Been working on this a while and it got super out of hand. It was not supposed to be this long, but, there ya go. I just love slice of life stuff for Naruto.
Warning you all ahead of time, for those that don't like the children of the main character to be named after them, I absolutely adore this concept and leaned hardcore into it in this one-shot, so, be prepared for that. My own family has a similar theme, both my parents names start with S and all of my siblings names start with S and all the girls have 3 syllables in their names and we all have pretty similar names. I happen to love things like that in a family, so, if you don't, sorry not sorry in advanced, lol.
That aside, please enjoy! This is a part two (sort of) of a one-shot called "Never Mine" that I wrote last year during the NaruHina fair in 2022.
Link to it is here: /works/43312851/chapters/110101800
FYI, only posting this here because one of my readers can't access the other sites for some reason, but my decision to retire this account still stands.
Chapter One
A Day in the Life of the Uzumaki Family
Prompt: Domestic
No more after this, he'd said.
This is the last one, he'd promised.
One kid free night, a bottle of sake and a huge laps in judgment had made him a liar.
Well, maybe not a liar, he'd never been that, and it wasn't like he hadn't meant the words and promise he made, in fact, he still meant them despite the futility of the sentiment now, and, to be fair to himself, he'd done everything he could to make certain he kept his word prior to that one night. Despite knowing this wasn't entirely his fault alone, he couldn't help but feel guilty about the outcome.
Guilty.
…and buzzing with excitement.
The latter of which made him feel even more guilty…though not enough to wipe away the blindingly sunny smile currently etched on his lips.
Standing in front of the kitchen sink with his sleeves rolled up and still basking in the high of this morning's reveal, Naruto didn't fight the happiness erupting inside his chest. He probably looked like a nutjob standing there grinning so wide his jaws ached, silently peacocking over the news.
To be honest, he didn't give a shit in that moment what he looked like.
Brimming with the familiar, chest puffing sensation of masculine pride, overflowing love and energetic anticipation, the Seventh Hokage indulged a silent fist pump in his kitchen.
He was damn near vibrating with a happiness that hurt.
If his life got any more fuckin amazing, he was sure it'd kill him.
From the moment he fell for Hinata Hyuuga, his life had changed.
It felt like he was living the dream he used to have right before they became an item.
A dream in which he was not just the leader of the village, not just the husband of a kind woman that loved him, but surrounded by the love and laughter of his children.
In that dream, he'd had a family …
A painful ache bloomed in his chest.
He swallowed hard, embarrassed by the lump in his throat.
He was living that dream now…
Childish giggles from the living room snapped him from his surprisingly emotional celebration, reminding him he had children that needed a nap soon and dishes that needed to be washed.
Reaching for composure and the tap, Naruto turned the running water off, then grabbed the top plate from the dirty ceramic stack waiting on the counter. He dunked the plate beneath the fluffy suds floating atop the warm water, and fished the sponge from the bottom of the sink with his other. He scrubbed the rounded ceramic with more vigor than needed for the spaghetti sauce reside, too excited to clean the plate with anything but high energy enthusiasm.
Once he finished with that plate, he turned the water on, rinsed it and held it up, squinting to make sure it was clear of sneaky residue the way Hinata showed him.
It was clean, and sparkling.
Moving next to the dish rack, he moved the sopping plate to the grooves of the plastic drying rack only to find it still filled to the brim with yesterday's clean dishes.
Shit.
He forgot to put away the dry ones on the rack and the ones in the dishwasher, too busy breaking up a tussling match between Boruto and Kawaki early this morning; all that bickering and yelling had thrown off his routine. Clearly he'd gotten a little too complacent after living in a relatively peaceful household for the last few weeks; first sign of drama and he folded.
Heaving his a sigh, Naruto sat the plate in the empty sink and started unloading the rack.
He'd had hope that his sons cease fire would last at least another month, he probably should have known better.
They'd come a long way from their constant fighting and obnoxious antics in their younger years, he could admit that. From the moment Hima was born, they'd both been growing steadily towards maturity and responsibility, puffing their little chests with inflated confidence, fussing over every move their little sister made like mother hens, they'd taken the role of big brother seriously, growing even more protective after gaining two more little hellspawns to coddle.
Treating the younger boys to the same clucking and crowding just like Hima.
Unfortunately, their destructive, bullheaded rivalry wouldn't let them to keep the peace for very long.
Those two would rather be at each other's throat.
They thrived on it really.
As much as it drove him up the goddamn wall, Naruto couldn't help but remember his own hard won, brawl-happy friendship with Sasuke when he watched his boys go head to head.
' Like father, like sons .' Hinata teased after a night of listening to the father in question whining about it.
Truer words had never been spoken.
He shrugged to himself, a smaller grin curving his lips.
Like father, like sons indeed.
Feeling giddy, Naruto made short work of the rack and started on the dishwasher. He was midway through restocking the cabinets with sippy cups and tupperware when a huge explosion rocked the house, jarring him and sending the tupperware in his hand flying across the kitchen.
Tension shot through every muscle in his body as he dropped into senjutsu, body coiled to vaporize whatever threat was responsible for the attack.
He caught himself a half second later as information bombarded his senses.
Outside his children, wife and the Anbu squad hidden in and around the property, there were no other chakra signatures in the vicinity, nor had any of his Anbu guard made a move from their positions.
Senjutsu didn't lie.
There wasn't a single enemy in the village or beyond.
His tightly wound muscles slowly eased.
Exasperated annoyance flared in its place.
Eight years later and it was still hard for him to check the ingrained reflex to go charging into battle at the first sign of trouble. Protecting his family was always first in his mind after all, but there was no doubt that his time in the war had left him a bit paranoid.
Reality was, the shinobi world had been encapsulated in a lull of peace for nearly a decade now, and if there was any danger to be had in the village, it'd likely come from the Uzumaki household itself.
Thunderous explosions, home rocking earthquakes and blazing fires were more often than not caused by his hellspawn offspring than a true tangible threat. In light of that fact, Naruto had had to learn to curb his battle instincts and restrain his impulses the moment Boruto grew old enough to cause more havoc than a room full of detonating explosive tags.
He took a breath, and reigned in the alarm bells screaming in his head.
Senjutsu faded away, and a new tension rose, one he had gotten very, very familiar with after becoming a father.
Someone was either super grounded or about to get the time-out of their life.
Coasting along with the thick gray smoke drifting into the kitchen, Haruto's high pitched voice carried from the living room, revealing the source of the explosion and narrowing down the suspects to two.
"You're gonna get in twouble! Papa said no wasengawn ina house!"
Rubbing his forehead, Naruto snatched the tupperware off the floor, tossed it back in the soapy water, then went to wrangle whichever of his adorable little headaches had tried to use the Rasengan in the house, though he had a pretty good idea who it was.
As he stepped through the archway separating kitchen from family room, Naruto peered into the rapidly clearing smoke.
His two oldest children stood waiting right beside a watermelon sized hole in the wall that had, blessedly, just barely missed the brand new, very expensive television he'd bought a month and half ago after their old one mysteriously kicked the bucket.
Small miracles.
Naruto swept the room, spotting Haruto seated on his tricycle in the hall leading to their bedrooms.
His small body was garbed in his favorite tan footed-pajamas dotted with red Uzumaki swirls the little boy asked Naruto to dress him in after breakfast.
Surrounding his miniature form was a familiar, gold, red tipped, flame shaped ball of chakra.
Setting eyes on his father, Haruto was up and off the trike in an instant, bounding over with arms wide open and that infectious grin he'd stolen from Konoha's Hokage on his lips.
As aggravated as he was, Naruto couldn't help but be amused as his three-year-old's weight slammed into his lower leg.
Naruto gave the toddler a quick assessment as the chakra retreated, his sharp gaze noting nothing out of place except for a small speck of soot on his left bootie. Satisfied there wasn't a single hair out of place, Naruto ran gentle fingers through the toddler's flaming red locks.
"You alright, Haruto?" Naruto asked, though he knew physically his son was fine, rather, hoping the explosion hadn't scared him.
Not that Haruto scared easy.
Not by a long shot.
Haruto bobbed his head, excited blue eyes swinging to the hole as he pointed with a chubby finger, "m'ok, but we need anodder wall. Look papa, it's bwoken, dattebana!"
With the toddler's statement restocking his ire, Naruto turned narrowed eyes to his eight-year-old, nine-year-old and the wall in question.
"Don't worry buddy, we'll get it fixed," Naruto replied, giving the toddler another absent minded pat.
"Kay," Haruto murmured, popping his thumb in his mouth.
Naruto stooped and gently eased Haruto's thumb from his mouth, then gave his head a roughish ruffle on the head to distraction him from it's absence.
The three-year-old giggled, but thankfully didn't cry or put his thumb back in his mouth.
Progress.
They were slowly trying to wean him off thumb-sucking before it became, not only a permanent comfort habit, but a dental issue in the future.
Sometimes, Haruto didn't fight the weaning.
Other times, he threw a fit that made his grandmother's legendary temper look like child's play.
Naruto was glad this was one of the few occasions Haruto didn't dissolve into a tantrum because, right now, Naruto had bigger fish to fry.
He straightened again.
One child sorted, two more to go.
Boruto had his hands jammed in the pockets of his black, red stripped sweats, eyes shifting everywhere but to his annoyed father. Naruto's mini-me looked guilty as all hell, and while Naruto knew Boruto was one hundred percent involved in what happened, he wasn't sure if he'd acted alone.
Speaking of…
Naruto's sharp baby-blues snapped to the other suspect.
Kawaki was much harder to read, even from a young age the boy had a solid poker face. His hands were concealed in the pockets of his green sweats same as Boruto, but his gray eyes were level and direct as he met his foster-father's eyes head on.
Learning Kawaki's tells had been hell to figure out early on, but, Naruto was nothing if not tenacious, and he paid very close attention to all of his children.
Through sheer perseverance, Naruto had honed his daddy-senses to a razor's edge.
To the untrained eye, Kawaki was nothing but cool, calm and casual.
However…
Naruto's gaze zeroed in on the slight movement of Kawaki's throat as a silent gulp passed through it, answering his unvoiced question.
They were both in on it.
"Explain," Naruto barked, crossing his arms over his chest, Haruto clinging to his leg like a kola, " now ."
Thirty seconds in, the 'explanation' devolved into a petty argument and finger pointing with both guilty parties petulantly blaming each other.
Boruto loudly and angrily; his temper stoked by Kawaki's more coolly flippant rebuttal of everything the blonde boy alleged along with a few well placed barbs.
Kawaki low and efficiently cutting, his tranquil facade slowly but surely fracturing under Boruto's aggravating goading and irritating jeering.
From what Naruto could gather from the shouting match, Boruto had added three more seconds to his best time in the battle for stability of his Rasengan during their last training session, and, so much like his father, boasted and bragged about it until Kawaki's usually even temper snapped.
From there, a hole in their living room wall ensued as both boys tried to beat the three seconds.
"Enough!" Naruto bellowed over the arguing boys.
They glared fiercely at each other for several seconds, but kept quiet.
Vein pulsing at his temple, Naruto fought the urge to strangle the pair.
All of this destruction over three goddamn seconds.
"Both of you, go down to the basement; get extra drywall, mastic and joint tape and fix every single hole you two put in the wall," Naruto commanded sharply, "no clones, no chakra, everything done by hand . Scorch marks scrubbed, debris swept up, and every fill-spot repainted. Double duty chores for a month."
Exhaling a silent sigh of resignation, Kawaki muttered quietly, "yes sir…"
Boruto, on the other hand whined, "Awwww, a whole month? We were only trying to-"
"Don't care," Naruto interrupted, unmoved and unsurprised by the bellyaching, Boruto never took punishment with grace, "no Rasengan in the house means no Rasengan in the house. You're both grounded. No games, no TV, no hanging out. You come straight home after the Academy, no detours, side trips or fooling around. Directly home ."
He said it to both boys, but angled his glare at Boruto specifically.
Kawaki wasn't one to test the waters too much, Boruto lived to rebel.
The boy was the embodiment of karma coming to bite Naruto in the ass for his pass transgressions, or so Iruka told him time and again.
"Rasengan training is postponed until your mother and I think you're responsible enough to follow the rules," Naruto followed up.
Kawaki's eyes widened as that last decree hung in the air.
Bullseye.
Gone was the poker faced nonchalance, in it's place, genuine disappointment, anger and more than a little shame.
Naruto knew how much the training meant to him, and to have taken away it was a huge blow to him, especially for something as silly as blowing a hole in the house. Kawaki wasn't usually so careless. Naruto didn't feel good about pulling the plug on it, but he couldn't allow them to continue after this stunt.
Boruto, of course, was everything but reserved in expressing his feelings on the matter.
"But dad!" the blonde boy argued, "we can't stop now! We're so close to-"
"That's final," the annoyed Hokage shot back.
"But dad-"
"I'm not going to repeat myself, Boruto. Next step, I pull the plug on the training permanently. Absolutely no Rasengan training, whether me or your mother are around or not, do you understand, Boruto?"
Pouting fiercely, Boruto glared off to the side, fists clenched, every line in his body continuing the argument, though he didn't utter a peep.
"…yes," Boruto grumbled.
Satisfied for now, Naruto turned to the other chastened kid.
"Is that understood, Kawaki?" Naruto asked the silent boy.
Though his jaw tightened, and his dark brows furrowed, Kawaki nodded.
Boruto's angry exhalation drew his attention.
Naruto prayed for patience.
Boruto muttered, "how long are we grounded for?"
"Two months." Naruto answered.
"Two months?!" the eight-year-old troublemaker sputtered, glaring at his father, "but dad-"
"Two months," Naruto repeated, returning his own version of the glare Boruto leveled at him.
"But-"
"Keep it up, and I'll double it, dattebayo."
With all the back talk Boruto was treating him to, Naruto was tempted to triple it.
Looking as though it took every ounce of his strength, Boruto lapsed into outraged silence, lips flattening, angry gaze glancing off to the side once more.
Just barely a surrender.
Good enough.
Naruto didn't make idle threats, not when it came to his children going beyond youthful mischief and normal childish misbehaving, especially chakra based antics. Practicing jutsu alone was dangerous, and whether intended or not, they could really hurt themselves or one of their younger siblings attempting to use a technique they didn't have absolute mastery of.
Boruto knew that.
Naruto couldn't afford to be lenient with any of his children in this, they'd have the whole village leveled in a few years if he did.
He glanced at his other son.
There was no obvious change to Kawaki's expression to the outside observer, but Naruto could see the slight pout on his face clear as day.
Neither one of them were happy.
Meaning he'd made his point.
Discipline properly dolled out and so far effective, Naruto shifted gears to something that'd make a far more impactful impression than being grounded for sixty days.
A gentle, but firm, reality check.
Exhaling his lingering frustration, Naruto gesture the two closer.
Haruto still had a hold of his leg; trying to pry him off to move across the room would take more effort than he wanted to expend, and walking over to the two with Haruto hanging on his limb would diminish his 'dad is pissed' image entirely.
Kawaki shuffled over reluctantly.
Boruto dragged his feet.
Once in range, Naruto rested a hand on the outer shoulder of both boys, though he turned his attention to the more mutinous half of the pair.
"Boruto, do you remember what your mother said when you asked her to let you start learning the Rasengan?"
Pouting deeper, Boruto muttered, "she said…she knows I'm smart enough to do learn it, but she didn't think I was old enough to…use it responsibly."
"And what happened after that?"
Boruto's gaze skated off to the side, a decidedly uncomfortable expression painting his features, "…I talked to you and you uh, talked to mom…"
Boruto had made a compelling case to his father nearly eight months ago, speaking with a level of maturity and seriousness Naruto hadn't seen in him before.
His eyes burning with a passion for training Naruto himself still felt even in this time of peace.
Convincing Hinata to give Boruto and Kawaki a chance to start learning such a high level jutsu had taken a bit of effort. The boys were notorious pranksters, and she'd worried they wouldn't be able to fully grasp how careful they needed to be with Naruto's trademark jutsu.
Naruto had had his concerns as well; maybe he should have heeded them.
"I told your mother we could trust you guys," he said, watching the starch deflate from his mouthy son,"that you wouldn't let us down if we gave you both a chance, dattebayo."
Naruto turned to include Kawaki in his disappointment.
Shoulders slumped, his gray eyes stayed fused to his feet.
"We specifically told both of you not to attempt it in the house under any circumstances and both of you looked me and your mother in the eyes and swore you wouldn't," Naruto reminded them softly, "and not only did you break your word to your mother and I, you put your little brothers at risk. They're babies; fragile little toddlers. You two might be able to handle the consequence of your training, but they certainly can't. You two could have seriously hurt them with this stunt."
Boruto's shoulders hunched, eyes suspiciously shiny.
"We're sorry, dad," Kawaki mumbled, the contrition on his face painful to witness.
"We…weren't trying to hurt them. We just…got carried away, 'ttebasa," Boruto lapsed into silence before meeting his father's eyes, his own now filled with understanding and deep remorse, "sorry dad."
Naruto nodded, acknowledging and accepting their apology, knowing deep in his heart they meant it.
"You guys have to be more responsible," he told them quietly, giving both small shoulders a reassuring squeeze, "you're big brothers, and your job is to protect your younger siblings; be a role model to them. Hima looks up to you both, Haruto follows you two around like a lost puppy, imitating everything you do, and Maruto isn't far behind him. Teach them something good, ne?"
They nodded.
"Can I trust you two to stick to your punishment?" he asked next, "or do I need to seal your chakra and baby sit you for the next few months?"
Boruto shook his head, then gave his father baby blue intensity that left him in doubt that his son meant every word that came next, "no, we get it dad. We broke the rules and we have to be man enough to accept the consequence, dattebasa."
"You can trust us," Kawaki confirmed.
Naruto nodded, keeping the pride filled smile to himself.
This was a serious moment, and he didn't want to diminish that by flashing pearly whites. The boys had to understand the gravity of the situation, and remember this conversation the next time they got a fool idea in their heads.
"Now, go explain to your mother why there's a hole in her living room wall, then get started on filling it in."
Kawaki haunched his shoulders, while Boruto's face morphed into one of profound upset.
Naruto knew neither boy wanted to see their gentle mother's disappointed face, especially when they were the cause.
That would hurt them far worse than facing Naruto's sharp tongue, or being grounded for two months.
Naruto silently empathized with them.
It wasn't easy to endure Hinata's sad face.
Just the thought of her big pale eyes filled with unhappiness was enough to bring a twinge to his own heart.
Even more painful was the torturous grace and kindness she'd extend to her boys.
She'd listen patiently while they explained their actions, then tell them she wasn't mad at them, just disappointed, letting them see how disappointed she was, and as they sat there squirming with guilt and remorse, wanting punishment to assuage their guilt, she'd give them hugs instead, asking them to think of her, their brothers and sister before making rash decisions. Slowly, quietly but effective carving them to pieces with sweet affection, gentle admonishment and heartfelt understanding, leaving them feeling lower than the lowest bottom feeder scuttling across the ocean floor.
Kami have mercy on their conscience, because Hinata's kindness was brutal.
With Boruto and Kawaki taken care of, Naruto reached down for the kola falling asleep against his leg.
"Alright, time for a nap habanero jr," Naruto chuckled, scooping the toddler up.
"Not sleepy, papa," Haruto muttered into his neck, eyes closed and mouth starting to drool.
"Then how come you can't keep your eyes open?"
"Just westing them, datt…te…bana…"
Naruto laughed silently as Haruto drifted off, "go ahead and rest your eyes then."
He made the short walk to the nursery, stroking Haruto's back as he moved down the hall. As he opened the door across the hall to his and Hinata's bedroom, the lull of Hinata's soft voice drifted to his ears. He couldn't make out what she was saying, but the mere sound of her voice was soothing.
The Uzumaki nursery looked much like it had the day they'd set it up, though they'd added two more cribs to the one they'd initially brought in. The walls were painted a neutral gray decorated with a banner of whirlpools, shuriken and suns; the cribs lining the far wall were gleaming polished wood, and the plush carpet was a shade darker than tan. Two changing tables matching the cribs were stationed between crib one and two, and crib two and three. Building blocks, a baby xylophone, and a few electronic infant learning devices were scattered across the floor around the playpen, infant seats, playnests and baby swings.
Off to the left of newborn city was Haruto's carmine toddler bed, though, it wouldn't be there much longer.
His hot tempered son was almost ready to move out of the nursery.
They'd been gradually getting Haruto used to sleeping further away from mom and dad on the bottom bunk in Boruto's room. He was always so excited to sleep in the 'big boy bed' when they put him down, giggling and chatting Boruto's ear off well into the night. But when the house grew quiet, and the night light kicked on, Haruto's cries for mama and papa woke the entire household.
After nearly two months of this, Haruto was finally beginning to adjust.
He slept through the night two out of the three nights they put him in the bottom bunk the past two weeks.
Hinata was convinced he'd be there full time within another week or two.
Of all his children, Haruto had clung the nursery the longest.
His twenty-one-month-old little brother Maruto had already made himself at home in Kawaki's bunk, the shortest time of all his children.
They weren't in a hurry though, they'd agreed to let the kids transition at their own pace.
Haruto was taking a little longer, but that was okay.
He'd get there.
Naruto laid him carefully on the bed, though, he could've dropped him like a sack of potatoes (not that he'd ever do such a thing) and Haruto wouldn't flinch.
When he was out, he was out .
Naruto glanced at the teddy bear clock on the wall as he tucked his son in.
He had about twenty minutes before Maruto needed to be put down for a nap, and barring any more explosions, he had just enough time to finish the dishes.
Naruto left the nursery door cracked on his way back to the kitchen.
A whole ten minutes of productive peace passed before the next interruption rocketed in.
He was stacking a glass in the top counter when something hard and heavy collided right on that annoyingly sensitive bone at his left ankle.
It didn't hurt necessarily, but it sent a current of discomfort up his leg and through his entire body.
He hated that sensation.
He didn't know what it was about ankle bones and funny bones that brought that weird sensation, he just knew it he wasn't a fan of the feeling.
Knowing who it was, Naruto shot a goofy, exaggerated glare at the twenty-one-month-old toddler straddling a toy fox on wheels, giggling up at him. His white shirt was slightly riding up his tummy, his baby blue shorts twisted a bit dramatically. Naruto didn't see any sign Maruto had had an accident, so either his training pants had caught it or he'd had a successful potty.
"Oi! That's my ankle, dattebayo!" Naruto growled at the child.
Maruto grinned up at him, arms raised as his quiet voice giggled out, "boom."
"Boom?" Naruto repeated with feigned outrage, "you nearly took out my whole ankle and all you have to say for yourself is boom?!"
"Boom, boom," Maruto echoed, pale eyes bright with innocent delight.
"I'll show you boom!"
Naruto scooped him up and pretended to gobble him up, nuzzling and gently nipping at his belly as he growled, amusement curving his lips as Maruto let out shrieks of laughter. Then he vaulted around the kitchen with the toddler, making whooshing noises as he flew him around.
Once he was satisfied that his son had learned his lesson about making ankles go boom, Naruto reigned in his baby plane.
"Hope ya learned your lesson," Naruto laughed, settling the boy on his hip.
Maruto shook his head, hiding his face behind tiny hands, grinning so big his whisker lined cheeks looked packed with marshmallows.
"No?" Naruto growled, tickling his belly, "you're gonna keep making papa's ankles go boom?"
Maruto wiggled in his arms, shrieking mirth and grabbing his father's wrist.
Once he was sure Maruto had been sufficiently punished for his future boom, boom crimes, Naruto let up on the attack.
"Did you go potty, buddy?" he asked as his son quieted.
Maruto nodded.
"You get it in the pot?"
Another nod.
"Alright! Good job!" Naruto cheered, holding up his hand.
Maruto high-fived his father, then clapped his hands in toddler celebration.
"Ready for nap nap, Maruto?" Naruto asked next.
"Ya, ya, dattebaya!" Maruto cheered, dancing in his father's grip.
Naruto grinned, "then let get ready for nap nap time."
An excited head bob and lopsided smile was his answer.
Naruto couldn't help but snuggle the young boy, much to his delight.
Maruto was by far the most even tempered of his brood.
He never really fussed or gave them trouble.
He was quiet and a bit shy around strangers, even with family friends and distant family whom he'd known his whole life. At home he was a bit more open and animated, at least enough to make ankles go boom, but even here, Maruto was more comfortable being a little shadow in the room.
Naruto found it unbearably cute because his mannerisms reminded him so much of his wife.
He remembered how she used to bump her index fingers together when she got nervous, and every time he saw Maruto fidget with his dark spiky hair, trying to hide his little face with the strands when he got nervous, it reminded him anew of Hinata.
"Alright, lets get you in bed, dattebayo."
Naruto expected more smiles and cuteness, but Maruto's brows creased instead, distress melding his features as he squeezed his eyes shut really tight; once, twice, then again before reaching up and pressing his hands to them.
Naruto frowned as his son rubbed both tiny fists against his eyes.
Walking over to the nearest counter, Naruto sat him down on it.
"Maruto, let papa see," he coaxed, pulling his little hands away.
With a gentle thumb, Naruto lifted one of his fluttering eyelids, murmuring soothingly to the boy as he whined.
"I know, I know, let papa see," though he knew what he'd see.
Inside the pearly white of his son's was the nearly translucent outline of slitted pupils.
This had been happening for the last three months.
They weren't completely sure what was going.
Tsunade-baa-chan's educated guess was that Maruto was developing some new form of dojutsu or going through an upgrade of the Byakugan thanks to the combination of his parent's bloodline and most definitely Kurama's chakra.
Naruto was inclined to agree.
In fact, he was damn sure Kurama had passed down more than whisker to his offspring.
Especially Haruto and Maruto.
The manifestation of Haruto's cloak was the biggest alert to their abnormalities.
Hinata had had a hard pregnancy with Haruto, hence why they'd made the decision not to have another child and were completely caught off guard by Maruto popping up a year and a half later. During Haruto's birth, there'd been a small complication due to his early arrival and that was the first time the cloak manifested.
The excess chakra engulfing their newborn had looked a lot like Naruto's kyuubi mode golden glow, but the streaks of angry crimson created a very striking distinction between father and son.
From what they could observed initially, it hadn't been harmful to Haruto, in fact, it worked to heal his weakened body, protecting his vulnerable form in the three weeks he spent at the hospital beneath his auntie Sakura's care. The running theory was that it functioned based on innate instinct that Haruto wasn't yet old enough to tap into. Neither Naruto nor Kurama detected anything sentient about it, but absolutely sensed Kurama's presences all throughout it.
When asked for more details about their findings, Naruto explained to Tsunade that the presence reminded him a bit Sora, but not quite.
Haruto's shield had…density.
It was hard for him to explain.
Best analogy he could come up with was that Sora's bijuu chakra was like watered down soda, while Haruto's cloak had not a drop.
Tsunade thought his example was stupid…
Then she got mad that his 'idiotic comparison' made it a lot easier for her to understand.
Getting through the chakra shield had been a trial.
Naruto was the first to try, assuming a product of Kurama's chakra would be least likely to resist, but to his surprise, the mass had been hostile even to him, scorching any hands that got too close, though Haruto remained unharmed.
Hinata had gained access far sooner than anyone else, within minutes actually, parting the fiery flame with nothing more than her gentle touch.
Naruto liked to think it was a mother thing.
They'd shared a body for seven and a half months after all.
Once the shock had worn off, they'd tested the cloak more and logged the results, concluding that it functioned similar to Gaara's sand in that it shielded him without conscious directive against anything perceived harmful to him.
Confirming their earlier theory.
Tsunade initially wondered if the Jinchuuriki status held a common link between the two redheads instinctive protection; Gaara being a former Jinchuuriki and Haruto being the son of a current Jinchuuriki. Naruto hadn't really thought so at the time considering Haruto hadn't been incubating alongside Kurama like Naruto had while Kushina carried him, nor was he made a Jinchuuriki at young age like Gaara.
He'd always assumed the influence of Kurama's chakra on his kids was only physical, no more than cosmetic whisker markers on their cheeks that were adorable, but meant nothing more than they had a Jinchuuriki for a father.
Tsunade was of the mind the influence ran deeper than that considering Naruto's level of exposure to Kurama's chakra.
Of all the Jinchuuriki Naruto had spent the longest amount of his lifetime seeped in the chakra of a bijuu. For nine months, Naruto's entire early existence had seen him incubating beneath Kurama's chakra like a plant to sunlight; after which, he'd become a Jinchuuriki for the same bijuu as a newborn baby and continued in that capacity to this very day.
Added to that, for nearly a decade now, Naruto's status as a perfect Jinchuuriki had given Kurama free reign in Naruto's body, unhindered and unimpeded by the seal Minato left behind; able to run his chakra through every tenketsu point lining Naruto's network, mixing their chakra together on numerous occasions.
Tsunade took it even further, theorizing that perhaps Kurama's influence began long before Naruto was even a 'twinkle in his father's eye'.
If Kurama's chakra had been able to influence Naruto as a embryo, who's to say the influence hadn't started in Kushina's ovum?
After all, Hinata wasn't Kurama's Jinchuuriki, and yet all their children had been marked by his chakra, just like Naruto. Meaning Naruto's sperm had to be the carrier for the unique birthmarks, adding credence to the idea that Kurama's chakra effected the reproductive structure.
Following that logic, Tsunade concluded that Naruto's bloodline, beginning with his mother Kushina, had quite possibly been altered down to the genetic level.
As incredible as it sounded, Naruto was hard pressed to deny it.
There wasn't any other way to explain Haruto's cloak, or Maruto's ocular abnormalities.
Reaching into his pocket, Naruto pulled out the eye drops Tsunade created to dull the ache in his eyes.
"Alright, buddy, time for drops," Naruto told him, regret lacing his voice.
Maruto's bottom lip poked out, a low whine left his throat, but he nodded with a sniffle.
"That's my brave little ninja," Naruto soothed, guiding his son to his back on the counter, tilting his head back and carefully tugging down the lower eyelid of his right eye,
Gently, Naruto pinched the fold together, creating a bit of a pouch.
"Ready?" Naruto asked, "look up far as you can.
He aimed the dropper tip to Maruto's lower lid, and gently squeezed.
Maruto flinched at the first drop, slightly shutting his eye against it, but enough of the numbing agent went in.
"Close your eyes, buddy."
Maruto closed both eyes, and Naruto waited thirty seconds.
"Annnnd, open," Naruto said, poking his belly.
Maruto opened his eyes, and though he wasn't happy about the drops, he still had a smile for his father.
"Good boy, Maruto, we're almost done, one more," Naruto encouraged.
Naruto tugged down his left lid and repeated the process.
It took three tries to get it in, but once he finished, Naruto grabbed a paper towel from the spool above the sink, lifted his son to a sitting position and pressed the paper towel gently to his son's closed eyes to soak up the excess liquid, stroking his back and whispering words of comfort until the sting had faded.
Maruto pressed his cheek to his father's stomach, resting there quietly a few moments.
"Wama-cha," he muttered into Naruto bright orange sweat shirt.
The first time Maruto mentioned 'Rama-chan', Naruto had been convinced there was an intruder in the house and spent all afternoon in sage mode searching for this Rama-chan talking to his baby boy.
Hinata explained through a deep belly laugh that Rama-chan was Maruto's imaginary friend.
"You see Rama-chan?" Naruto played along, "what's Rama-chan doing?"
Leaning back, the boy placed his hands together and lay them under his cheek, then closed his eyes and made snoring noises.
"Rama-chan's sleeping?"
The little boy nodded, then reaching out, pressed his little hands to Naruto belly, those slitted outlines standing out in his milky depths as he stared at his father's gut…
…like he could see inside.
"Wama-cha," Haruto repeated, face bright with the gentle smile he's stolen from is mother.
Naruto blinked, blonde brows creasing before realization hit him.
"Maruto, can you see Kurama?"
His dark head bobbed a nod.
Naruto blinked several times, absorbing that information as Maruto started a hushed conversation with his stomach, rousing Kurama in the process.
Naruto blinked again.
Not only could he see Kurama, he could talk directly to him.
The Seventh Hokage sighed.
He really shouldn't be surprised at this point.
Considering the various strange and unexpected attributes developing in his children, nothing was out of the realm of possibility when it came to his offspring.
' Leave it to you to sire brats that can bother me in here ,' Kurama rumbled within the confines of his mind.
"You can't blame all of this on me. It's your chakra that's causing a lot of this, dattebayo," Naruto chuckled.
' Hmph .'
Naruto grinned.
' Pipe down, brat, ' the demon fox growled at the toddler, ' I'm trying to sleep .'
"No sleep, Wama-cha. Play," Maruto insisted, patting his father's abdomen.
Kurama's annoyance rumbled deep within Naruto's gut.
'Pweeseeee," the little boy begged, big puppy dog eyes on full display.
Another growl shook their shared mental space, but Naruto sensed something else that shaped a wide grin on his lips.
If there was one thing Naruto's children were, it was fuckin adorable.
And it was always hard to say no to those big eyes and whiskered cheeks.
' …Later ,' Kurama grumbled, embarrassment burning him alive as he folded like a stack of cards, 'go take a nap first .'
"Kay," Maruto agreed, tilting his head up to his father, "nap, nap, papa,"
Naruto laughed as he scooped his son off the counter, "nap nap time, buddy,"
Five minutes later, Maruto was down for a nap, and Naruto was sketching out a message at the kitchen table to Tsunade. He wrote a quick rundown of the new developments with Maruto, then asked for a follow up examination when she had time.
The front door opened as he rolled the mini scroll and attached it to the little toad summons waiting on his table.
"Baa-chan should be in her office at the hospital, but it's Friday so she might be out gambling," Naruto sighed with a shake of his head, "try the hospital first."
As the toad leapt from the table and out of the hole in the living room that was nearly filled, Naruto's six-year-old princess came skipping into the dinning room.
"Papa!" she called, smiling and bouncing with a few sheets of paper in her hand.
"Did you have fun at Inojin's today?" Naruto asked as she launched herself into his arms.
"Uh huh, we made a really pretty flower, and Inojin made it come to life and dance with us!"
"Sounds like fun," Naruto smiled.
Himawari nodded enthusiastically, then held up one of the pages to him
"I made this one for you, papa."
Naruto accepted the doodle of him as a unicorn, with his Hokage hat suspended on his bright pink horn.
"This is really pretty, Hima, thank you," he grinned, "I always wondered what I'd look like as Hokage unicorn, dattebayo."
Hima was such a blatant mix of her parents.
Boruto and Haruto quite blatantly took after him in temperament, Kawaki and Maruto took after Hinata; his little princess Himawari was both of them fused.
Like a coin with two vastly different sides.
She had that sweet, gentle spirit everyone could see and feel before she uttered a word, so much like her mother, but piss her off bad enough and her temper lit up like her hot headed father.
Like most of his children, Naruto found this facet of her personality unbearably adorable.
Grinning back, his little girl shuffled to the next picture, "I made this one for mama."
His beautiful wife was a crayon colored mermaid in various shade of purple, blue and black, and at her midsection was a huge belly and two little smiling faces inside.
"And now that we know we have two brothers, I drew them too," she continued cheerfully.
His earlier elation returned with a vengeance, though, seeing how big that belly was on the picture, the guilt won out this time.
He was excited about the babies, two more boys they'd learned at the gender reveal party Auntie Hanabi just had to have, but he was worried too.
Haruto's difficult birth had been the reason they'd decided not to have any more children, they had more than enough, and Naruto was more than a little traumatized by the experience of Haruto's terrifying entrance into the world.
They'd went back to condoms and things had been fine for nearly two years, but somewhere down the line, their contraceptive had failed.
They couldn't even pinpoint how or when.
None of the condoms had torn or slipped off that they were aware of, and yet there had to have been a faulty one because Maruto was here.
Though Maruto hadn't given his mother any trouble with his birth, Naruto had taken steps to ensure there weren't any more surprises.
He'd gotten the snip.
They'd gone back to using condoms after he healed from his vasectomy, and were just two days shy of his sixteen week postal semen analysis to make sure there were no more mini-Naruto makers floating around when Grandpa Hyuuga took all their children for the weekend, something that hadn't happened in a while since Haruto didn't like sleeping away from mama and papa, and Himawari didn't want to leave her little brother behind.
That weekend had been a bit…wild.
And on the final day before the kids came back, Naruto and his wife shared a bottle of sake that concluded in hot, raunchy sex without a jacket…
And sure enough, Hinata missed her next period.
Not only had his sperm still been present in his semen, his stupid Uzumaki-Jinchuuriki body healing resulted in a vasectomy recanalization.
His vas deferense grew back, reversing his vasectomy entirely.
Now, they were springing to get Hinata's tubes tied after the twins were born, something he hadn't wanted for her.
Tubal ligation was more invasive, and far more dangerous.
He'd rather be snipped than have her tubes tied, but his ability remain sterile was clearly unreliable.
Leave it to him to find a way to fuck that up.
A soft groan snapped him from his internal flogging.
Hinata rounded the corner, her beautiful face already lit up with a smile, though it wasn't bright enough to hide the exhaustion.
Their boys weren't cutting their mother any slack, greedily sapping her chakra and energy all day long.
Sakura had placed her on partial bed rest for the last of her pregnancy.
Hinata was worried it'd be upgraded to full bed rest soon.
She was not looking forward to spending nearly four months.
Naruto also hoped it didn't come to that.
Setting Hima down on her feet, Naruto was there in an instant, crossing the room in three wide strides to wrap an arm around his wife's back. Her petite form was all belly, far more than any of her other pregnancies of course, and she'd had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to her growing weight.
She sent him a grateful smile as she used his sturdy form as a crutch.
She was good sport about all of this when she had every right to be upset about not only being pregnant again, but being pregnant with twins.
He hadn't expected her to be, his darling wife wasn't that type of woman, but if she had, nobody could blame her for it. One baby was hard enough, two was a nightmare, especially when it was time for her sleep at night.
They shifted and moved around, pressing on organs and sending her to the bathroom all night.
His poor sweetheart was exhausted and uncomfortable all the time, and it killed him there was nothing he could do.
Still…
He was happy that she was happy about the twins, despite the circumstances of their conception.
Unable to help himself, he slid his free hand over her extended belly, feeling the vibrant energy of the twins that weren't supposed to be there but were welcome none the less.
This time, he was determined.
No more babies.
He had more than enough children, and his poor wife's body had born enough of his hell spawn. It was time to let Hinata enjoy her body, alone , for a change.
These were the last additions to the Uzumaki family.
X~X~X~X~X
Hope you all enjoyed the first entry of the NaruHina fair. I was gonna expand on this but I think it's long enough, lol.
Honestly, a bunch of Naruto mini's running around is a what I wanted for the Boruto series, I always pictured him having a gaggle of kids. Glad they had at least two, but I'd hoped for more. Also, I always thought it'd be cool if Kurama effected their children more than just whiskers, feel like that'd be cool, and I do wonder how much Kurama's chakra could effect a Jinchuuriki over time, especially an Uzumaki.
Anyway, I'm working on the next one, dunno if it'll be done on time, but we'll see XD
Laters
~Sessakag