"Come on, Honey!" Kikyo called over her shoulder. "If we don't hurry up, Yumi'l die of boredom! She hates waiting!"
"Huwwy, Daddy, huwwy!" their son Hinoiri called from Kikyo's arms. He was two years old with mahogany hair and blue-green eyes.
"Okay, okay," Gaara called back. He was carrying the other of their twins, a girl named Hoshi. She had jet-black hair and eyes that looked like Hinoiri's.
"Huwwy, huwwy!" Hoshi echoed, giggling and grabbing Gaara's hair. "Giddyup, Daddy!" Gaara smiled and stopped to feel the hot desert wind toss his hair.
"Alright, come on, he said, lifting her up into the air on a pallet of chakra-controlled sand. "Let's get Mommy, too," he whispered. He began focusing chakra to his palm.
"Are you coming or n- AAAAH!" Kikyo yelled in shock as the ground beneath her rose into the air. "I'll take that as a yes."
"With all the suitcases this family needs now, there's no better way to travel." He pulled all of the sand pallets together and joined them, smiling at Kikyo and his children.
"Say goodbye to the village, kids," Kikyo said as they sailed over it.
"Bye-bye!" said Hoshi.
"Bye-bye, house!" said Hinoiri, waving at their home.
"Oooh, you two are so CUTE!" said Kikyo as she hugged them. "And so are you," she said quietly as she kissed Gaara's cheek. The children giggled happily. Gaara smiled softly. He was off again, back to see his friends in Konoha once more.
"Shika, when are they gonna be here?"
"I don't know, Yumi," he groaned. "Be patient."
"Awww... I hate waiting! Are they close yet?"
"No, Yumi."
"How 'bout now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No!"
"What about now?"
"Yes, Yumi, they're here now."
"Really?"
"NO!"
"Well no need to be mean, Shika." Yumi sat down in an armchair next to the window. She tapped her feet, whistled, clicked her tongue, and waited... waited... waited some more...
"Shika, I'm BORED!" she said after about two minutes.
"For the love of - What do you want me to do about it?!"
"I don't know, just make me not so bored!" He sighed.
"This is gonna be a long day..."
Sango sat in front of the mirror at her dressing table, humming happily to herself. Taking a comb out of one of the drawers, she quickly ran it through her smooth, shiny, waist-length black hair. Tucking her hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck, she smiled.
"He's just so good to me," she said dreamily. "I couldn't have picked anyone better." Humming again, she picked up a green silk ribbon and tied it around her ponytail. Pulling her blue obi tighter around the green yukata, she slid open the paper door and headed out into Konoha.
"Hmmm..." said Sango, strolling through Konoha. "Disura and Kakashi have been married for a month. I wonder how they are today..." All thoughts of those two, however, soon faded as she thought of her own husband. She also thought of their new house, which they had moved into two days after Ruku left. It was a beautiful, three-story house with delicate mahogany and oak architecture. There were six bedrooms, a great kitchen, tons of windows and doors, and so many other things that Sango was still discovering new ones every day. Of course, they had only been there for four weeks, but...
Besides the main structure, Sango and Lee had added their own personal touches to their home. They had planted sakura trees along the edges of their property, added a garden full of various types of lotus flowers, and even changed the knobs on the baths and sinks to different colors of crystal lotus blossoms, among other things.
"I never agreed that a wife should be confined to the house," Sango muttered, "but in this house I might not mind!"
"Hey, Sango!" called a familiar voice. She looked up at the blond-haired man in front of her.
"Naruto! Er - I mean Lord Hokage! What are you doing out right now?"
"Naruto's fine," he said, "and I'm just out to get some ramen."
"What kind?"
"One miso, and one, uh... chocolate, I think."
"Chocolate? Chocolate ramen?" asked Sango. "You really are cr- Wait, it's for Hinata, isn't it?"
"Yup. And it begins," he sighed, pretending to be depressed. "Pretty soon it'll be something like pickled radishes and cake at two in the morning."
"That actually sounds kinda good - not together, of course," Sango added. "But I might have to remember that one."
"Heh heh. And I bet ol' Bushy Brow would eat it right along with you," he said, grinning. "Oh!" he said suddenly, seeing a storefront clock. "Sorry, I gotta get that ramen and get home before Hinata changes her mind about it."
"Okay, see ya!"
"Bye, Sango!"
"Naruto as a dad," thought Sango. "Hmm... how weird will that be?"
"So, Tatsumi," said Disura, "how's your marriage treating you?"
"Great!" she said cheerfully. "We're as perfect a match as ever."
"I'm not sure I can say I'm completely identical to Kakashi, but... Wouldn't that be kinda boring?"
"Maybe not. Just look at Sango and Lee. Their life is insane!"
"Good point. And now that I think about it... I'm actually kinda jealous of her team... and yours..."
"And why is that?" said Sango, swooping over to hang upside down from the edge of the roof. "I know we're awesome," she said jokingly, "but any particular reason?"
"Well," Disura started. "I - my marriage is great in itself, but... Well, I think raising a family would make it even better, you know? I really do want to have children eventually."
"I know what you mean," said Sango, sliding to the ground in front of Ichiraku. "I had that in mind before I was even married. I never acted on it, of course, but... I think that would make our bond even deeper, and... I don't know, I guess I just want to know what being a mother feels like."
"How long've you been married again, Sango?" asked Tatsumi.
"Four months today. It's September sixteenth."
"And how long did you date Lee?"
"Seven years."
"So - Wow, really? Sheesh. Anyway, I think you two are definitely at a point where you can make that decision.
"But as for me," she continued, "I'll kinda just let things progress a little more. I still want to live the way I am for a while." Sango sighed and rested her chin in her hands.
"I suppose..." she paused. "Do you hear something weird?" She focused her chakra to heighten her hearing.
"Yeah, now that you mention it..." said Disura.
"I wonder who - Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, ow!" Tatsumi gasped as she and the others released their chakra and covered their ears. Someone was screaming, high and shrill. Then they made out the words:
"SHIKAAAA! They're here they're here they're here they're here they're HERE!" A quiet and rough male voice answered.
"Yumi, it's okay. He knows we're here. Now please be quiet. You don't want the whole village thinking we're being attacked, do you?"
"Oh my gosh, we're being attacked?! Why doesn't someone tell Shika?! SHIK-"
"Yumi, shh!" said Kikyo, covering her mouth. "There's nothing going on. Let's go."
"Okay!" she said happily, forgetting to be afraid.
"Tch. Same old Yumi," said Sango.
"I forgot they lived so close to here," said Disura.
"I don't think I'll ever hear again," said Tatsumi, rubbing her ears.
"Ugh! Ow!" Sango gasped, pressing her fingers to her temples.
"What?" said Disura, looking concerned.
"Nothing, it's... ah... it's just a headache... a really bad one..."
"That's kinda unusual for you..."
"I know, but it's no big deal, I'm sure."
"Yumi's voice probably busted your eardrums," Tatsumi laughed.
"Probably," said a male voice behind them. "I know the feeling, too. She does this to me every day." They all turned quickly.
"Shikamaru!" said Sango. "You were - how did - when did you get here?"
"About five minutes ago. Yumi wanted me to get ramen for lunch. Apparently she already forgot I left." He sighed tiredly. "And judging by her screaming 'They're here!' about a million times, Gaara and Kikyo must be here."
"Yeah, they are," said Disura. "And their kids are with-"
"SHIIIKAAAA! FIIIRE!" Yumi screamed through the open door.
"What the he- I gotta go!" Shikamaru yelled, leaping away and dropping the ramen. The others followed close behind him.
"Where?" asked Shikamaru as he dashed by Yumi.
"In the kitchen!"
"I'm on it!" called Sango. Dashing into their kitchen, she quickly took in the surroundings. The microwave on the granite counter was on fire, with smoke pouring out of its door. The oven was also spewing flame from the burners, which had spread to the kitchen curtains.
"Er - okay -" she said, quickly making hand signs as she looked. "Water Style: Arctic Wind!" A flurry of snow and freezing water shot from between her palms, destroying any fire under a frozen river. Smoke and steam filled the room, but aside from a few hot ashes still smoldering on the counters the fire was out. She quickly unplugged the appliances as they sparked again.
About that time Shikamaru, Gaara, and Kikyo walked in, followed by Tatsumi and Disura. The children had been ordered to stay outside. Shikamaru's eyes grew wide as he looked at the room, and he groaned in disbelief. Coughing, he walked to the window and opened it to air out the room. He sighed angrily.
"Yumi..." he began. "How in the - what the - I -" He paused. "How did you manage to do this?! I was only gone five minutes!"
"Well... First I wanted to make eggs for Gaara and Kikyo-chan, so I started the oven burners."
"Okay, go on..."
"Then I got hungry, so I took the leftover dumplings from last night and stuck them in the microwave."
"Oh, no..." said Shikamaru. "Please tell me you took of the tin foil first!"
"No. Why would I do that, silly?"
"Aaargh! Yumi! The rule is never put metal in the microwave, remember?!"
"Really?" she said, genuinely confused. "I thought it was 'always put metal in the microwave!'" Shikamaru's jaw dropped.
"Are you really that stupid?! You're freakin' hopeless, Yumi! All this smoke and water damage... That's the third set of curtains this month! Ugh... What'd you do then, put oil on the burner without a pan?!"
"Er... yeah..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"But it was an accident that time!" she pleaded. "I forgot there wasn't a pan and poured it, and when I finally realized it the stove was on fire!"
"..."
"..."
"... Yumi, I... Ugh..."
"If it helps," Sango offered, "you can all stay at my house while the kitchen gets fixed."
"Really?" Kikyo said happily. "Are you sure?"
"Sure, but on one condition."
"And what's that?" asked Gaara.
"Yumi's not allowed to cook unsupervised."