"Papa hurry, we have to make Mama dinner before she gets home." An overly excited little girl dragged an adult Naruto through the streets of Konoha. Their current destination was the restaurant and bakery owned by the Akimichi clan, to be more precise Choji, a former classmate and friend of Naruto's. Their objective was to order a cake for the birthday of the little girl's mother and Naruto's wife, one Uchiha Satsuki, formerly the last person with Uchiha blood in the village hidden in the leaves until six years ago. It had been some time since she had been in the village; however, she was on a mission thanks to the command of the current Hokage Shizune. Months had passed since the father-daughter pair had seen the woman and with her birthday coming up and her returning to the village either person couldn't help but be excited.

"Calm down Izu-chan, we still have a lot of time until we need to be home." Naruto told the little girl of six as she made a beeline for the store. He couldn't help but be swept up in her enthusiasm, it was after all the first year she would get to celebrate her mother's birthday. He smiled at her offering enough resistance to stop them in their tracks before lifting the girl onto his shoulders, being careful not to mess up her jet-black hair.

"Papa!" The little girl proclaimed in protest at the action, holding onto Naruto in mild shock.

Naruto looked up at the girl from the edge of his vision with one of his signature grins, bringing his hands up to the girl's dangling legs to secure her on his shoulders. "Since you are in so much of a rush Izu-chan, why don't we get there as fast as possible so we have more time before your mom gets back." Before Izumi could offer a rebuttal, Naruto had taken off in a dead sprint.

The motion had led Izumi to let out a squeal in surprise then light giggling as the pair zoomed between the traffic of the street, her black eyes shifting every which way absorbing her surroundings. The village had changed quite a bit since the end of the fourth great shinobi war nearly a decade ago, not that she would have been around back then. The area they were in was populated now with high rises and many more storefronts and people than there were even five years ago let alone in the decade that the village was recovering from the constant attacks from the Akatsuki that escalated into their leader Pain leveling the interior of the village. Not before long Naruto rounded a corner much to the delight of his daughter taking a shortcut through an alleyway. "What cake should we get Mama, Papa?" Izumi asked Naruto.

"I don't know, your mother usually doesn't mind what flavor she gets, but she was always a sucker for chocolate so we can probably get her something in that ballpark." Naruto said cheerfully, not wanting to enlighten his daughter on how he came across that information, choosing to keep that between him and his wife for the foreseeable future.

Izumi let out a cheer at the revelation that her mother shared the same love for chocolate that she had, although for very different reasons. "Yay, I love Uncle Cho's chocolate cake. Do you think that Mama will like it too?" The little girl asked in a chipper tone.

"You bet Izu-chan, I'll make sure that Choji makes his best one yet, believe it." Naruto answered, redoubling his effort to get to their destination. It did not take them long either as the sign to the Akimichi ran bakery was in sight after leaving the alley down the street. Naruto slowed to jog before he was in front of the entrance. He then detached the little girl from his person, depositing her next to him and offering her his bandaged left hand before they both made their presence known. The bakery was not anything special but it serviced the clan that owned it just fine.

The little girl's eyes landed on her uncle Cho as he fiddled with a notebook at the counter frustrated about something. "Yo, Uncle Cho!" Izumi excitedly announced to the man, as the father-daughter pair reached the counter hand-in-hand firing off a grin.

Choji looked up from his work meeting the pair. "Hello Izumi, Naruto… What can I do for you today?" He said looking down at Izumi, putting the notebook away.

Izumi rushed to tell the man their order without hesitation. "Uncle Cho… we need a birthday cake for Mama."

"Oh, do you know what kind, Izumi?" He said with notable surprise.

"Chocolate, like the one you made for me." She said with a blush remembering the 'themed' cake that he had made for her. "But… more for grown-ups." She finished embarrassed that she might have asked for something kiddy for an adult.

Though Choji noticed he ignored her embarrassment, choosing to continue the line of questioning, and turned his attention to Naruto. "Anything in particular you want? Guessing the missus does not care for sweets if our time at school and on missions together is anything to go by." He questioned.

"I wouldn't say that…" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. He went on to outline what they wanted for Choji, all the while Izumi left Naruto's side to explore.

As the two adults talked, the little girl noticed the entrance door open and a dark-skinned woman with a toddler in hand walking in. Izumi instantly recognized this woman as Akimichi Karui, a former Kumo kunoichi, and wife to Choji. "Yo, auntie." Izumi proclaimed much to the surprise of Karui.

Karui got her bearings looking down at the six-year-old with a surprisingly monotone smile compared to the thousand-watt grin she was getting in return. Interacting with the girl was always an awkward affair, how was she supposed to tell a little girl that she had beaten her father half to death to find the location of her mother from him to outright murder said mother, whom the little girl barely knows as is. It was a sickening feeling, to say the least, and was a major reason that she would avoid Naruto when she could, and particularly left Kumogakure after the war. Despite this, she would act as friendly and welcoming to the little girl as possible, to the point that Karui being called auntie by the girl did not bother her as much as the first time it had happened. "Hello little Izumi, long time no see, What are you doing here?" She crouched down to pet the little girl's head, readjusting the younger girl in her arms.

Izumi let out an appreciative giggle forming a small blush at the touch before answering. "Me and Papa are getting Mama a birthday cake."

Karui looked up at Naruto speaking with her husband as the man took whatever they were talking about down on a notepad. "Is that so?"

"Yep, yep. Mama is coming back from her miss… mission soon and she is going to be here for her birthday." Izumi confirmed with a wider grin if that was possible.

Karui turned back to the girl to address her, she has never had the best relationship with Uchiha Satsuki, from the attack on the Kage summit to Satsuki getting a receipt for that beating that her former team did on Naruto, she hasn't had much interaction with the other mother mostly out of fear and guilt considering that Satsuki and Naruto put their lives on the line numerous times to save the world. As if sensing the woman's nervous energy the toddler she was carrying stirred from her slumber and began crying. "Shh, shh, Chou Chou." She instantly reacted rocking the little girl in her arms trying to get her to calm down.

The crying, like an alarm, alerted the two men at the counter Naruto looked over believing that it was Izumi who was upset but sighing in relief when he saw it wasn't her. However, both he and Choji jumped into action with the three ladies to see what was going on. Choji moved to his wife's side trying to distract the crying girl while Karui checked for any immediate problems. Pulling some funny faces for the girl she immediately calmed down and started giggling. Reaching out to him Karui passed the girl to him. "There we are, what's wrong sweetie, had a bad dream?" He asked her, getting more giggles in return her grabbing for his face in response.

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to disturb you two." Karui apologized for the outburst, getting up to stand next to her husband while Naruto took his place behind Izumi.

"No, we were just chatting, we just finished." Naruto was the first to reply.

"Yeah we were just catching up, it feels like it's been years since I have seen Naruto." Choji continued the train of thought.

Karui exchanged pleasantries with Naruto before moving past them and entering a back room. With arms around his daughter, he looked over at Choji. "Well, that was brief." The joking tone in his voice was clear.

"You will have to forgive her, Naruto, your wife can get pretty scary when she is angry…" Choji started, adjusting the grip on the toddler he was holding. "Anyway, I will work on finishing the cake for the twenty-third. Is that cool with you?"

Naruto brought his bandaged hand up to his chin in mock thought, the date was the day of his wife's birthday so he didn't know, though a thought did occur to him. If Izumi was able to distract her in the morning it could be possible for him to sneak out and come here for the cake. "Yeah, that's cool." He replied with one of his signature grins.

"Alright, consider it done." Choji held his free hand in a fist towards Naruto who held out his bumping fist. With a final goodbye to his friend, he watched as the father-daughter pair left the store, Naruto carrying Izumi on his shoulders as they made their exit.

(…)

Naruto opened his eyes back at home sitting on the living room couch half asleep. After they left the Akimichi's place Naruto and Izumi made another stop at a store owned by Tenten to buy a gift for their Uchiha, and now he had dozed off in the living room of the home that his parents left for him before their deaths, looking down he saw the head of his daughter comfortably laying on his lap. He brought a hand to her head to comb through her hair in the girl's sleep. It did not take long to notice that the wall clock across the room from them had a time of five minutes after midnight. Naruto sighed as he picked the little girl up from his lap and started to make his way to her room.

Once he crossed the boundary to her room he turned on the lights to reveal the room of a young girl, to think at one time the room was once meant to be his. Expertly moving through the minefield of stuffed animals and other assorted toys he made his way to her bed positioned near the window in the room, he would spoil her from time to time though now he regretted it. Each step threatened to break one of the girl's toys or in the worst-case scenario wake her up from the sudden loud noise. Once he was at the bed he slowly removed the top layer of her bedding with his foot balancing on the opposite leg trying and hoping that the little girl knocked out in the princess carry he had her in would not wake her. He slowly lowered her into her resting place and tucked her in, noticing that she was grabbing at the air in her sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

He knew what she wanted, looking at the many stuffed animals that littered the room, he really needed to clean up in here, he found the ones he was looking for on the floor near the bed. Naruto picked up the little fox and tanuki pair that Izumi seemed to be obsessed with placing them next to her on the bed. It did not take long until she found the tanuki and held it close. He could not help but chuckle at the growl of annoyance that reverberated in his mind. 'Don't be jealous, it's not like you are fond of people.' He thought to himself brushing the little girl's black locks out of her face. "I wished you could have met Gaara, but knowing him I might have ended up living in Suna right now and you wouldn't be with me. And we can't have that, can we? Sweet dreams, Hime." He said kissing Izumi on the forehead, leaving the room shortly after.

Back in the living room he could not help but ignore the stack of paperwork that he had been engrossed in before he had originally dowsed off. He let out a sigh before staring up at the ceiling, closing his eyes after a yawn.

(...)

Naruto did not know how long he was out but what he did know was the warmth that was absent before now threatening to envelop his crotch, the sound of the zipper clear in the living, and the new weight that found itself on his lap. That was not all hands took their place on his shoulder as well as the damp fabric that ran along his manhood at a slow measured pace. Naruto felt the heat of the moment and kept his eyes closed. "I know you are awake, dope." A female voice that he had not heard in a while playfully assaulted his ears as she ground on his length.

His eyes still closed, Naruto answered the observation as his assault continued. "Well dah, you are not getting any points for subtlety, Sacchan."

"And here I thought I would surprise my husband after not seeing him for three months." Uchiha Satsuki claimed while her voice became strained. "Have missed you, you know."

"As have we." Naruto said with a neutral tone.

Satsuki stopped in her tracks, She knew exactly what he meant by that and it annoyed her while she forced down the guilt that was quick to show itself. "Naru... You can't just do that, you can't just bring up my daughter at times like this."

"Is she now, I wouldn't have figured." Naruto spoke, still neutral. "You know she was excited to see you, even staying up late so she could welcome you home, Satsuki." Eyes still closed he continued.

"That's not fair Naruto, you know why I can't... Why I need to do these missions." She spoke, cupping his cheeks and forcing him to open his eyes. "I owe this village, I can't take back what I have done." She paused, inhaling a choked breath. "I can't even look Izumi in the eye sometimes Naruto, if it wasn't for my selfishness, she would have an uncle, if I wasn't so focused on the nature of the Uchiha I could have been there for you when you needed my help most, and maybe she would at least have a grandparent. Face it Naruto this is the only thing I can do, for you and this village."

"That's not all, Satsuki." He replied, connecting their foreheads. "You are far more, and that's far from the truth. Having a Uchiha around to keep the clan from dying out was just an excuse me and Shizu-nee told the elders to keep you from a prison sentence, it helped that the hero from a dying clan and the Rokudaime were both Jinchūriki and had a close relationship with you and the strongest Nin in and out of Konoha. So understand this no matter what they say you are not some mare to be bred, and you owe these people nothing."

"Then, what Naru? What should I do from now on?"

Naruto hummed at her question. "I really can't tell you that, it is up to what you want, Satsuki." Naruto continued, without giving her any clue as to what he might want from her, this relationship, or their little family. "I will support you regardless of what you choose."

Satsuki let out a heavy sigh collapsing on top of Naruto wrapping her arms around him in a loose embrace while closing her eyes. "Why does everything have to be so hard?" She hummed, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "I was so keen to forget my troubles for the day and enjoy our time together, but you had to be a downer Naru."

"You could have been on time."

"Not my fault, tell your sister to get a new assistant." Satsuki groaned into his neck thinking about her arrival, the treat she had given said assistant when he would not let her see the Rokudaime right away.

"Do I want to know what you did to the poor man?" Naruto questioned him not entirely wanting an answer.

"Do you want to know what my brother did to me during our clan's… unfortunate end." Satsuki answered, letting the air quotes hang on the words 'unfortunate end', getting Naruto to stiffen under her. "Nothing permanent, at least I hope."

"I am going to pretend that I did not hear any of that, Hina is going to ask questions at the next clan meeting. A Hyūga being put under by our new clan might raise some eyebrows, don't you think?"

"You want me to be there at the next one, I heard that her sister has been taking care of you two every time I have been gone." She proposed, clearly annoyed with Hinata's sister's antics. The younger Hyūga was insistent in acting on her crush on Naruto in their teens which Satsuki had failed to discourage when she and Naruto got together, but it seemed the girl wasn't in the slightest. In the end, she ended up ignoring the girl until the marriage of her and Naruto took place, it had the effect of tempering the little sister's advances, not that they stopped altogether. "I don't hate her, but even I can tell she still feels for you, Naru."

"No, I have this side of things handled. You should spend some time with Izumi. I am sure she would love to."

Satsuki looked at Naruto suspiciously with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something about her you are not telling me Naru?" She repositioned herself on his lap mid-question.

"I am offended that you would think that of me, Sacchan." Naruto said, looking up at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes that he could manage.

"Naru we have been together since we were thirteen, even if we haven't been around each other much in the last ten years I know you. And for the most part what draws them all to you." She began grinding on him again, getting a barely suppressed moan from him. "The body doesn't lie you know, you just have to look for the signs. But I don't mind… She is earnest and a 'hard' worker but for my health Naru… Leave it at just her."

"And this is why you need to be here more." Naruto repositioned their bodies so that she was lying on the couch with him on top of her, with a leg in between hers. "Can't convince you otherwise. Sometimes you are blind to what's in front of you, and the effect you have."

"Oh what's tha- '' Satsuki was brought back to reality with the shout of a little girl looking for Naruto up the stairs visible from the couch. "Rain check?" She asked Naruto, as they untangled their limbs.

"Papa!?" Izumi shouted again.

"Yeah, it's your turn anyway." Naruto answered, getting off of her.

Satsuki pouted but didn't say a word as she made sure she was decent before moving towards the stairs. "What is it my little moon, your father is busy right now." Satsuki shouted up the stairs. Her response wasn't verbal, however, but what she did get as a reply was a crushing sound followed by loud quickly paced footsteps before Izumi came into view for Satsuki as she was halfway up the stairs.

Not giving her mother much time to react, Izumi jumped from the top of the stairs to meet Satsuki halfway, quickly being caught in the young mother's arms, and having Satsuki almost fall in the process. The little girl wrapped her arms around her mother in a tight embrace, before sobbing. "Mama!"

"I'm home." Satsuki quietly said to the little girl in her arms as her shoulder grew wet, getting a grunt in response.