began dancing around Sai, who glared at each one with annoyance. "Hehe, missed again Jin," they chanted in unison."

The artist currently had his ANBU sword drawn, gazing calmly at each clone in turn. Each danced around, making comical poses. "This ceases to be amusing," muttered Sai, sheathing his sword.

"Aw," taunted one of the Narutos, "giving up already? C'mon Jin, you can do better." The clone froze, as Sai pulled out a sketchbook.

"You're right," replied Sai, "I can do better. Ninja Art! Super Beast Imitation!" Drawing with inhumane speed and using his chakra, Jin sent forth five great lion-like creatures towards the Naruto clones.

"Shit," yelled a clone, as it was quickly destroyed, with a swipe from the ink-made beast. Two more fell, before Naruto took the battle back onto his terms.

"Wind Style: Air Bullets!" Three bullets made of wind shot from one of the Naruto's mouths. towards the attacking beasts. The fierce, destructive wind of the air bullets easily tore through the inky beasts, leaving black marks all over the field. Sai quickly threw a kunai in Naruto's direction, before using Body-flicker and vanishing.

"Up here!"

Naruto gracefully jumped to the side, just as Sai planted his sword into the ground, having missed his partner by mere inches. A moment later, he felt a kunai to his throat. "Damn, too fast," he muttered, cursing inwardly.

Naruto laughed playfully, releasing his friend. Twirling his kunai in his hands, he grinned. "That's right, and don't you forget it."

"Showoff," said Sakura from the sidelines. "Now it's my turn," she grinned, tightening her gloves.

Naruto smirked. "What makes you think you'll do any better dear?"

Before Sakura could retort, the Fourth appeared between them. "Hi there. I see you guys are getting along well."

"Oh…Lord Hokage," said Naruto bowing slightly. Sai and Sakura quickly followed suit.

"Please, don't bother with formality. Just call me Minato," said the Fourth quickly. He wanted to tell Naruto, 'Or, you could just call me dad,' but something in his head stopped him, thinking it unwise.

"Minato," acknowledged Naruto, with some hesitation, "what did you need from us?" He flinched as Sakura hit him in the arm.

"He's your dad," she whispered, "don't be so cold towards him."

Minato scratched his head, wondering how his son would react. "Well," he began. He paused, clenching his teeth. "Yomoerwantaseeya."

Team seven blinked. "Come again," said Naruto.

Minato took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Your mother would like to see you."

For a moment, Minato kept his eyes shut, bracing himself for some kind of outburst. When no such sound came, he opened a single eye. He nearly laughed. Nearly.

If Naruto's mouth had been detachable, it would have dropped to the ground. As it was, he was gaping open-mouthed at his father. Sakura and Sai were both gazing at their friend; they too wondering how he would react.

Naruto opened his mouth a few times, though nothing came out. Then, blinking, he sputtered, "W-what?"

Minato had been worried of this reaction. "Yeah," he responded lamely.

For a moment, father and son stared at each other; the former nervous and slightly worried, and the latter shocked.

Sakura tapped her husband. "Yo…earth to Akuro. Wake up sweetie." This snapped Naruto out of his daydream as he straightened out.

"Yeah…yeah sure," he began. "I'd love to meet mom…" He paused before he said, "Dad."

This time, it was Minato's turn to gape. "D-did you just call me dad?"

Naruto gulped. And then he nodded, "Well…you are my father." And despite the reluctance of it, Minato could tell his son meant it. And that meant the world to him.

"Well, alright then! Let's go," said Minato, who seemed a lot happier suddenly. "Follow me."

As the group leapt away, Naruto turned to Sakura.

"Did I…just do what I thought I did?"

She gave him a smile, a quick kiss, and then winked. "Now just do the same with your mom, and you'll be fine." And then she sped up, leaving Naruto behind with Sai.

"You know," said Sai, "maybe you should read some of my books, Akuro. They're a big help."

Naruto stared at him like he was crazy. "Yeah," he said, "only when I'm desperate. C'mon, they're getting away."

Namikaze Residence

Kushina Uzumaki was one of the most attractive women in the village. With her pink hair, and light blue eyes, she was quite a sight to behold. At the moment, she was rather big, with a second Naruto one day short of being born. As they gazed upon her, both Naruto and Sai found it difficult not to stare. And stare they did, nearly drooling and wetting their pants.

It wasn't until Sakura slapped them both, before they snapped out of their fantasy.

Minato laughed, "Akuro…Ayame…Jin, this is my wife, Kushina. Kushina, these are our friends from the future. And this," he said, pulling Naruto away from his team, "is our son all grown up. Say hello to Naruto."

Naruto stammered a hello, while Kushina's eyes shot open. And then she pushed Minato out of the way, and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Oh, Naruto, Minato told me all about you. I'm so sorry about what he did to you." She glared at him for a moment, sending Minato jumping back, trying to point out that he hadn't done anything yet. "But don't worry…mother will take care of you." For a mother that was a day away from giving birth, this was pretty impressive. For Naruto, it was extremely awkward.

She smiled, as she held Naruto at a distance. A change had come over the blonde after that little episode. Instead of timid, he was now terrified, wondering exactly what she meant when she said she was going to take care of him.

Meanwhile, his mother looked him up and down. "Oh, Minato," she giggled, "look how handsome our son is. He looks just like you. Come on; let's get you something to eat."

And despite, Naruto's protesting look, she dragged him away through a doorway.

In the next room, they could hear Naruto's protests. "Wait…Mom, stop! I can feed myself." It was an odd thought that Naruto was getting pushed around by his mother, since he was taller by at least a head, not to mention much stronger.

There seemed to be some struggle, as a lot of crashes could be heard. Sakura giggled, while Minato and Sai merely smiled. "Hey, Ayame," whispered Sai, "wait till she sees his penis."

Sakura's eyes widened, before she yelled, "JIN!" And then, she gave him a right hook, knocking him through the wall. Seething mad, she walked after him, while the ex-Root leaped away from the area, laughing. Sakura would have given chase, except for the fact that a moment later, Kushina walked out.

She was smiling oddly, before she turned to Minato. "Sheesh, he's just like you, Minato. He just loves the ramen."

Minato smiled deeply, "Ramen? Did you say ramen? Mmm, did you make me some?"

Kushina rolled her eyes, before indicating to the next room where the sweet smell of chicken Miso ramen was just playing with Minato's senses. Giving Kushina a quick kiss, he disappeared into the next room. What proceeded next was the worst case of slurping Sakura and Kushina had ever heard. The two women glanced at each other, shuddered, and then walked outside.

They walked out to the porch, sitting down on a plain white bench. "So," started Kushina, "you must be Sakura, Naruto's wife?"

Sakura smiled awkwardly. 'Oh, wonderful! She already knows I'm Naruto's wife?'

"Yeah… but, actually it's Ayame now."

Kushina frowned, "Oh phooey. I heard about that name thing from Minato. Don't throw your names away. It's apart of you that you'll never be able to shut off completely."

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, while pondering this thought. Ultimately she realized the older woman was right. "I don't know. Sai and Naruto both thought it was the best idea. So…I kinda just went along with them."

Kushina laughed, "Oh boys…they just blunder through things without thinking of the consequences. Besides, you look like a Sakura to me. If you don't mind, that's exactly what I'll call you."

Sakura frowned, "What about when the real Sakura is born," she asked, "wouldn't that raise unwanted questions?"

Kushina smiled, "So? Then use your codenames when in public. But we're all friends here, right? Well, anyone who's a friend of Minato's is a friend of mine. Don't worry; I can keep a secret. So…friends," she asked, smiling slightly.

Sakura grinned, "Yeah! Friends!" And the two women hugged.

"Tell me Sakura," said Kushina, when they separated, "what's Naruto like? He seems everything like his father from what I've seen, but…tell me more. I understand he has the Nine-Tails inside him. What was that like for him?"

Sakura's eyes took a faraway look.

Kushina seemed to pick this up, "Let me guess. He hasn't had the easiest of lives, has he?"

Sakura shook her head, "When Naruto was growing up, nobody knew of his relationship with the Fourth Hokage. It was pretty much understood by the older generation of our village that the demon fox was sealed into Naruto. They interpreted that as meaning that Naruto was the nine-tailed fox. The younger generation didn't know anything about Naruto so they picked up on their parents' hostile treatment of Naruto and did the same."

Kushina gasped, and brought a hand to her mouth. "That's terrible!"

Sakura broke off, and began to tear up, "I was like one of those kids once. I'm sorry, Mrs. Uzumaki!" She hung her head loosely, with her arms at her side.

"Hey, hey," said Kushina, "don't worry, Sakura. The point is you changed right? Um, tissue?"

Sakura gratefully accepted the cloth, before wiping her eyes. "When Naruto first became a ninja, he was placed on a team with me, another guy, and our Sensei, Kakashi. I think we were his first real friends."

Kushina nodded, "I see." And then, she grinned. "Kakashi becomes a Jounin instructor? That must have been a big step for him."

Sakura laughed, "I'll bet."

"I see you two are getting along," said Minato, followed by Naruto.

"Hey Son," said Kushina.

"Hey Naruto!"

Naruto blinked. Then he tilted his head awkwardly. "Um… Ay…"

"Son… is that the way you talk to your wife," demanded Kushina. It's Sa-Ku-Ra!"

Naruto and Minato shared confused glances. "B-but…"

"Sa-Ku-Ra," repeated Kushina, and this time, Sakura joined in.

Naruto blinked again. Finally, his eyes narrowed, "Okay, Sakura, mind explaining why we're going back to our old names. Didn't we decide it was for the best that we leave it behind?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, but Kushina did all the talking. "Uh-uh, from what I heard, you and this Sai character pressured Sakura into that decision. Did either of you stop to get her feelings? No! It's Sakura, and that isn't ever going to change."

Naruto frowned even more, "Well, I guess I can't argue with that. Dad, how do you put up with mother?"

Minato laughed, "Yeah, she's a handful sometimes. Is Sakura like that too?"

As they had this conversation, neither could see the furious looks from their respective wives faces. Consequently, neither of them could see the punch until they were both flying through the air.

"It's just a name," protested Naruto, as he landed on top of Minato.

Sakura and Kushina winked at each other. "We like it better that way," they said, simultaneously.

A vein bulged in Naruto's head, as he stood, while Minato stared helpless. "Well," said Naruto, "I guess that's women for you. Fine, sweetie… I guess we need to tell Sai the great news."

"No need. I already heard their decision."

High above them, Sai sat on a tree; his brush moving furiously across his paper. "So, we are back to Sai, Naruto, and Sakura, yes?"

"I guess," replied Naruto, shooting a look towards the two girls, who gave him angelic looks in return.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before Minato spoke. "Well, since we're all here together, I think it's time we make a few announcements. Kakashi!"

From the shadows, their Jounin Sensei walked out. "So? I guess your little get-together was productive?"

"Kakashi," asked Kushina, "Oh my god…that's Kakashi?" She blushed, 'Wow! He's hot!'

Kakashi scratched his head, trying not to feel too embarrassed. "Hi there, Kushina. Yeah, I'm Kakashi, but, enough about me! Are we ready to talk about tomorrow?"

Kushina blinked, "Tomorrow?" She saw the serious looks on everyone's faces, and narrowed her eyes. "Explain, Minato."

Ten Minutes Later

"I see," she said. "So the Demon Fox attacks the village tomorrow. And my son is going to hold it off, while Kakashi banishes it to another dimension?" She began nodding to herself.

"Whew," whispered Naruto to Sakura, "I thought she was about to blow a fuse." Apparently this was everyone's thought, for they were all letting out held breaths. And then…

"No!"

Kakashi and Minato groaned. Naruto fell onto his back, cursing to himself. Sai blinked. And Sakura laughed. "Not happening," said Kushina, folding her arms and shaking her head. "I won't put my son's life to risk."

"Uh, mom," said Naruto, "I can take care of myself. I do have the nine tails inside of me. Plus, I have defeated the seven tails. I think I can hold off the nine tails for a few minutes."

Kushina shook her head, "Nope, not hearing it."

Naruto looked up and shrugged, "Unfortunately mom… if I don't do it, then nobody can."

"I'll do it," said Kushina, stubbornly. "It's only five minutes right? While Kakashi gets that eye going. I'll do it."

Naruto smacked his forehead, while the others sighed. "Mom…you're pregnant." This thought seemed to just occur to Kushina, as she gazed down at her oversized belly. She frowned.

"Honey," said Minato, "the only one who can do this is Naruto. And don't worry. I'll be right there with him on Gamabunta. I won't let our son die. Please…let him do this."

"It's the only way," said Kakashi, "unless you'd rather your husband sacrifice himself and seal the fox into your unborn son?" This was a pretty cold thing to say, but it seemed to have snapped Kushina back to reason.

She began to cry, before she pulled Naruto into an embrace. "No, I don't want Minato to die either. Naruto…" Naruto stiffened.

"Y-yes, Mom?"

"You may be from the future, but you're still my son. If you dare die…I'm going to drag you back from the grave and kill you myself."

Naruto paled, "Sure mom," he said, patting her on the back. "You can count on me."

Kushina nodded, "Well, you're an adult now." Her eyes suddenly glared daggers at everyone, sending them scrambling back a bit, "You ALL better come back."

"Of course," said Kakashi, grinning.

"You got it, Mrs. Uzumaki," said Sakura.

Sai lazily waved a hand.

Naruto glared at them, "Oh that's funny you're all saying that considering I'm the one who has to do most of the bloody fighting." They ignored him.

Minato pulled his wife into a hug, "don't worry honey. This time tomorrow, the fox will be gone and we'll be able to celebrate. Have a feast ready for us, eh?"

Kushina grinned, "You bet!"

Minato nodded, before turning to the group. "Alright, go home and get some rest. Tomorrow, I will get all available forces within the village ready in order to support you guys. Naruto and I will provide a distraction against the nine tails, while Sakura and Sai will do their best to protect Kakashi, who in turn will attempt to use his Mangekyo sharingan. I will put the village on full alert. All Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU will be ready to fight, while all Genin will evacuate the villagers. Should it come to it, I am prepared to seal the fox into Naruto.

"Ahhh," interrupted Sakura. "It just struck me. But…I don't think I can help."

Five pairs of eyes settled on her. "Why not," asked Minato.

Sakura pointed to Kushina, "Well, Mr. Hokage, your wife is about to give birth. Actually, she gives birth right as the Nine-Tails attacks. With everyone running around, somebody needs to make sure there are no complications. Like me." She glanced up innocently, while everyone turned towards Kushina's oversized belly.

"I-I'm giving birth tomorrow," she asked, bewildered.

Minato smacked his forehead, "I should have realized that. If I was going to seal anything into my newborn son, he would have had to have been born." His shoulders sagged as he groaned. "Well, try not to let anything happen to my wife then, Sakura. She really means the world to me."

Sakura grinned, while Kushina blushed a bright red, "Aww. How sweet. Don't worry, she's in good hands."

Minato briefly glanced at his wife. Then he turned back to the team, "Alright, you guys are free to do as you please. Try to get some rest. Hell, we all need a little bit right now."

"SIR!"

Minato grinned, before waving his hand, "Good luck! Dismissed!"

Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai left while Naruto remained behind. Kushina and Minato glanced at him curiously.

"Hey, Dad! So…I always wondered just how strong you are."

Minato laughed, "I was wondering the same about you."

"Wanna spar?"

Minato grinned, "A spar with my son? I don't know; what do you think, Kushina?"

"Definitely. I'd watch, but…" She trailed off as she pointing at her belly.

"You're on," said Minato, "personally; I was hoping to get a good look at you before the Jounin Exams. I'll meet you back at the training field. Race ya?"

"You'll lose," said Naruto, confidently, "come on!"

And leaving Kushina, who was smiling brightly, father and son dashed off, ready for the spar of their lives.