A/N: Once again I'm working with a character that was never given a name, so I'll use her seiyuu's, Chiharu Kojima (Choji's mom).

fanofthisfiction: Thank you for your reviews, really. I took every single one to heart, you captured the main point of all the chapters. I hope you keep on following my updates.

Rose Tiger: XD Sweetness is my middle name, haha.

chemistrykim: No, thank you for reading! I'm also very very happy that all my OTPs got together in the end and I do want to write something about Kurama and the kids, but don't know how yet...

And Shikamaru it's just Shikamaru. I love how his personality allows me to put him in those cutesy situations!

ifup: Thanks. Naruto, well, he will always be a klutz, but I guess that's one of the things that make him so unique.

madeyemoody95: ;) Tnx, I'm waiting for your review on this one as well.

Yuyui Hime: Thanks! I do have another story about them on the way. Don't know when yet, but soon. I'll wait for your feedback then.

Hektols: You know, I kind of inspired his speech on my two-year-old cousin: she just won't stop talking and she does enjoy long speeches. I did thought about writing as a child would speak, but I think I misspell enough without being wrong trying to write as a child, lol.

And I'm glad that chapter 22 amused you.

61394: Oh, thank you! I mean, if that was a compliment. But if you meant it like: "god, that was so bad I don't even know how to say it", just... Sorry, haha.

Ken18: Hey there again! Thank you! I hope you like this one as well.

Guest: Thank you! And sorry if my story made you oversleep, haha.

Hokori-Hori-Chan: Thank you! I also had fun while writing this chapter.

Guest: Don't know if you are the same guest I've already answered, but I'm really honored, thank you!

LOVE THIS: Awn, arigato! I do know I need to work on my grammar and spelling, but that's so not the fun part of writing I always leave it aside.

JustPassingBy: Thanks, here's more! There's no major schemes on this chapter, though.

LOL: =D

P.S.: Two final comments, first, the thing about Karui's past: yes, I made that up. Unfortunately, she lacks a defined background so I thought I could give her some.

And second, a disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, HINATA DOES.

Chiharu Akimichi watched closely as her future daughter-in-law chopped the vegetables. She had the focused expression of a doctor performing an open heart surgery.

"The patient is stable, doctor." She joked. Karui smiled but didn't lose her focus. "Seriously, dear, you don't need to cut the vegetables so perfectly to stew them."

Karui raised her eyes from the knife. "Oh, my God, you're right. I'm sorry, I'm sure I'm not being very helpful."

"That's not true." Chiharu answered kindly. "It's always a trouble to cook for my two big guys alone, I'm happy for having such a lively helper."

Karui smiled again. That was something she had learned about her son's fiancée: she smiled a lot, specially when Choji was around. At least I know something about her. Chiharu thought to herself. Don't get her wrong: it wasn't like she didn't like Karui or was unhappy about her son sudden - really sudden - engagement, nothing like that. It was just that… well, she didn't see it coming at all.

Okay, she knew from Choji's behaviour that he had been seeing someone in the last year, but considering that he never introduced the person in question to his parents, Chiharu assumed that was some infatuation and it wouldn't last. And then Choji brought home a pregnant foreigner girlfriend and told them that they were going to get married.

It was a shock. She would have understood better if it was Ino or any colleague from Konoha, but a girl from Kumo? Chiharu wondered even how did Karui and Choji meet, leave aside fall in love and produce babies.

Was the Fourth War that integrative? Differently from Yoshino, who knew for sure who her daughter-in-law was going to be from the moment her couch potato son woke up before early in the morning to see a girl out when no one asked him to do so, Chiharu haven't even seen Karui around before.

Once again, it wasn't like she disliked Karui and now she couldn't help but think that she was the perfect match for her son, but Chiharu still couldn't see how that happened.

"We're home!" Choza announced. "Honey, is the dinner ready? I'm starving."

Father and son walked in the kitchen. Karui finally stopped her frenetic work with the knife to look at Choji with a big smile. "Welcome home!"

Choji smiled back but his father was quicker on answering. "Oh, hey, Karui-chan, you're here. It's so nice see you two working together and getting along."

"Don't say it like that!" Chiharu complained. "You're making it sound like we dislike each other!"

"I didn't say that." Choza answered.

"It sounded like it was a surprise to see us getting along!" She argued, crossing her arms.

"I said that it was nice to you two getting along, where did that come from?!"

"WE ALWAYS GET ALONG! Right, Karui-san?"

"Huh… Yeah." Karui answered, looking for her fiancée with the corner of her eyes. Choji just shrugged.

"See?"

"Once again, Chiharu," Choza sighed "I didn't say you didn't."

"You implied so." Chiharu stated.

"No, I didn't."

"You DID!"

"Geez, I didn't! You're reading too much into it."

"Oh, so now I'm crazy?"

Their son rolled his eyes and spoke: "Mom, Karui and I are going to buy some meat for the nabemono."

"We already have…" Karui started. Choji just shook his head and beckoned her out the house as they heard Chiharu's voice:

"That's so like you! Saying ambiguous things just to…"

When the young couple was already on the street, Karui spoke: "It is alright to leave them like that? It seems kind of bad."

He smiled. "Don't worry. Couples argue all the time. My parents aren't different."

"Do they?" Karui wondered.

"Yeah."

"We don't argue." She pointed out.

"We are special." He laughed, pressing her hand tighter. "But, generally, that is so."

"I guess I wouldn't know since I never lived with a couple before… It was just me and baa-chan." Karui concluded.

Choji felt the cold iron clasp on his heart he always felt when Karui talked about her childhood. Her father was involved in the Hyuuga Affair and was killed by the clan like every other Kumo shinobi who had been found at their household that time. After that, her mother developed a crazy bloodlust that wasn't satisfied with the agreement set between the villages. She wanted war. As Kumo didn't give it to her, she left the village and her daughter, who was less than five years old at the time, behind and never again was heard of. Karui then lived with her grandma for a while, but she was old and the recklessness of her daughter made her sick. She died when Karui was eleven.

If that tragic past had anything good, it was that Choji could feel glad that he was able to give Karui a home and a family to belong in.

They did went to the supermarket, to kill time more than anything, but then Karui figured it would be nice to buy something for dessert. The young couple was picking frozen raspberry when they heard a voice greet them:

"Oh, hey, you guys!" Ino and Sai were behind them. Sai had a hand on the shopping cart and the other Ino's eighth month of pregnancy waist. The blond woman had a cheeky smile on her face. Now Karui knew that it wasn't like she was provoking anyone, it was just Ino natural way of smiling. It still bothered her, though. "What a coincidence!"

"Hi." They said back.

"Shopping for dinner?" Ino asked her teammate, checking on their basket.

"Dessert, actually. We just kinda needed to leave the house." He answered. "Karui, are we done?"

"Almost. I just need the ricotta and unsalted butter." His fiancée answered.

"Oh, great! I was just going to the dairy section, come with me, Karui-san?" Ino invited. "We can talk about pregnant stuff."

"Ino, please, keep away from the feta cheese!" Sai warned as they walked away.

"I know!" Ino answered sounding a bit annoyed.

"What's wrong with feta cheese?" Karui wondered.

"Oh, it's one of the hundred things Sai read on his magazines that are bad for pregnant. Don't mind him." Ino explained. "I wish he would take it easy on me on this last month, is my last opportunity to eat anything I want before the postpartum diet."

Watching her walk through the hallways of the supermarket, Karui remembered something Temari had said when she came to her for advice: it was an absolute true that Ino was the perfect pregnant model - the glowing skin, the perfect round belly, the upright posture… It was kind of annoying.

"His caring is working, you look wonderful, Ino-san." Karui answered, picking a pot of ricotta cheese.

"Thank you, but I miss the time when the only sign of pregnancy I had was the big boobs like you know." She sighed.

Karui chuckled. "Ino-san, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do you and Sai-san ever quarrel?"

Ino's eyes light up. "Uuh, gossip! Did Choji do anything?"

Karui denied with frantic waves. "No, not like that, it is just curiosity."

"Oh. Oh." Ino gave it a thought. "Yes, sure, sometimes. I think all lovers quarrel, right? You know what they say: when there's nothing to quarrel about, it means there is a lot without being said."

"Oh." Karui spoke slowly, clasping the cold butter way too strongly. "Choji and I don't. I mean, we did have some misunderstandings before but we don't argue."

"Huh. Hm, I… huh… I guess that's alright too, right? Because everyone is different and I don't think it means you and Choji aren't completely honest with each other, if that is what you're thinking."

Karui turned to her with a scared expression. "You think we aren't honest with each other?!"

"No! No! That's not what I… Do you wanna talk to Sai about it?"

"What?"

"Karui! I got the frozen raspberries, let's go?" Choji asked appearing suddenly beside them.

It took her a while to answer. "Yes, I'm done too. Bye, Ino-san. Thank you."

Ino watched the couple go worried while Sai was coming towards her.

"Sai, please, please, remember me to always listen to my inner voice when it says to me 'stop talking'." Ino said.

Sai tilted his head. "Alright. But how will I know when your inner voice is talking to you? I can't get inside your mind… Oh! You could try to transfer your inner voice to my head, but then will you listen it if it's inside my mind? If you don't, how would you know it was your inner voice talking and not just me telling you to shut up? Oh, right. I would never tell you to shut up… But then, how should I…?"

"Sai." Ino interrupted, feeling her chest a little lighter by hearing Sai's musings. She took his hand on hers.

"Yes?"

"Whenever I make a crazy request like that, just nod and hug me, okay?"

"Okay… Starting now?"

"Pretty please."

Sai obliged, ignoring the angry looks they got from the other people who needed to cross the hallway they were blocking.

When they got home, Choza and Chiharu weren't quarrelling anymore. And, from the look of things, it seemed like they were happier with each other: arguing did them good.

Maybe lover's quarrels did have its perks and Karui and Choji would never know them because they weren't honest with each other.

No, it isn't like that. She told herself. She wanted someone to talk about it, but the only person she would trust to talk about something like that was Choji and it seemed kind of stupid to ask her lover why they didn't argue.

And then she wondered if Choji also had thoughts troubling him that he considered too stupid to talk to her about it. Could be that the root of the problem? If it could be called a trouble, of course.

"Hm, Karui-san, this raspberry-ricotta cake is amazing! Please, tell me the recipe later." Chiharu was saying. Karui got back from la la land in time to answer:

"Oh, thank you. Sure. I… Gochisousama! I'm going to wash the plates." Karui tried to smile before leaving but the corners of her mouth felt oddly stiff, so she just grabbed the plates and got up quickly.

Chiharu looked at her son. "Something is wrong with her."

"I know." Choji answered. "Karui has been weird since she went to the dairy section with Ino… I will ask her if anything happened next time I see her."

"Wait a minute, you will ask Ino-chan if something is wrong with your woman? Why won't you ask Karui-chan directly?" Choza asked his son.

Choji sighed. "I don't know. I guess it's always better to go quietly about my business with her."

"And why is that?" Chiharu wondered, leaning her head on a fist.

"Karui doesn't say all she thinks. It's not like I think she lies to me or anything, it's just that she doesn't like me to know when she's unhappy, something like that."

"Eh." Chiharu said raising her eyebrows. "Son, can I ask you something?"

"Don't, mom." Choji answered, knowing what would come.

"How did this all happened?" She asked anyway.

"I love her."

"Yeah, I know and I don't doubt that, I just want to know… How did that happen?" Chiharu leaned closer to her son, Choza just watched the dialogue with a concerned expression.

For his surprise, his son smiled. "It must have been a shock, I'm sure. It was a shock for me… no, for us... We didn't plan nothing of this: falling in love, having a baby, getting married, it's all pretty new and I can't tell how it all started and I know that our relationship is way too sudden, but that's how it is." Choji gave them an eye shutting smile. "It doesn't take long to fall in love with Karui."

Before one of them could say anything, they all heard the sound of glass shattering coming from the kitchen.

"I'm sorry!" Karui's voice shouted. Choji frowned and started to get up, but his father stopped him.

"Let me see what I can do. I will talk to her." Choza said as he got up.

Chiharu gave him the thumbs up as he went to the kitchen.

"Karui-chan, is everything alright?" He asked when he saw pressing a napkin tightly on her right hand while looking away with a wan expression.

"Yes, the glass just broke with my hand inside of it. I'm sorry." She smiled weakly. "I don't get nauseous easily, but, man, this baby can't take the smell of blood."

Choza chuckled as he grabbed the first aid kit that Chiharu always kept on the cabinet. "I hope that doesn't mean this kid is a vegetarian. It would be a shame on our family."

Karui laughed. It was a short laugh, but a honest one. He was glad. Choji was right when he said it Karui was an easy person to love: in the little time he had been living in the same house as her, Choza had learned to love her as a dear daughter. It pained him to see her worry.

"There." He said when he finished bandaging her wounded hand. "It should heal in no time. Now, I will finish the dishes for you if you keep me company, right?"

Karui smiled and leaned against the cabinet as Choza was doing the dishes. He watched her with the corner of his eyes for a while and when she showed the unhappy face she had during dinner, he asked:

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Choza-san, do you think Choji is completely honest with me?" When Choza raised an eyebrow, Karui added: "It's not like I think he's lying to me or anything, it's just that I have the feeling we don't talk about all of our feelings."

"You know, Karui-chan, Choji just said something like that about you." He informed as an answer. "But you know, I don't think that's actually a bad thing. You two are just too kindhearted to risk to hurt each other. It's not like you don't trust each other."

"It's not?"

"No. Knowing precisely how far you can go without hurting the other is something that couples learn with time."

Karui nodded. "That makes sense. Choji and I aren't together for long, after all…" Then she gave a truly happy smile. "But I couldn't be eager to learn everything about him."

Choza also smiled as he placed the last plate on the dryer.

"You know, Karui-chan, I think you will do just fine."