lostmoonchild: Konbanwa! Arigato for the reviews, Minna-san! So things clearly got worked out since I'm able to update on a Friday (though it's 11:30 pm here) but I guess things are gonna get a little crazy again. So here's this week's chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto so don't sue.
Chapter Fifty Three
He was going to be impressed if the two children even remembered how to do anything without holding the other's hand. Then again, Naruto supposed that Kenji was anxious due to being in a new village about to meet people and Hisoka was providing comfort. "Is it normal to get with a bunch of people?" Kenji questioned.
"Sometimes we go have dinner with everyone. First time Daddy and I went shopping, we ran into Kiba and Akamaru and we ended up having lunch with everyone." Hisoka explained simply. "They're a little weird sometimes but they're fun."
Akina raised an eyebrow as she looked at her future stepdaughter before nestling against Naruto's arm. "How many of them promote vandalism?" Akina questioned.
"A couple of them promote ditching class." Naruto corrected. "I'm the one Hisoka got painting the Hokage Monument from."
"Hi-chan!"
A squeal of excitement left the girl's lips as she suddenly released Kenji's hand and tackled a boy with dark hair and blank, dark eyes. "Yuki!" Hisoka cheered as she straddled the boy's stomach. "Guess what?"
"You've gained weight?" Yukimaru questioned patiently.
"Jerk! No, Daddy's girlfriend and her son are gonna live here in Konoha!"
"Great. Please get off of my stomach now. My parents are trying to talk Lady Hokage into letting me into the Academy since I technically meet all the requirements. My mom wants me to meet up with her at the shop."
Hisoka got off of the boy before answering, "They fixed your eyes?"
Yukimaru sighed softly. "No, but a shinobi doesn't necessarily need their eyes. The enemy doesn't expect a blind shinobi so if they throw smoke bombs, it's not going to matter."
Akina pursed her lips as she looked at the boy before realizing that Hisoka didn't looked thrilled. "Eyes help, Yu-kun." Hisoka pressed softly. "I don't want you to get hurt. You're my best friend and I don't want to lose another friend. Maybe the Inuzuka clan will let you have a dog-nin."
"Eyes can be deceived, Hi-chan, and Dad doesn't want a dog." Yukimaru touched Hisoka's cheek and stroked the side of her face. "Don't worry. We're best friends, right? People are already saying you're a mini-Kushina so I know you won't let anybody mess with me. Besides, if your idea works then my eyes will be somewhat fixed."
"Yeah!" Hisoka took the boy's hand and pulled him over to the group. "Yuki, this is Kenji," she pulled Kenji closer so Yukimaru could feel the other boy's face, "and this is his mom, Akina."
Akina smiled pleasantly as she knelt down in front of the boy, feeling his fingers lightly brushing over her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Yukimaru said pleasantly. "Hello, Naruto-san."
"Hey, Yuki. Are you going to join us for a meal?" Naruto questioned.
"I'm afraid I can't. My mother's expecting me at the shop."
"Okay. Tell your mom I said hi."
"I will. See you later, Hi-chan."
"Bye, Yu-kun!"
Naruto patted his daughter on the head as they watched Yukimaru expertly weave through the crowd to his mother's shop. "He seems like a nice boy." Akina commented lightly.
"He is. Daddy and Shika thought we'd get along real good so they started setting up playtime for us."
"And look how sociable you turned out." Naruto teased.
"I'm mostly around grownups!" Hisoka protested. "There are usually no kids to play with!"
"Kenji's here now and there's usually a kid or two in one of the clans that you get along with."
"So what exactly do you plan on doing to 'fix' Yukimaru's eyes?" Akina questioned.
"I'm gonna put Bijuu chakra in his eyes when I figure out how to do it." Hisoka responded simply. "Ni-chan's chakra always moves more when he's around so I think Ni-chan's chakra will be okay for him."
Hisoka blew her bangs out of her eyes as she took Kenji by the hand and grinned when she saw the familiar group. Waving, she pulled the boy with her as Naruto and Akina walked behind them with small smiles on their faces. "Nervous?" Naruto questioned.
"A little. What if they don't like me?"
"Just stand your ground and you'll do fine."
Anxiety filled the woman as they joined up with the group of shinobi, her eyes immediately falling on two familiar women. "Sakura-san. Hinata-san." Akina said pleasantly. "It's good to see you two again."
"Hello, Akina-san." Hinata said pleasantly.
Within ten minutes, introductions were made and the group was exchanging stories while waiting for their meals. Akina knew that some of them were staring at her stump of an arm but she paid them no mind. "So how'd that happen?" Kiba asked finally unable to withhold the question. "Your arm, I mean. Mission gone wrong?"
"Akatsuki. I was one of the shinobi stationed at the gate when they attacked." Akina responded.
There was a feel of embarrassment in the air before the subject was changed. "So, Akina-san," Ino said with a small smile, "where are you staying right now?"
"Naruto's being kind enough to open his home to Kenji and myself." She smiled softly as she watched Kenji and Hisoka poke each other's foreheads in some little game they had invented.
"Yeah, Naruto's a good guy. We were all surprised when he and Hinata called their relationship quits." Ino commenting, noticing how Hinata and Naruto turned red. "You two are together again?"
"No," they responded quickly.
Naruto and Hinata had dated once? As if sensing possibly dangerous waters, Naruto said quickly, "We dated very briefly about two years ago then decided we were better off as friends."
"Kiba-kun and I are dating now." Hinata said with a small blush.
The Inuzuka grinned slightly before answering, "Everybody's paired up with someone, Naruto. You're gonna have to find a woman that's not scared shitless of your girl."
Hisoka stared blankly at Kiba before looking at her father with a questioning look. "I know we've had this discussion so don't ask or even start." Naruto warned his daughter.
"I wasn't. I was just gonna say that Akina isn't scared of me and you two are together."
Silence hung over the table for a moment before the couple found themselves being bombarded with questions. "So something did happen when you two went on that date." Sakura said with a laugh.
"You knew?" Ino demanded as she glared at her pink-haired friend. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because it's not my business to be spreading around."
Suddenly Naruto grinned at TenTen. "So how's the baby doing? You and pregnancy are working well together cause you're glowing!" Naruto said in an attempt to direct the conversation away from him and Akina.
TenTen blushed slightly. "The baby's doing fine. Neji and I are trying to find a unisex name we both like."
"Hey! I did that with Hi-Hi and look and the pretty name I came up with at the top of my head."
Sakura took a drink of her sake. "Most of us weren't taught by perverts, Naruto. I'm impressed you gave your girl a decent name that doesn't make her sound like a prostitute."
"Hey! I thought it worked out since the only reason I gave her that name in the first place was because I didn't know if she was a boy or a girl. I didn't think that it'd be fitting cause I didn't know she was my kid or that she even existed!"
As Kenji and Hisoka watched the adults, they found themselves praying that they never turned out as weird. "I think you're right." Kenji whispered in Hisoka's ear.
"See? If you keep me from getting that weird, I'll keep you from getting weird. Deal?"
"Deal."
"So how serious are you two?" Chouji questioned, his mouth already full of barbeque.
Akina and Naruto glanced at each other, silently asking if they should spill the beans. Nodding slightly in agreement, the two smiled a bit. "We're actually engaged." Naruto said finally.
A round of congratulations were given to the couple before they found themselves explaining how they had met. "So basically your daughter lands herself in the hospital yet again and you meet a woman?" Kiba questioned with a look of envy. "I thought dogs were chick magnets but I guess danger prone kids are chick magnets too!"
"Actually, it was because Kenji and Hisoka decided to be friends that Naruto and I even got to talk a little." Akina said with a small blush. "Being Hisoka's doctor probably helped a little."
Hisoka beamed as she hugged the woman's arm before answering, "So you're going to be my mom too?"
"Yep, just like your dad is going to be Kenji's dad."
Kenji stared for a moment before nodding slightly in understanding. He had suspected from the beginning that his mother and Naruto would end up married but he hadn't thought that it would happen so soon. He stared quietly at Hisoka for a moment before answering, "That means I'm gonna be your big brother, Hi-chan, cause I'm older by a little bit."
"So? We're the same age anyway." Hisoka suddenly looked thoughtful. "Daddy, does that mean Sasuke-teme's gotta stay away from Kenji too?"
The light mood shifted over to a slightly heavier mood at the mention of the Uchiha. "Let's just focus on having a good time and let the grownups worry about Sasuke." Naruto told his daughter.
Wrinkling her nose slightly in the response, Hisoka nodded slightly. "So how exactly are you gonna handle two kids when most days you're having problems with the one?" Kiba asked with a grin. "Your attention span sucks so bad your daughter is more responsible."
"Hey! I'm a responsible parent!"
"So, Kenji, what grade are you in at school?" Shikamaru questioned deciding to draw attention away from the impending fight between Naruto and Kiba.
Unsure if the Academy in Suna was the same as the one in Konoha, Kenji just began describing what he already knew how to do and what he had been learning hoping desperately that there wasn't much of a difference between the two.
(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
It was cute watching them try to walk back to the apartment while struggling to stay awake. Every so often she'd see one of them start to doze while walking only to jerk awake. "You sure you guys don't want to be carried?" Naruto questioned patiently.
"M'kay." Hisoka lifted her arms and breathed softly in content when Naruto picked her up.
"Me too." Kenji surrendered with a huge yawn.
Naruto chuckled softly as he scooped the boy into his other arm and resumed walking with Akina next to him. "That was fun. I can see why your friends are so willing to take Hisoka for a couple of hours." Akina said with a soft smile.
"Yeah. They like you. Within the first minute of Hinata and I announcing we were seeing each other, Neji made a dozen threats that involved castration and destroying every chakra point in my entire body if I did anything to make Hinata cry." Naruto said with a nervous chuckle. "He about went through with it too when we broke up."
"Be grateful I don't have anything to do with my family anymore." Akina told him. "I'm surprised your friends and the kids took the news of our engagement so easily."
"I'm surprised Kiba didn't start asking if we've slept together."
The woman laughed softly as she slipped her hand into Naruto's pocket and took the apartment keys from him. "Since you've got our charming munchkins." Akina said lightly as she jingled the keys.
"I'll make a copy of the key for you." Naruto told her. "We can go to the store tomorrow since I'm fairly certain we're gonna need more food if Kenji's appetite is still anything like Hi-Hi's."
"Sounds like a plan." Akina sighed softly. "I want to meet him, Naruto. I want to meet that Sasuke character."
"Yeah, I thought you might after hearing what happened. Just promise me you won't beat him to death cause it'd be like beating the shit out of a civilian right now."
Akina raised an eyebrow as she unlocked the apartment door and opened it for him. "You're serious? Your Hokage," she paused a moment, "our Hokage decided to simply let him off?"
"Hisoka begged the Council. From the moment I found her, I automatically started teaching her to forgive but never to forget." Naruto rested his cheek against his daughter's head as Akina carefully removed the children's shoes after locking the door behind them. "Sooner or later I know I'm gonna let the bastard around Hisoka but I know he's never going to be alone with her."
Akina's eyes were soft as she followed Naruto into the children's room and helped him get the two children into their pajamas. "I've got to agree. He will never be near our daughter or son without somebody watching. I just have one condition." Akina said with a sigh.
"What?"
"Don't let that psycho in green that declared Neji his eternal rival be the one supervising."
Laughing softly as he softly pulled the woman out of the room, Naruto smiled at her. "Agreed." Naruto said softly. "Now, I believe you and I were going to have our own little welcome home celebration."
"I believe so but it requires a certain dress code."
"Oh?"
"Follow me, Uzumaki-san, and I'll show you."
Grinning widely as he was pulled into their bedroom, Naruto distantly wondered if falling hard for redheads just wasn't truly a Namikaze trait.
lostmoonchild: Not much to say although I hope I'm not the only one that found the "I'm sleepy but I'm going to try to walk home" scene cute. The whole chapter was kind of entertaining and fun to write but now I'm gonna vanisih until next week. Read and review!