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Nara Household

Arisa blue eye curiously studied the visitors. "Uncle Kankuro, Uncle Gaara," She knew something big had to be up for both of her uncles to show up. Her uncle Gaara was the Kazakage of Suna just as Naruto was Hokage of Konoha, so he didn't leave the village very much. Her uncle Kankuro on the other hand, she saw much more often. When he would come to do politics stuff for Suna he always stayed with them. Shikamaru found it troublesome but put up with it because he knew, not matter what she said, Temari missed her brothers. She had been so use to seeing them every day for hours upon hours that when she moved in with him she seemed to not know what to do with herself without having to boss her brothers around. Needless to say the first few months had been particularly troublesome for Shikamaru.

Arisa and her uncle Kankuro hadn't always got along very well either. He didn't like kids and he treated her like she a baby. Normally Arisa this wouldn't bother her but he pushed it so far it made her want to prove a point. So she had pulled a few harmless pranks. And after that their relationship had made a change for the better. They seemed to get closer every time he stayed over.

"Hey kid, you gonna let us in or what?" Normally Arisa would have teasingly argued but she wasn't sure about doing it in front of her uncle Gaara. So, she just let them in the house silently. Gaara didn't talk to her much and he kept his distance. It not that Arisa was afraid of him, just more cautious. And that didn't make the awkwardness of being around him any better.

She led them into the living room calling out to her mom. Then Arisa looked over the woman that was with them. She was brunette with short choppy hair, average height and slim, with dark doe eyes. She was dressed in normal Shinobi garb. For a moment she entertained the idea of her being Kankuro's girlfriend but it was quickly dismissed, the girl seemed to innocent and joyous to want anything to with puppet master. She must have been protection for Gaara.

"Arisa what have I told you about yelling in the house?" Temari scolded entering the room from the kitchen, hands planted firmly on her hips. When her icy blue eyes locked on her brothers though, the look on her face was priceless. She was literally frozen in shock.

"Wow, Temari you are pregnant. I mean really pregnant." Kankuro said eyeing her stomach. She was in a black maternal dress that had a lower cut neckline then most pregnant woman would feel comfortable with. Temari, finally comprehending what her smartass brother had just said, face turned red with anger.

"Ah, I'm sure Kankuro didn't mean it like that, Temari-san!" Arisa eyes flashed back to the brunette woman. "Pregnancy really suits you." Temari's anger drained from her body, putting her hand on her stomach as she looked over the woman before giving her a motherly smile.

"I know exactly what my idiot brother meant, Matsuri. But thank you." Temari replied dutifully shooting her Kankuro a hard look which he pointedly ignored. Temari then turned her attention to her youngest brother. "It's good to see you, Gaara." The redhead echoed his own greeting

"Is there something wrong?" She asked when they all sat down in the kitchen. "Not that I'm not happy to see you guys. It's just…Unexpected." Silence filled the room. It made the blonde uneasy. Finally Kankuro took it upon himself to answer.

"Nothing's wrong Temari." That didn't reassure her in the least. "Gaara here was just worried about you. So we figured since it's about time for the Chunin exams anyways we would just stay here until then. It would be a good break anyways." Kankuro shrugged. Temari was speechless. They all knew the Chunin exams weren't for another good two weeks at the earliest and that was just to start it. The Kazekage wouldn't need to be present for almost a month. She decided not to broach that subject.

"Why would you be worried about me? I can handle myself just fine." She didn't want her brothers to think that Konoha had made her go soft. And even if that was true, not that it was, she was still very capable of fighting for herself. Seven months pregnant or not.

"We are well aware of that, Temari." Gaara's sea foam eyes cut through Temari's blue ones. "But you are with child. That makes you more vulnerable." Temari crossed her arms at the last word, "I hadn't heard from you in quite some time and with all of the events that have been happening I was a worried. You are one of my precious people, Temari. I protect those precious to me."

Arisa, who had been eavesdropping from the living room, was shocked to hear Gaara say these words. He just didn't seem like the type to talk about his feelings.

"Temari," Shikamaru rushed into the house about a half hour later. He went into the kitchen with purpose but when he saw his brother-in-laws momentarily faltered. "Kankuro, Gaara…And Matsuri." He greeted. They all echoed their own greetings.

"Did you need something, Shikamaru?"

"Ino just had her baby."

XXX

Ino was glowing in the radiance of being a new mother. She was laying in the hospital bed her blonde hair framing her face in a knotted mess sticking to her forehead with sweat. Anyone could tell she was exhausted but the glow in her eyes and the tired smile on her lips showed that it was well worth the energy and pain. Ino was carefully holding a small baby wrapped in a blue blanket against her chest, her blue eyes only straying from the bundle in her arms long enough to see the Nara family and greet them.

Temari felt a bit awkward and out of place but Shikamaru felt no such unwelcome as he walked lazily to his blonde teammate's bedside, weaving through all the boxes of stuff Ino was still going through. Ino looked up at him. She slowly shifted the precious newborn into Shikamaru's experienced arms. He cradled the infant looking at the pudgy pink face. He had fine blonde hair and glazed over blue eyes. "Did everything go ok?"

"Yes," Ino looked annoyed, rolling her eyes. "Everyone was so worried that something bad was going to happen because I had such a rough pregnancy but- as it would turn out- it was perfectly normal natural birth. I went through labor so fast they didn't even have time to get Sakura. He's completely healthy though, and that's all that really matters."

"That's good. Did you guys finally decide on a name?" Shikamaru asked handing the bundle carefully back into her awaiting arms. It had been an ongoing debate between Ino and Choji on what was a good name for their first child. Ino's blue eyes brightened.

"Yeah," Shikamaru waited while Ino took a dramatic pause, to add suspense no doubt. "Nori, it means 'good son'." Arisa walked from her spot by her mother and over to her father climbing onto the hospital bed with Ino. She leaned forward getting a glimpse of the newborn. Ino's eyes flashed over to the curious girls. "Would you like to hold him?" Arisa eyes widened.

"Can I?"

"You're going to be having a little brother of your own soon, so the practice might be a good thing." Ino patted her lap. Arisa crawled onto her lap leaning back against Ino who gently placed Nori into the younger girl's arms. Arisa cradled the baby well enough but Ino kept her arms wrapped around bother children just in case.

"Where is Choji?"

"He went to get Sakura so she can sign me out." Shikamaru looked at her warily.

"Do you think it's a good idea to leave so soon after you have given birth?" Even as he said it he could see the change in Ino blue eyes- the annoyance returned- and new that he had just started and lost the battle.

"Soon?" She spat, "I've been here for months just sitting around in a hospital bed. And why because so stupid inexperienced doctor thought I might go into premature labor- which I had no sign of going into for months? No, thanks. Sakura's going to get here sign me out, and I will never be a patient in this hospital again!"

Uchiha House

Sakura got back to her house just as the sun faded into black. She hadn't meant to stay for so long at the hospital. Nori was just so cute it almost made her- Whoa girl, don't even go there. Then of course, there was a Shinobi in critical condition arriving just as she was walking out the door. Why is it whenever she went to leave the hospital a huge case had to come in?

She walked into the living room and stopped cold. Something was wrong. She couldn't hear Takuya and Ryu arguing and or rough housing. She couldn't hear Saki complaining that she it was too early for her to be sleeping- and how exactly was she suppose to sleep with her brothers' making so much noise anyways? She didn't hear anything.

It was quiet.

Her house was quiet. Her house was never quiet. She scanned the living room with her emerald eyes. Nothing seemed to be wrong and she couldn't sense any unwanted chakra. She slipped through the house silently. Sakura was astounded to see that all three of her children were in bed fast asleep. She walked into the master bedroom. Sasuke was sitting on the bed a scroll on his lap, one hand was writing the other was holding the curse mark. "Is it still bothering you, Sasuke?"

Dark onyx eyes flashed up to meet emerald. He didn't deny it. He didn't say anything. Sakura walked over to the bed sitting down next to him curling her feet under her. She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand turning him to face her. She stroked his cheek with her thumb. She moved her hand slowly down to where his own was holding his shoulder. Her hand gently eased his much larger hand off his shoulder, with only minimum hesitation from him. Sakura moved her hand to the Mark and Sasuke flinched when her hand grazed it but didn't pull away. Her hand glowed green as she used her medical ninjutsu. Slowly the tension in Sasuke body relaxed like a huge weight had just been lifted off of his shoulders. He put his hand on top of hers.

"How did you get the kids to go to sleep?" Sakura knew that this wasn't the time to talk about the Mark. She changed the subject to something much lighter. Sakura could see the gratefulness shining in his eyes.

"I told the boys if they woke Saki up I wouldn't teach them a new jutsu I had been planning on showing them." Sakura looked at him curiously.

"Oh, but how did you manage to get Saki to sleep?" Sasuke gave her a rare soft smile, instead of his normal smirk.

"I told her if she went to sleep we would do something just the two of us tomorrow."

I'm also not sure if you noticed but I have started the story of oneshots that have happened before TNG. It's called Kids & Kunai check it out! =D