Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
Well, if any of you have followed the pattern of the first story, you ought to know what's going to happen next...
After a month's honeymoon and Temari being sick for two weeks, they finally went to Konohagakure no Sato, reporting to Tsunade before heading to the Uchiha Compound.
"Ryo, we're going to have a lot of kids so the house isn't quiet anymore."
"Um…Temari, now that we're married, there's something I ought to tell you—"
The front door flew open and Ryo's two eldest daughters flew into his arms. "Tou-chan!" Rin cried, arms around his neck, while Mikoto merely hugged him, just pleased to see her father again.
"These are your kids, I'm guessing? Two girls?"
"Yes, this is Rin, my eldest, and Mikoto, my second. Girls, this is Temari."
They pulled away from their father to bow to the blonde woman. "It's nice to meet you, Temari-san."
"It's nice to meet you too, Rin-chan, Mikoto-chan," Temari greeted back with a bow. "You're both so cute! Mikoto-chan, you're definitely like your mother, and Rin-chan, I think you look just like your father!"
The two little girls beamed at the praise before Ryo turned them around and gave each a pat to the bottom. "All right you two, back inside!"
Temari laughed at the sight. "You sure dote on your daughters, Ryo! Is that what you were going to tell me about?"
"That's part of it. Come inside, it ought to unfold as soon as we cross the threshold of the house."
As soon as he opened the door he heard yelling, both from his two eldest daughters.
"Miru-chan! Moru-chan! Tou-chan's home! He brought a nice lady with him!"
Although Mikoto and Rin didn't appear again, Miru and Moru did, squealing at the sight of their beloved father after what seemed like a lifetime to them. He picked them up and hugged them close. "Miru, Moru, you've gotten so big since I've been gone. We're you good while I was gone?"
The toddler girls gave their father wet kisses on his cheeks, bouncing in his hold.
"Toutou!" Miru chirped.
"Home!" Moru added.
Temari blinked. "You have twin daughters as well? How did you get four children in the same number of years? You didn't subject poor Sakura to that torture, did you? She was also close to having a fifth child as well! Please tell me these two are adopted!"
"No, they're my flesh and blood daughters, but I have to tell you—"
Before he could say anything else, Karin appeared and squealed. "Ryo! You're home!"
She seized him in a fierce hug, twins and all, before kissing him just as fiercely. He handed her the twins as she parted with him, and the resemblance the toddlers had with their mother was unmistakable.
Of course, Temari got the wrong impression.
"You had a mistress behind Sakura's back? I never thought you to be the cheating type!"
Karin flushed in anger. "I'm not Ryo's mistress! I'm his wife!" she protested while waving her left hand for Temari to see, which was quite the feat, considering she was holding her two children.
"Karin, that's enough. I was going to explain when you arrived and decided to give me your usual greeting. Now, would you go? Isn't it naptime, anyways?" Ryo shooed his third wife away, the crimson-haired woman winking at him before leaving the entryway.
Temari crossed her arms. "You're a bigamist or something? You like having multiple wives or something?"
"No, that isn't the case—"
Yet again, he was interrupted, because Ino came upon the scene, but not as violently as Karin had. She smiled and came over, hugging him close before kissing him. "Welcome home, Megane-kun. I'm so happy you've recovered from Sakura's death. You were such a wreck when you left, I thought you'd never recover."
"Yamanaka Ino? Are you his wife, too?" Temari asked, almost not surprised.
"Yes, I am. I suppose you're confused, but please, Sakura and Karin were just as shocked by this situation. I was the only one in the know from the get-go, because he married me first."
"Arranged?"
"No, shotgun."
Temari's eyes widened. "Ryo! You mean you—"
Ryo raised his hands. "Wait, wait. Don't jump to conclusions as you have been since you met Rin and Mikoto. Since you're my wife, I'll explain everything to you. Only members of the Uchiha Clan can know the truth about everything that's happened. So please, hear me out. If you hate me afterwards, I'll understand."
Temari nodded.
By the end of the story, the former Suna ninja's eyebrow was twitching and she had a look of disbelief on her face. "You actually expect me to believe half of that? You're allowed multiple wives so you can revive your clan, you were taught medical ninjutsu by Yakushi Kabuto under a disguise, and on top of that, you're a copy of Uchiha Sasuke through some technique? How did any of your other wives believe any of that?"
"Because there's proof of it, and Ino and Sakura were around for most of it. Karin accepted it because of the hard facts and she couldn't really back out of it, being almost nine months pregnant with Miru and Moru. You're just starting our marriage, so if you really want to leave me, wait eight-and-a-half months."
Temari raised her eyebrows. "Why eight-and-a-half months?"
Ino and Karin smiled at their new sister-wife, knowing that Ryo was always the first to know, even before his wife herself, medical ninja or not. And Temari was not a medical ninja, the first of his wives.
Ryo gave her a pleased smile. "You're pregnant, Temari."
The dark-eyed woman placed a hand on her stomach and gasped. "I've been sick for the past two weeks… Why didn't you tell me until now?!"
"I didn't think it was necessary, plus I didn't want to scare you. I've predicted all my wives' pregnancies with my medical ninjutsu, because I seem to have a knack for it. I just know from the certain hormonal balance from just a single second's probe with my chakra, while most medical ninjas, even Sakura, have to do so for a full minute or so. I have a talent for taking care of pregnant women from start to finish, since I've had to deliver two of my children. It's required because of the secrecy my clan must have when it comes to the children, especially outside the village.
"Because of Sasuke, Nii-san and Madara, the Uchiha Clan has many enemies, as you can tell by Sakura's terrible death. All of Orochimaru's enemies save Konohagakure no Sato, became Sasuke's enemies, Madara and Nii-san had the enemies of the Akatsuki, and after their deaths, their enemies became my enemies and they will hunt down any who sport the Uchiha fan. So you must know that if you do accept to being my wife, you're going to have a target on your back for the rest of your life."
Temari bit her lip and played with the edge of her kimono. "I'll sleep on it, and I wish to do it alone."
Ryo nodded, accepting her decision since she was confused and needed to sort everything out.
The Uchiha Clan head lay in bed that night, wide awake because he was worried that Temari would want a divorce when she came to him in the morning. He didn't want her to leave him, she held a special place in his heart, each of his wives had one, and if it came to that, his fifth wife would occupy another spot. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to look for another wife so soon.
He turned over and saw a shadow from behind the shoji, before the door was slid open. He looked up to see it was Ino, her hair down and in her lilac sleeping yukata.
"Ryo, can I sleep with you tonight? I can tell you're nervous and you need your rest."
He flipped his covers down as an invitation. She smiled and closed the shoji behind her before coming over and curling up next to him as he pulled the blanket over them. She ran her hand over his cheek, brushing his bangs back.
"I can tell you're worried that you're going to lose Temari so soon in your marriage because of the secrets you have to keep until after the honeymoon. Tsunade-sensei doesn't seem to understand the pain you go through giving your heart out like this to every woman you court and marry, only to put them in such danger, have them swear to secrecy and have to share your bed and heart with other women. I had eight months to get used to it, but the others, it was dropped on them. Every single one of them went through the feeling that Temari is going through to varying degrees. She thought you were all hers and now that she has found out that not only Sakura was married to you, you have two living wives and have had children with them both. I suppose you told her about Sakura because she was the cause of your depression. She thought she knew all about you and finds out that you weren't completely honest with her, even if it was under Tsunade-sensei's orders. Don't worry about it, whatever her decision is, she'll be here for another eight-and-a-half months until she has the baby, whether girl or boy."
"I feel terrible every time I do this, Ino. I know it's for the safety of the clan, but sometimes I wish I could kill all our enemies and not have to worry about the safety of our children again. Yet I think that as long as our clan exists, there will be enemies against it. With only myself to protect three wives and five children with one on the way, there might be more deaths than births, and I may just lose another wife to death just like Sakura."
"It's a part of life, and as ninjas, the chance of death is doubled. Sakura was the strongest in our midst and she died so easily, what does that have to say about the rest of us? That we're lucky? We'll have to learn to be strong like her and be prepared to defend ourselves and each other. I had Tsunade-sensei give me and Karin a training regimen to get stronger and we've been more careful when going outside the village. Karin was careless that one time, and it was a mistake that both of us learned from. We're both weaker than Sakura and if Karin had been trained the way Sakura had, Sakura wouldn't have had to die like that, and you would've had a son and heir. Just because we're medical ninjas doesn't mean we have to be the support of the team. You're a medical ninja and you're not weak."
His face changed from worried to determined. "I have to be strong because power was thrust upon my shoulders and I have many lives to protect. My resolve is even stronger now that Sakura perished because she was married to me. I won't let that happen to any of you, I promise."
Ino smiled and held her husband close. "Sleep please, love. You need it for tomorrow."
He gave a smile back and closed his eyes, comforted by his first wife's words.
In the morning, because of his new resolve, he went out training and waited for Temari to come to him. It was a couple hours, but he finally sensed her chakra approaching and looked up when she appeared in the trees (he was in the Uchiha training ground, recalling many sweet memories in this place before everything had seriously gone awry). He twirled a kunai on his finger as he waited for her to speak.
"Ryo, I have my answer, because I thought through the night about things: about your story, about our relationship, about the baby. And I've decided that I need a little crazy in my life and you're just the right crazy for me."
He ran to her and lifted her up, twirling her around before setting her down and kissing her. "Thank you for staying with me, because I feared the worst when you came today. I love you for following your feelings."
She giggled and ran her fingers through his ponytail. "At least I don't have to share your bed with anyone else until I have our baby, and if it's a girl, until I have the next one. After that, I'll have to confront the sharing issues with the other two."
"After Sakura, you're the one I want to have my heir with, so live and become the clan's matriarch."
"You mean Ino isn't? I thought it was the first wife who became clan matriarch in this case."
"Not so, according to Uchiha law, during the restoration of the clan, the first wife to have a boy will become clan matriarch and my main wife."
"So Sakura, because she was carrying a boy…that's so sad."
"I don't mourn her death as much as I did during the months after it. So please, don't mourn her. She'd be glad that I married you and am happy."
She hugged him and whispered, "I'm thankful I have her blessing."
How many people guessed I would put Temari in Ryo's harem? I know most people don't pair her with Sasuke, but I thought it was a good pair, especially with Ryo, who's a saner version of Sasuke.
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