Naruto was slurping away at his ramen, at the Famous (to him, at least) Ichiraku's. He sighed contentedly after finishing it and sitting with his back to the bar. He opened one eye and noticed Ino standing outside, looking as though she was deciding whether or not to go inside. "Ino..?" He asked quietly. She sighed and hobbled inside. He was actually a bit shocked at her size since they hadn't spoken in only two weeks.
She frowned at him and grabbed his wrist, yanking him out of the ramen shop. She crossed her arms and watched him rub the bridge of his nose, where he was blushing. "What, Ino?" He asked, irritably.
"I just wanted to let you know that you'll be the biological father of twins in three months or so." She said with a steady gaze. He raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by 'biological' father? Are you gonna keep me from them, 'ttebayo?"
She frowned. "Tch. You're so childish. You've already abandoned them once."
He glared at her intensely and took a step closer to her. "What is that supposed to mean?" He growled. "That was your fault, in case you forgot!"
"They're still your kids. You knew that, way before I did, and you haven't asked about them or anything." She didn't flinch from his angry stare. "You don't deserve them and they deserve better. They shouldn't suffer because we screwed up."
Naruto clenched his teeth and threw his face into hers. He was glad he had bonded with Kurama. If he hadn't he'd probably be losing it by now.
"You told me to stay away, way before I even said anything to you and Sasuke!" He gestured toward her swolen belly. "They wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been using me in the first place, 'ttebayo!"
He clenched his fists as he heard Kurama laughing. "You humans are quite the entertainment." Kurama teased.
"Shut up, Kurama!" Naruto blushed, yelling back at the Kyuubi.
Sakura was walking past and, spotting Naruto's angry glare and Ino's annoyed one, she placed a hand on both of their backs. "What's going on this time?" She sighed, exasperated. She'd spent the last few weeks listening to Ino rant about Naruto.
They both started yelling and complaining about the other, trying to over-talk each other. She couldn't even make anything out, chuckling nervously.
"Arg!" Naruto yelled in frustration and stood up straight. He grabbed Sakura's hand and ran off in the opposite direction, dragging her along behind him.
After he'd slowed down and begun walking towards Sakura's house, she spoke up. "What could Ino possibly have said to make you that mad?"
He squeezed her hand a little tighter. "She's basically blaming me for the whole thing. She said I abandoned them." He sighed, glancing at her. "Do you think that's true?" Now that he was thinking about it, he wasn't sure anymore.
Sakura looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I don't know exatly what happened with you two. But, Ino can a bit ... overbearing. She doesn't always mean what she says. When she's hurt, she lashes out. That's all."
He lowered his gaze and she gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm hurt, too 'ttebayo."
"I know." Sakura replied sadly. "Once you get to her heart, she's a sweetie." She offered, trying to cheer him up.
'Her heart?' He thought to himself. 'I might be able to do that. It's worth a try for them, at least.'
Sakura's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "And you do know that I'm with Sasuke again, right?" She asked, raising their hands up so he could look at them. "I doubt he'd give a second thought to beating you up again." She joked, laughing.
He smiled brightly and nodded. "I just needed a good friend. And I can't hold hands with Sasuke!"
She giggled and twined her fingers with his again. "You certainly had no problem kissing him at the academy."
He paled and shook his head rapidly. "THAT was an ACCIDENT! Back then, my goal was to kiss you, Sakura, believe it!"
She blushed and chuckled again. "Yeahh, I know." She rolled her eyes.
He walked up to Ino's door the next morning and knocked gently. She swung the door open and looked up in surprise before putting on her trademark frown. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, Ino. I'm sorry about yesterday. My emotions just got the best of me. I think we should start over." She blinked, but her gaze didn't waver and she crossed her arms. He raised an eyebrow and continued.
"I just want us to be civil, at the very least. I want to be able to help raise the twins, 'ttebayo." A sympathetic look crept into her eyes as he looked down at his feet.
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "That's all I wanted. An apology and an effort." He grinned, blushing, as she looked up at him.
"I'm sorry, too. I was being selfish the entire time, I didn't take your feelings into account. I got scared when I knew you .. felt the way you did. Or maybe still do." She felt ashamed, more than she normally did, now that she was finally admitting her own faults.
"No matter how hard I try, I can't hate you. You've left an impression on me, Uzumaki." She gave the slightest smile as tears welled up in her eyes.
Naruto looked into her eyes and kissed her forehead, wrapping his hands around her waist. Those eyes made his heart thump.
"Ino, I never meant to hurt you, either. Everything I did was for a reason, but not for that reason."
She snuggled her head into his chest. "Whatever the reason, I think I'm ... in love with you, dobe." Her heart swelled. She didn't think love could make her feel so afraid.
His eyes widened. "R-Really?" He stammered. His face flushed bright red and he lifted her chin to look into her eyes again. "You already knew I felt the same, Ino. Right from the start."
She lunged up, grabbing his face and smashed her lips to his. He laughed through her kiss, attempting to turn her sideways a bit. Her belly was huge. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss as he lifted her a bit and carried her inside, shutting the door behind him. From prior experience, he was able to navigate through her apartment to her bedroom and lie her down. They separated and she watched him closely.
He sat at the edge of her bed, leaning down and pressing his ear to her stomach. Ino covered her mouth as she started laughing and he covered her face with his hand, earning another laugh.
Naruto poked her belly, talking into it. "Junior and .. Junior 2. Uh, what's up in there, 'ttebayo?" He asked, reminding himself not to expect an answer. He jumped as he was kicked in the face, his mouth agape. "They got me!" He shouted.
Ino rolled her eyes, laughing loudly. "Good. That means they're fighters."
Over the next two months, Naruto and Ino were able to steadily able to gain each other's trust and affection. Naruto spent every spare moment he could with her, seeing as he still had missions and they lived in seperate apartments. He had offered to get a bigger apartment to fit all four of them into, but she'd declined, telling him that she wasn't ready to live with him just yet.
Sasuke, on the other hand, had been annoyed at first that Naruto and Ino had reconciled and were trying to work things out. Though, a great few weeks with Sakura and some gentle persuasion had gotten him to practically forget it happened at all. Shortly afterward, Sakura had announced becoming pregnant by Sasuke and even calling herself "Sakura Uchiha", to which Sasuke always showed the tiniest smile at. Naruto always grinned brightly as his friend gushed over her lifetime crush and how they finally could start a life together. It seemed that not only his dreams were coming true.
Naruto and Ino were finally shopping for the twins' baby clothes and furniture at the moment. He was going to help her set everything up for the twins in her apartment. He held Ino's hand as they looked through the baby store. They saw all kinds of cute things that Ino wanted to spend all of their money on. Rubber toy shuriken and kunai, building blocks with the symbols of the five hidden villages on them and little shirts with all kinds of different designs.
"I want the ones that I can put their names on!" She giggled and scurried over to the customizable onesies.
"Uhh, well wouldn't we have to know their names to do that?" He asked. She blinked up at him.
"Oh yeah..." He rolled his eyes as she shrugged. "Why don't we just name them, then?"
He sighed and rubbed his temples. He was much more tired and cranky lately, he'd been working too hard. "Because we don't know if they're boys or girls, remember?"
A smile slowly crept across her face and she grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the shop and towards Kiba's apartment. "Where are you taking me?" He asked, exasperated.
"To Hinata, you grumpy dobe! She can use her Byakugan to look at the babies! I think anyway..."
He groaned loudly at the mention of Hinata's name. Ino ignored it and dragged him over to the door of the apartment that Kiba and Hinata stayed in together. She knocked gently and they waited until Hinata swung the door open.
"Naruto..?" She blushed and looked away. "Kiba isn't here right now." Ino shook her head and replied before he could open his mouth.
"We actually need to see you, Hinata. We were just wondering if you could use your Byakugan to tell us their genders." She asked, pointing to her belly.
Hinata stared at her stomach for a moment, clear jealousy in her face. But, she simply nodded and stepped aside for them to enter. "Anything for you, Naruto."
He sighed. Even after almost two years of being apart, Hinata obviously still felt something for him. Luckily, Ino hadn't noticed, or chose to ignore, the meaning behind the comment and just replied with a, "Thanks, Hinata!"
He clenched his teeth and forced a crooked smile. It probably looked more like a grimace than a smile. She smiled sweetly at him anyway and he stepped inside squeezing Ino's hand, a litle too tight. She shot him a warning glare and snatched her hand away from his.
Naruto frowned. He was uneasy about being around Hinata. "Uhh, Ino, are you sure this is the only way, 'ttebayo?"
She rolled her eyes and ignored him. "C'mon, Hinata, work your magic." Hinata smiled and nodded, squinting her eyes and activating her Byakugan.
She leaned close enough to Ino's belly that her nose almost touched it. "I can see ... their outlines. There's definitely two of them." She squinted her eyes more. "I can't really make out much else, though. Just their chakra networks. The one on the left is a bit weaker.
Hinata kept looking at Ino's belly, as if she was looking for something else. She looked a bit disappointed, deactivating her eyes. "Other than that, I can't see anything else."
"That's alright. I suppose it can stay a surprise." Ino leapt up and wrapped her around Naruto's neck, panting kisses on his cheek. "I can't wait to meet them, Naruto!"
"Oof!" He smiled, struggling to hold her up as he kissed her forehead. He'd felt a trill of worry when Hinata mentioned one having a weaker chakra network, but it was forgotten as he focused on holding Ino. "Let's go. We might as well go think of names anyway. And I'm really tired, 'ttebayo." He yawned.
"Hell, you? I have to carry two little people around." She stuck her tongue out at him and he flicked her forehead, grabbing her hand and wrapping an around around her waist once more to help her walk.
"Trust me, I know." He smiled.