Quake
Chapter Two
-Competition-
"Remember the last time we were here?" Sakura asked, leaning towards her husband.
He remained silent, "Yeah. Lee attacked me, I talked to Kiba about sex, and Sasuke tried to make me look bad." He informed her, a long sigh escaping from his lips.
"Daddy what's sex?" Natsumi asked from her seat.
Gaara's expression didn't even change as he skimmed through the menu. "Something you won't know about until you're at least thirty." He said simply.
"Got it." She nodded, picking up her own menu and trying to mimic her father.
Naruto stared wide eyed at how easily such a subject was dismissed. Minako had a curious mind, and it was difficult to deflect her more mature questions. She would see through his feeble attempts, and continue to badger him. At least, until Hinata told her to stop. For some reason Minako always listened to his wife. It was annoying.
"Have you all decided what you want to eat?" Gaara asked his three children.
"Yes." Toshiro said softly. He had been seated next to Minako, but was too embarrassed to spare her a glance yet. The twins were sitting across from the two, one beside Sakura and the other beside Hinata.
Suddenly the twins disappeared underneath the table. Sakura looked down, a bit confused as to what they were doing. Gaara didn't even spare them a second glance. Toshiro groaned, smacking his palm to his forehead and sliding it down slowly. "Not here…." He complained.
Before any of the Uzumakis could get in a question, they popped back up and turned to their mother. "Ok mommy! Which is which? You know what we like! So you'll have to find out who's who."
"Really girls? Must we do this now?" Sakura asked, slightly annoyed. It was what, the third time in one day? She was getting tired of it.
"Don't avoid the question mommy. You have to answer, or we'll just keeeeeeeep doing it." Natsumi said with a devious smile.
Minako propped her head on the table with her hand and stared at the twins contemplatively. "Hmmmmm." She said, scrunching her face in a cute manner and tapping her chin. "Aunt Sakura." She said quietly.
The pink haired woman looked across the table at Minako, raising an inquisitive brow. Said girl continued to stare at the twins, appearing as if she were concentrating hard. Then she sat up, smiling. She pointed at the one next to her mother. "You are Natsumi." She said. Then she turned her attention to the one next to Sakura. "And you are Satomi."
Toshiro looked at Minako, wide eyed. Both girls stared in awe, and even the attention of the older redhead was captured. "How can you tell?" Gaara asked, simply astounded. "They're identical. They don't have a different bone in their body."
"Yeah, trust me. I've checked." Sakura rolled her eyes, she didn't know how it was possible, but her daughters had absolutely no physical difference.
"Well…" Minako began, turning slightly red at the scrutiny she was receiving. "Natsumi has a lot of chakra, and it's…chaotic and wild. Satomi doesn't have as much, but there is a lot, and it's more subdued and controlled." She said, hoping that she explained it well enough.
Gaara stared at the young girl, completely blown away. "That's…amazing. Are you sure you're Naruto's kid?" he laughed.
Toshiro just kept quiet. This was weird. No one beside him and his dad could tell Natsumi and Satomi apart.
Hinata smiled at Gaara. "You forget she is also my daughter. The Hyuuga have many abilities concerning chakra detection and control. Minako has a gift for it, and Neji-nii-san has been teaching her a bit." She said, obviously proud of her daughter's achievements.
The Kazekage nodded, giving the girl one last look before returning his gaze back on his menu. Toshiro was the only one still amazed with Minako and finally, he said something, "That was…really cool."
Minako turned beet red at the compliment. "Thank you Shiro-kun." She said softly, looking back at her menu.
He blinked, taken back by the suffix. Never before had he been called anything but Toshiro-sama, after all he was the Kazekage's son. He could feel the soft heat coming off his own cheeks now, and he looked away, ashamed from the weakness he was showing. He tried to harden his emotions like his father could, but the pink blush wouldn't dissipate.
Seeing this, Sakura kicked Gaara under the table, resulting with him holding in a yell. She met his glare with a look of excitement. She was nearly shaking with her happiness. "What?" he seethed, his glare only narrowing. She shook her head in their son's direction, raising her eyebrows. Then she smiled at him goofily.
He followed her gaze, watching his son fumble with his fingers and look off. Gaara looked back at Sakura, "What?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "You know….the thing." She whispered, so that the kids wouldn't here her.
"Yeah, ok. So what?" he asked, clearly not seeing what was so exciting about the reaction.
She sighed. "It's a sign!"
"Sakura I hardly think that's a sign." He gave her a doubtful look.
Natsumi tugged on her mother's arm. "What's a sign mommy?"
"Nothing sweetie. Your daddy is just being a butt." She said by way of explanation.
"Ooooooh," the girl nodded, looking over to her sister. The waitress finally came around, taking their drink and food orders. Gaara leaned back in his chair, watching his son closely now. He didn't know if he was still comfortable with what they had planned.
"Hey Gaara." Naruto said, effectively getting the redhead's attention. "We should spar after the ceremony. You know, Hokage vs. Kazekage. It'd be epic, don't you think?!" Naruto said excitedly, imagining the look on his people's faces when he beat Gaara.
Gaara took a sip of the water that was already on the table for them. He laughed at the blonde's confidence. "Funny Naruto. To think you could beat me."
"I can and I have!" He said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah. Once. When we were like twelve. But those days have long since passed my friend." He smirked, looking up at his longtime friend. "Of course, I'd always be willing to rub your face in the dirt."
The twins laughed with their father, "No one can beat our daddy." They said together, "He's the best."
"Yeah whatever. But I've perfected my techniques, and I have a few new ones." Naruto said giving his friend a devious smirk. "I've gotten so fast, I can run laps around Lee."
"Daddy, what did mommy say this morning?" Minako asked, using a scolding tone.
"Uh…."
"She said that a good ninja does not brag about their techniques. They keep them a secret to use as a trump card later on in the fight. The moment you give away your abilities, is the moment you lose the battle." Minako explained as the food arrived.
Naruto crossed his arms in a pout. "Yeah, but that was directed at you, since you're the child and need to learn things like that."
Minako crossed her arms and raised a small brow at her father. "If you already know things like that, then why aren't you following it? That only shows that you still have things to learn as a ninja daddy."
Sakura burst into laughter at this. It was just too funny, and his daughter was just too adorable. Gaara just smirked, "Thank you very much Minako, good teaching. You are a wise little girl."
The twins instantly puffed up, they're faces red with jealousy. "But daddy," Natsumi began.
"We're better…right?" Satomi finished, both staring their father down. Gaara blinked and looked at them. He always hated these types of situations.
Sakura continued to laugh, finding the situation her husband had unknowingly put himself in to be hilarious. Minako merely looked over at the girls in confusion. "Of course he thinks you guys are better. He's your daddy." She said. It made perfect sense to her.
The two looked over at their competition and decided this fact was enough…for now. Surprisingly the evening was going very smoothly. "So Naruto, when exactly are you going to become Hokage?" Gaara asked, cutting into his steak precisely.
"Well the ceremony should take place in two days' time. Unless the elders take their sweet time in finalizing the necessary paperwork. Honestly, I don't understand what's taking so long. There's only two of them, and they're close to kicking the bucket!" the blonde complained.
"I see, well I think we're planning on staying a week. To be spent in discussing…other things." He looked towards his son and sighed, but returned his gaze back to the blonde.
"Uncle Naruto, why do you only have two elders and no council?" Satomi asked, facing the Hokage.
"Well sweetie, that's because Konoha and Suna are very different in the way things are run. But even though we have less people here, they still get in the way." He told her, smiling.
"Well if it's only two people, why are there so many problems with them?" she continued, very unlike her response to her parents.
"Because they are old fuddy duddies. At least the Suna council has a few younger people on it. The elders here are just stuck in their ancient ways, and refuse to accept change." Naruto said, trying to stay calm. Part of the reason they were taking so long was because they knew Naruto was going to change the way things were run in the village concerning the ninja world, and it scared them.
Gaara laced his fingers and gave Satomi a hard look that silenced her. "Naruto, if you need any help don't hesitate to ask. The only reason Suna is thriving now is because I took control of the council. You cannot allow them to control your village. I do not wish to impose on you, but I would suggest a council and make Hinata a part of it."
Naruto smiled good naturedly at his long time friend. "Thanks for the offer Gaara, I'll keep it in mind. Hinata-chan has been helping me with the politics of the whole thing, and Hiashi has been a huge help too. Those old geezers won't do anything too rash, for risk of upsetting the Hyuuga Clan. And once I become Hokage officially, things will definitely change." He said, taking a bite of his meal.
With a nod, silence returned to the table as they all ate.
"Hey Satomi-chan? Would you consider sparring with me while you're here?" Minako asked hesitantly.
"Oh Minako I wouldn't spar with Satomi, she's still having trouble controlling her strength." Gaara spoke up then, looking between his daughter and the other. "Natsumi might be better suited for sparring."
"I only asked Satomi-chan because her fighting style is taijutsu based. I could help her learn to better control her strength with a few exercises Uncle Neji has taught me. But if Natsumi-chan wants to spar I would be happy to do that as well." She said, completely polite.
"I don't need help controlling my strength. It's not my fault that I was given this." Satomi glared across the table, her darker side showing. She didn't like the idea of someone from some other village teaching her how to use her power. Only her mommy and grandma understood what she was going through. Natsumi blinked, looking over at her sister.
"What Satomi means is that we don't need help. Mommy is teaching Satomi to control her strength. It's harder for her since she got all of our daddy's rage." Natsumi flashed the girl a smile.
"Oh." Minako said looking down at her half empty plate. She had only wanted to help. Suddenly she perked up, sensing a familiar chakra. She turned around and got out of her seat, running a bit of a distance away. "Akito-kun! Sasuke-san! I haven't seen you in forever!" she yelled excitedly, hugging the young boy, who was a mirror image of his father.
Gaara froze, looking back and seeing the black spot of ink on the otherwise white canvas of his life. "Uchiha." He glared. Despite the fact that Sasuke had given up on getting Sakura, he still hated him.
The two girls looked at the new arrivals, "Who are you?" they asked together, eyeing them both. Suddenly they burst into laughter, "Your hair looks like a chicken butt!" they yelled in unison, pointing teasingly at the two. A small smirk crept up Gaara's face, ah those were his girls.
The boy called Akito glared at the twins as he returned Minako's embrace. How he hated girls. They were so annoying. "Hn. At least my hair isn't a freakish color." He said in a monotone. Sasuke smirked at his son's observation. He could dish it as good as he could take it. Both Natsumi and Satomi's jaws dropped. How dare he! They had beautiful hair!
Minako pulled out of the hug and smacked his arm. "Akito-kun! Be nice to my new friends!" she said, pouting slightly. But it was too late for that, this was one of the few moments where the twins reacted differently. Natsumi was out of her seat and tackling the Uchiha boy to the ground. She hit his chest weakly, not having her sister's strength. But it wasn't rage on her face, she was crying.
"I have pretty hair you meanie!" she yelled, some of her tears hitting Akito's face.
Satomi blinked, watching her sister. "How come Natsumi's sand isn't going crazy?" she asked, looking over at her father. He was staring at Natsumi, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Dad's stopping it so she doesn't accidently hurt Akito." Toshiro said simply, taking a bite out of the sandwich he ordered. Finally Gaara got up and grabbed Natsumi by the back of her shirt, lifting her off the boy. He set her back down, but kept his iron grip.
"I apologize for Natsumi's behavior…she's not very good at holding in her emotions and sometimes acts irrationally…like someone." Gaara glanced back at Sakura, who simply stuck her tongue out at the redhead just for spite. Natsumi crossed her arms angrily, looking off to the side, tears still staining her cheeks. "I'm sorry…Sasuke." He managed out, still trying to sound pleasant. He focused down on the smaller Uchiha, "I know she probably didn't hurt you, but she should have controlled herself."
"No harm no foul. If she's Sakura's daughter it's completely understandable." Sasuke said with a smirk. Then he looked down at his son, who was getting up off the floor and wiping the girl's tears off his face.
"You shouldn't make fun of someone else if you are not prepared for the consequences." The young Uchiha said, looking at the crying girl in Gaara's arms. He felt kind of guilty at having made her cry, but his father taught him to never feel sorry for his actions, so he brushed the feeling aside.
Minako crossed her arms angrily. "Akito-kun! What did I just tell you?! You won't make any friends with that kind of behavior." She warned.
His impassive forest green eyes turned back to Minako. "Ch." Was all he said before turning back to Gaara. "No harm done, Kazekage-sama." He gave the redhead a small bow and then, as if what had just happened wasn't a big deal, he turned to Naruto and smirked. "I didn't know you ate anything other than ramen Uncle Naruto."
This caused the Hokage-to-be to laugh. "I don't if I can help it. But Sakura-chan wanted to eat here and there's just no reasoning with the woman." He said sending his friend a smile. Then Naruto turned to Sasuke. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you were off on a mission."
"We finished early. Akito and I were on our way to the training fields when we passed by and saw you." Sasuke said, not revealing that he had really come to see what Sakura's kids looked like.
Finally Gaara released Natsumi, giving her a snapping point, ordering her back to her seat. She walked back around the table without a word and sat next to her mother, arms still crossed. Toshiro got up then. He didn't have many interactions with boys his age besides his cousin, so this was a new possibility. He held out his hand to Akito and smiled, "Hey, I'm Toshiro."
Akito took his hand and shook it. "Akito." He said, not one for words.
Toshiro shook it back and nodded, "So you're an Uchiha. My mom and dad have told me a lot about the Uchihas. Do you have a sharingan yet? What does it do? What's it like? Sorry." Toshiro gave out a small laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "It's just I find genjutsu really interesting since I only excel in taijutsu and ninjutsu." He said, surprisingly being completely modest.
Akito smiled. He didn't know why his dad hated Gaara, his son was really nice. "Yeah I have the sharingan, but it's not fully developed yet or anything. That comes with time and hard work. As for what it does, I could show you in a spar. It'd be better if you could experience it for yourself."
Sakura almost said something at this, but stopped herself. Sasuke didn't get his sharingan until he was twelve, and even then all it could do was predict the enemy's movements. Perhaps that was all Akito's could do, since he was so young.
"Of course!" the smaller redhead exclaimed, excitement apparent on his features. Toshiro turned to his father, a pleading look on his face. "Can we dad? It's ok right?"
Gaara seemed a bit wary of the idea, but it was just a spar right? If anything started happening he could always step in so no one got to hurt. "I guess so,"
Akito didn't even need to ask his father. Any chance there was to train or spar his father made him do it. He only ever really got to play when he was with Minako. And even then sometimes she would want to spar. But he didn't mind practicing with her. She made it fun.
"Yay! Let's go!" Minako exclaimed, heading towards the exit.
"Minako." Hinata said quietly but sternly.
She turned back to her mother, blue eyes widening innocently. "Yes Mama?"
"Let everyone finish their meals. Sasuke and Akito may join us if they wish, but we are not going to up and leave before everyone else is ready." Hinata explained calmly. Sometimes, her daughter just got too excited. Like a certain blonde husband of hers.
"Yes Mama." She said, sitting in her seat and resuming eating her meal.
Not wanting to just stand around awkwardly, Akito took the seat next to Minako. He leaned over the table and looked at Toshiro. "So can you control sand like your dad? Or are you super strong like your mom? Both seem really cool to me." He asked excitedly. He had heard stories of both of the redhead's parents, and had always wanted to see them fight for himself.
"Well," Toshiro smiled, being a boy he did like to gloat every now and then. "As fortune should have it, I got both," he smiled genuinely. He didn't mean to be boastful, but he was proud of his bloodline. "My mom's even teaching me how to heal! Since I have really good chakra control, it's very handy if I get hurt at all. It also helps with my sand." He felt his smile growing. He wanted to see how other villages fought, he was so excited. "I can't wait to fight you!" he jumped up, sharing his chair with Akito since that was the only one available.
Gaara stared in awe at the two boys who were now sharing a sandwich and talking about different fighting styles. Natsumi's glare only increased, not believing that her brother was being friends with that….that meanie face!
"That's awesome! My chakra control isn't too shabby, but my mother wasn't from a ninja family or anything, so all my abilities are from my father." Akito said, taking a bite of the sandwich.
Minako was all smiles. Now her best friend was becoming friends with the cute boy. And Akito did need more friends. This meant that they would want to hang out, and she would get to play with them, therefore getting to see Toshiro more.
"Hmpf." Natsumi's glare increased, before she got down from her seat and walked away from the table. Gaara watched her curiously as she went right out the door. Sakura blinked and got up, opening her mouth to call out for her daughter. The redhead grabbed her wrist and shook his head.
"She'll be fine." He assured her, making her sit back down.
Akito's brow scrunched in confusion. Had he said something offensive? He looked at his new friend. "Is she ok?" he asked curiously.
Toshiro shrugged, "She's just being Natsumi. She always says Satomi has all my dad's anger." He shook his head with a small laugh as Satomi stared at the two. "But when she gets mad she's got all these emotions and she doesn't know how to focus them, I think it's a girl thing."
Naruto laughed. "Well Minako doesn't do that, she knows exactly how to focus them. Isn't that right sweetie?" he asked, smiling at his daughter. She merely stuck her tongue out at him.
Akito was only more confused. Naruto was right. Minako never did anything rash when she was upset. But then again, he tried really hard not to upset her, because she was important to him. And…it seemed the newcomers were important to her…so he should at least try to be nice…right?
He got up from his seat, excused himself, and walked out the door. He looked around and spotted her sitting next to the front door, staring at the ground. He walked over and tilted his head to the side. Might as well ask her nicely. "Are you ok?"
The ground seemed to be moving, but when he looked closer he realized it was sand squirming around on the ground. "You better go away," she said sadly. "My daddy isn't here to stop me, and my sand doesn't like mean, pink hating boys." She stood up then and gave him a hard look, but even as detached from people as he was, he could see through her façade of hatred. Her eyes were still red, probably from crying again.
She didn't understand why he had said such an awful thing about her hair. Everyone liked her. Everyone. She was the epitome of adorable.
A pained look came over his face then. He didn't like it when girls cried, especially when it was his fault. He had made Minako cry once. Once. And that was enough. "I…don't hate pink…" he said, turning his gaze to the ground. "And…I'm sorry if I made you cry…" it was really eating away at his pride to do this, but it was his problem, and he always fixed his problems. He had been taught never to do anything halfway, and that when you messed up, you had to do whatever was necessary to fix it.
She looked over at him, a bit suspicious. But he looked sincere and seemed to be really sorry. She faced him and took his hand tenderly with both hers. She smiled brilliantly, something she inherited from her mother. "It's alright Akito, I forgive you." And without warning she dropped his hand and hugged him fiercely. After all, in her family, no one was ever allowed to feel unloved. Since there was always room in the heart to make more you could give it away to anyone. Because everyone deserved love. Everyone.
Akito's eyes widened and his body tensed slightly. Nobody but Minako had ever hugged him before. Not even his father showed him any affection, and his mother was dead, so it's not like he knew what a mother's love was like. He relaxed suddenly, and wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace. Did this mean that now he had two new friends?
Her smile grew with his reaction. She looked up, her sparkling jade revived with happiness. "Natsumi likes Akito! He's not such a meanie after all," she reached up and pat his head, giggling.
His gaze narrowed. He didn't like it when people touched his head. But it seemed that she was one of those touchy feely people, so he would just have to get used to it. He smiled back down at her. She was really tiny for a girl. "You're not too bad yourself squirt." He said, smirking at the nickname he had picked out for her. It seemed to fit to him.
She blinked and stared up at him angrily, the pout on her face only making him laugh. "I am not short!" she huffed. "I'm only seven years old. I'll get bigger!" she promised, not liking that someone had actually talked down to her. She was like a princess in Suna, and no one would dare speak to her as he was. But it was interesting. "If you call me squirt I get to call you…um…" she stared at him for a while, trying to find a nickname for him. She growled in aggravation. She couldn't think of anything!
He smirked down at her. It was kinda fun to get her riled up. He let go of her and stepped away. "But when you get bigger, so will I. And I will always be taller than you, cause' I'm a boy. So squirt works." He said.
Her jaw dropped as she stared at him, it was true. He probably would always be taller than her, even considering who her mother was. Her mom was significantly shorter than her father, and Sasuke had almost been as tall as her dad. She growled at the awful truth. "Well at least I'll be cuter than you," she smiled evilly, setting closed fists on her hips.
Akito crossed his arms. "Hn. Boys aren't supposed to be cute, they're supposed to be handsome." He replied with a triumphant smirk.
She opened her mouth for a retort that never game. She huffed once more, crossing her arms stubbornly. "Well then." She looked off and then back at the restaurant. She looked back at her new friend and blinked, pointing at the place. "Do you want to go back in?"
"We probably should. My dad will get mad if I stay out here much longer." He said, grabbing her by the hand and leading her back to the table.
Both Gaara and Sasuke looked at the entrance as the two children arrived, their glares shifting to their joined hands. "It's ok!" Natsumi announced, just as dramatically as ever. "I forgave Akito, and me and him are friends now." She informed the table, who simply laughed. All but two of the fathers seemed amused by this.
"See what being nice does Akito-kun? It makes you friends!" Minako said. Then she looked over at Toshiro. "Shiro-kun was nice to me, and now we're friends too!" then she gasped, suddenly realizing something. "We can all be friends like our parents are!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air excitedly.
Naruto laughed at his daughter's announcement. Then he looked over at Sasuke and Gaara. Noticing their glares, and where they were directed, he rolled his eyes. They were just kids, it wasn't like they were going to run off and get married.
Seeing that everyone was done eating, he placed some bills on the table. Sakura saw this and raised a brow. "Wow Naruto. You're paying for the food? Since when do you do that?" she teased.
Naruto put his hand behind his head, embarrassed. "Hehe, well Hinata-chan has made me into a better man I guess. Plus, you guys are my guests, so it's only fair."
The pink haired woman looked to her silent friend. "Well Hinata, I never thought I'd see the day. Good work." She complimented, smiling.
"Thank you Sakura. I try." The Hyuuga admitted, blushing slightly at the compliment.
Toshiro stood excitedly in his chair. "So now me and Akito can spar right?!"
Gaara finally tore his glare from the two kids and shook his head. "Not today Toshiro, we still need to get our belongings to our suite. I have things to handle with Naruto, and I would like to watch. Tomorrow we'll go out to the training fields and then you and Akito can have your brawl."
"What?" he asked disapprovingly, "But dad, come on." He begged for the first time, not immediately obeying his farther.
"I said tomorrow Toshiro." The redhead said once more.
"Can I at least hang out with Akito today?" he stopped and then jumped down from the chair, giving Sasuke a small bow. "Of course, if that's ok with you."
Sasuke looked down at the boy. "Hn. I suppose, as long as it isn't for too long. Akito still has to do his nightly training, and I don't want him up late."
"Yes sir." He nodded, looking to his father now. "Come on Dad, please?"
Gaara reluctantly agreed. Toshiro didn't have many boys to play with besides his cousin back in Suna. "Fine, fine. Go. And make sure you don't disrespect Sasuke." He said unwillingly, but his son needed to be courteous to everyone.
"Can we go play with Minako then Mommy?" Satomi asked, looking up at her mother.
"Of course you can sweetie. But mind whatever Aunt Hinata tells you, and if Uncle Naruto says something stupid, be sure to hit him for me." Sakura said with a smile.
She nodded and got down from her chair, walking over to her sister. "Come on Natsumi." She said holding out her hand. The younger twin looked at her sister's hand and then down at hers and Akito's entwined fingers. She looked back up at him, still keeping her grip. Sasuke got up and called the boys over towards the door. Toshiro grabbed Akito's free arm and dragged him after the dark haired man.
"Come on Akito!" he laughed.
As he was being dragged away by his new friend, he looked down at his other hand and then back towards Natsumi. It was odd. He was never one to initiate physical contact, and yet he had grabbed her hand without thinking about it. Before he could contemplate further on the matter, his attention was grabbed by his father, who was telling them the rules of the house while playing.
Natsumi blinked and stared after him, finally putting her hand in her sister's and going over to Hinata.
Minako got up and took a hold of her mother's hand. Exchanging a smile with her daughter, Hinata led the group towards their house, praying that the boys would get along even though their fathers didn't.
Akito (Age 8): The only child of Uchiha Sasuke. He looks exactly like his father, but his eyes are a dark, forest green. His hair sticks up the way Sasuke's does, but he doesn't have the long bangs on the side of his head. Instead, his bangs sweep off to the left a bit and fall above his eyes. He can use the sharingan, but it is not fully developed because of his young age. He never met his mother, who died in childbirth, but he did inherit some of her mannerisms. Such as he shows emotion more than Sasuke does, and hates to see people cry.