With Neji away on a mission, Naruto had been practising the sexy jutsu in preparation.
I can't believe it, I finally have a chance to be part of a real family.
He could keep the jutsu up all day pretty easily, but the problem was that he couldn't maintain it in his sleep. He needed guidance, and there was one super smart shinobi he knew that always had a way of explaining things so he could understand them.
He bashed on the door of Kakashi sensei's place.
"Kakashi sensei! Let me in! I need you to help me train!" Where the heck is he? He bashed on the door again. "Kakaaashiii sennnseiii!"
He heard movement inside and then the door cracked open to reveal Kakashi in pawprint pyjamas, his hair flat, Pakkun at his feet.
"Naruto, what is it?" Kakashi grumbled, rubbing his eye. Pakkun grumbled too.
Naruto didn't have time for this, he needed the jutsu right before Neji got back.
"I need you to help me train."
"Now? It's the middle of the night."
"It's nearly morning. Please? I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Come on, Kakashi sensei! Help me out!"
"Alright, alright. Give me a minute."
Naruto waited with his foot jammed in the door, so his old sensei couldn't lock him out or escape on him unbeknown.
The Hokage reappeared a few minutes later, dressed in his uniform.
"What's so important that it can't wait?" Kakashi questioned, falling into step beside him.
"I need to be able to do jutsu in my sleep. Actually, now that I think about it, we could have just stayed at your place."
"Naruto…"
"Hey, you're up now. Maybe you won't be late for once in your life."
"It's a good thing you want something, huh?"
"What?"
"Never mind. Dare I ask why you need to do jutsu in your sleep?"
"I'm going to have a baby."
"Excuse me?"
"A baby. Neji's baby. So I need the sexy jutsu to last nine months, through the night and everything."
"Naruto, I'm not sure that's possible."
"Of course it is! The sexy jutsu isn't that hard, I can keep it up all day, but I lose focus when I sleep, that's all. So you need to tell me how to make it last. Okay?"
"Naruto, I don't know if this is something you can approach like the rest of your training. Have you really thought it through? I'd suggest you talk to Sakura. I think there's more to being female than you think there is. Especially if reproduction is your aim."
"What's the big deal? People have kids all the time, don't they? And you said it yourself, I've got a hundred times more chakra than you."
"Yeah, I guess I did say that…"
"Look," Naruto said, stopping to face his old sensei. "This is my shot to have something I've never had. I know I don't have to tell you what having no family is like. I love Neji, he's a brilliant shinobi, but the most amazing thing about him is the way he loves me. He gives it his all every moment that we're together, I never knew what that could be like, and now, I have a chance to give him something back, a chance to show him how much it means and how right we are for each other. Both of us would find something we lost so long ago. Help me, please. I can't make it happen without you. I don't want to let him down, not with something this important. Plus, think about it. The village needs him to have kids. I mean, he is totally gorgeous after all!"
Kakashi watched him thoughtfully for a while and then he seemed to soften. He wasn't a person who was open with his feelings like Neji or Naruto himself, but Naruto knew he cared. Usually, he just showed it instead of saying it.
"As dedicated as you are, Naruto, I don't think this is something you can train for…"
"Kakashi sensei, please!"
"Let me finish. I was going to say I think it will require a seal."
"A seal? You mean like…" he trailed off, hand wandering to his stomach where the marks were to keep Kurama contained.
"Kind of. I've never done anything quite like it, but maybe we can figure something out."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, Kakashi sensei!" Naruto cheered, throwing his arms around the older ninja. "This is gonna be great!"
Kakashi pushed him off and frowned, but nothing could dampen Naruto's spirits, he was grinning ear to ear.
"Wanna keep it down?" Kakashi grumbled. "You're gonna wake the whole building."
"So how do we do this?"
"I'll have to think about it."
"Man! How long will that take?"
"As long as it takes."
"What about shadow clones? Make a few, then you can think four times as fast!"
"Naruto, there's no rushing things like this. You want to get it right, don't you? Now come on, you've made me get up, we can talk it through while we walk."
"Okay," Naruto agreed. He fell into step beside Kakashi again, paying no attention to the direction they were going. He told Kakashi sensei all about how the sexy jutsu worked, the training he had done, and the problems he'd encountered.
When they stopped, Naruto looked around, realising they'd ended up at the memorial shrine.
"Hey, what are we doing here?"
"I come here every morning."
Naruto looked up at his old sensei, who was perhaps the wisest shinobi he'd ever met, so if that was the case then there must be a good reason.
He knew Kakashi had lost a lot of people over the years, but there was one that Naruto was always curious to know more about.
"Kakashi sensei," he said softly. "What do you think my dad would think about all this?"
Even though he'd had a chance to meet his dad and even fight beside him in the war, they hadn't really had a chance to just talk.
Kakashi was quiet a while, thinking it over and this time Naruto let him take his time because he wanted the truest answer.
"Minato sensei was the cleverest, kindest, most compassionate man I ever knew. But he was a realist too, and he respected the right of those around him to make their own decisions and choose their own path. He loved very deeply, and what you've got with Neji, the future you're planning together, I know he couldn't have been prouder. You're like him Naruto, you both love with your whole heart. I'm glad he had the chance to meet you, and see the man that you've become. Still, I wish you'd been able to really get to know him, I think the two of you would have been great friends."
Naruto couldn't say anything around the lump in his throat. He sniffed and wiped his eyes.
Kakashi didn't say anything else about it, just laid a hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile.
"And now," the older ninja said. "You can buy me breakfast."