Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (either manga or anime!); the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto-sensei owns all rights. However, the plot and Namiko Uzumaki are mine!

Chapter 53: Letting the Fox Out of the Bag

It was February first, and Konoha was almost completely back to normal. Businesses had reopened, and all houses had been rebuilt or repaired. Naruto had moved back into his apartment, alone, nearly two weeks ago and Namiko and Sasuke almost had the Uchiha home back to its original glory.

Tsunade finally got her hands on a working ultrasound machine and demanded that Namiko come to the hospital to be examined more in-depth. After a nurse had taken her vitals, she sat on the edge of the medical table, kicking her feet nervously while waiting for Tsunade to enter the room.

Sasuke ran his thumb across her wrist soothingly. "It's just a checkup, I'm sure you and the babies are fine."

Namiko pressed her lips together anxiously. "But what if—"

Tsunade walked into the room cutting off Namiko. "All right, let's take a look and see how everyone is," she said and raised her eyebrow at Sasuke. "You don't need to be here. Men aren't typically involved in appointments and such."

"I know, but I want to be," said Sasuke as he met her challenging look with one of his own.

Namiko sighed audibly. "Ba-chan, please let him stay. I need him here. I'm nervous enough as is, and I don't need you two butting heads over this."

Tsunade nodded at her goddaughter. "Fair enough. Go ahead and lean back and lift up your shirt."

Namiko did as told and Tsunade squeezed the cold gel on her stomach, causing her to jump slightly at the sensation. She moved the ultrasound wand over Namiko's stomach as she focused intensely on the screen in front of her. After a few moments, Tsunade pressed a button and a whooshing sound filled the room.

Namiko's eyes widened. "What is that sound? Is something wrong with the machine?"

Tsunade let a small smile tilt the corner of her mouth. "No, that sound is your babies' heartbeats…and this—" She pushed the screen to face the couple. "—is their first picture."

Namiko blinked, staring at the screen in awe as the black and white image came into focus and they saw two tiny figures on the screen. "…those are the babies?" breathed out Namiko, her voice barely audible.

Tsunade nodded and Namiko quickly turned her head to look at Sasuke who wasn't taking his eyes off the screen. Yes, he'd seen their chakra inside Namiko, the two tiny flickers of chakra settled under the kyuubi's chakra and linked into Namiko's chakra, but this was different. He could see them.

He unconsciously activated his Sharingan, taking in every detail of their tiny shapes, their pulsing heartbeats a steady reminder of how real this all was. Sasuke felt his chest tighten as he studied the small forms on the screen. Namiko's hand squeezed his, grounding him, and he looked at her, his eyes softer than she'd ever seen. For a moment, they both seemed to forget anyone else was in the room.

"They're so tiny and perfect," Namiko whispered, her voice filled with awe and wonder as she looked back at the screen. "I can't believe it."

Tsunade's expression softened as she watched her goddaughter. Even Sasuke's usual stoicism was broken by an unmistakable look of amazement. Even though Tsunade had initial disappointment and some anger at their situation, she couldn't help but be relieved seeing how much the two truly loved each other.

An excited smile spread across Namiko's face. "Can you tell if they're boys or girls?"

"It's too early to tell using the ultrasound, but I'm sure a certain Hyuuga would probably be thrilled to tell you if you ask," Tsunade said, glancing back at the screen and pointing to one of the figures. "Though I can tell you this little one seems to be the more active of the two." She chuckled as the baby she pointed to seemed to move its legs around to show off. "You won't feel those little kicks for a few weeks yet, but I get the feeling this one will keep you up at night once you can."

"I wonder which one takes after which of us, then." Her gaze flicked up to Sasuke. "Seems we already know who'll be the energetic one."

He smirked back, his hand still resting on her wrist. "As long as they don't take after Naruto."

Namiko laughed, a genuine, bright sound that filled the room, and Sasuke's smirk turned into a small smile. He turned back to the screen, his eyes reflecting both

pride and an unspoken promise to protect them.

Tsunade cleared her throat, pulling the couple out of their shared reverie as she pressed some buttons on the machine. "Your due date would be August 2, which happens to be my birthday, but twins rarely make it that long and I'd be happy if you made it to the first week of July."

Tsunade handed her several pictures. "For now, everything's progressing normally, but you need to take it easy. I can't stress that enough. Twins automatically put you at risk for complications, and with your age and body size adding more challenges, I want to keep a close eye on you." She turned to Namiko, her tone gentler than usual. "And remember, you can come to me anytime. For anything."

Namiko nodded, still a little dazed as she pulled down her shirt, her hands instinctively resting over the small swell of her belly. "Thank you, Ba-chan," she murmured, her fingers tracing over the faces on the pictures Tsunade handed her.

"And you," Tsunade directed at Sasuke, pointing a red-manicured finger in his face, "you're going to need to keep up your end of the bargain and take care of her."

Sasuke smirked, a glint of challenge in his eyes. "I'll keep her safe and healthy. That's a promise."

When they finally left the hospital, Namiko felt Sasuke's arm slip around her waist, pulling her close as they walked through the quiet streets of Konoha. She glanced up at him, catching the look of pride and quiet determination in his expression.

She looked back to the pictures in her hand. 'Their first pictures…this is really happening.'

Her thoughts came to a halt as she heard a familiar voice call out to her, "Namiko! Sasuke!" shouted Ino as she jogged up to them with Sakura walking behind. "I feel like I haven't seen you at all these last few weeks. Are you two just holing up together somewhere?"

Sakura lightly slapped her arm and hissed under her breath, "Ino, butt out and leave them alone!"

Ino rolled her eyes at her friend. "Chill out, forehead, I just haven't seen them in a while." Suddenly, her eyes brightened and she looked like an overexcited puppy. "Hey! My team is going to the hot springs later and Lee, Neji, and TenTen are joining us too. I was just about to ask Sakura to come, but why don't we just make it a Konoha 12 thing and all of us go? You can invite Kiba, Hinata, and Naruto, and I'll go ask Sai to join in too! It's the perfect way for all of us to relax and hang out since Pain's attack."

"Uh…" Namiko's gaze darted between Sasuke and Sakura like a scared deer. "I'm not so sure…"

"Come on! It'll be a blast!" coaxed Ino. "We can have girl talk while the boys do…whatever they do."

Sasuke wasn't about to say anything one way or another, he was waiting to follow whatever Namiko did. He was trying to find a way to say no but couldn't figure out a convincing lie to tell Ino.

Sakura figured out Namiko's hesitation and tried to reassure her. "Yeah, the hot springs have just reopened and they're safe," she emphasized with a subtle nod, hoping Namiko understood.

Namiko bit her lip nervously. "That's good that it's safe, but I'm not usually one for public bathing…I'm not confident in my body," she hinted back to Sakura.

Just as Sakura was about to respond, Ino cut her off, "Forehead, you're so weird, talking about safety…you gotta get away from the hospital more often. Anyway, you'll be fine, Namiko! No one cares that you're short, I mean, it's not like it's so deep you'll drown. You have to come!"

Namiko looked up at Sasuke hesitantly. "Okay, we'll come." Sasuke's grip tightened imperceptibly on her waist; his way of telling her that he didn't agree with her decision. She ignored it and smiled at her friends. "I'll tell Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba. What time?"

"Four o'clock," replied Ino excitedly. "See you then!"

Namiko nodded and as soon as Ino was out of sight, she facepalmed. "Sorry, Sasuke, I should've said no, but…"

"If I were you, I would have done the same. Ino is insanely pushy and she wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer no matter what." Sakura sighed heavily. "I'll help keep her occupied in the hot springs; just go slow so you don't overheat and keep covered with a towel as much as possible."

"You're sure it's safe for her?" asked Sasuke.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sasuke, I'm a medical professional; I know what's safe for her and what's not. I'd never do her or them any harm. You know that."

Sasuke gave a curt nod. "Sorry."

"Well, I guess we'll see you and everyone at four then?" asked Namiko as Sakura started to walk away.

"Yup, see you then," Sakura waved as she walked back toward the hospital.

Once Sakura was out of sight, Sasuke let out a breath, tilting his head down to look at Namiko. "Are you sure about this? You already know how Ino can be, and if she starts questioning—"

Namiko sighed, raising her hands in front of her as she looked up at him. "I know, I know, but it's good to get out a little. Besides, Sakura will help keep Ino from getting too nosy. And I'll be careful, I promise."

He glanced protectively at her stomach and then back up at her face, worry flickering in his eyes. "We just found out they're healthy. You can't blame me for wanting to keep you safe."

Namiko squeezed his hand reassuringly. "It's going to be fine, Sasuke. You can't wrap me in bubble wrap in a padded cell. And Ino's curiosity isn't a big deal. I'll be careful, and I know Sakura and Hinata have my back if anything feels off."

On their way home, they'd stopped by the Inuzuka vet clinic to invite Kiba and then headed to Naruto's apartment. Sasuke knocked and a couple of thuds were heard from inside.

Naruto answered the door, a little breathless and his hair a little messier than usual. "Oh, hey guys, uh…what's up?" He looked over his shoulder nervously and blocked the door from opening.

Namiko narrowed her eyes at her brother. "What are you hiding, nii-chan?"

Sasuke scoffed. "You mean who."

"Nii-chan…" she said warningly before poking him in his side, just under his arm, causing him to jump slightly and move out of the way to reveal Hinata sitting on the couch, fixing her disheveled hair. "…and I should've known it would be Hinata," she said with a giggle.

"Hi Namiko, Sasuke," said Hinata quietly, her cheeks quite flushed and looking more panicked than Namiko had even seen her. "We were just—"

"Nope, I don't want to hear what you and the idiot were doing," interrupted Sasuke.

Namiko shook her head amusedly. "Anyway, we came to invite you to the hot springs later today at four. Ino got the idea to have all of us hang out together, our academy class, plus Lee, Neji, TenTen, and Sai."

"…uh…hot springs?" Naruto glanced at Hinata briefly, pink rising in his cheeks.

Namiko knew exactly where his thoughts went and smacked his arm. "They're separated by gender, so you can't spy. You spent way too much time with ji-chan."

Hinata's cheeks were still rosy when she looked at Namiko. "Is a hot spring a good idea? You're showing now."

"I know, but Ino was dead set on having us join; you know how she is. And Sakura swears she's going to help keep her occupied so I can slip in without Ino seeing my stomach." Namiko reached into her pocket and pulled out the pictures from earlier. "Speaking of, would you like to see them?"

At Hinata's bright smile and nod, Namiko handed her the pictures and Naruto leaned over Hinata's shoulder to get a look. "Imouto, how do you tell anything from these? They look like TV static."

Hinata sighed, pointing to the pictures. "No, see, here's the head and you can see their little hands and feet here, there's just not a lot of detail yet because they're so small."

"Do you think you'd be able to tell if they're boys or girls with your Byakugan? Tsunade said she couldn't see anything yet," asked Namiko, trying hard to hide her excitement.

"I can try." Hinata activated her Byakugan and the room was filled with silent anticipation. Hinata let her dojutsu recede and shook her head. "They're a little too small for me to tell right now, but I'm happy to check again whenever you want me to."

Namiko hugged her friend. "I appreciate it. So we'll see you at the hot springs?"

Hinata and Naruto traded looks before Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "Yup! We'll be there!"

Everyone met outside the hot spring entrance and traded greetings before dividing into their changing rooms.

Namiko made sure to keep her body turned away from Ino and TenTen, along with being overly cautious about keeping her towel in front of her stomach. She sighed mentally. 'The hot springs are supposed to be about relaxing, but I'm just stressing myself out trying to hide my stomach. The only good thing is that, according to Sasuke, you can't tell I'm pregnant from behind.'

She quickly but thoroughly washed her body in the showering area before turning to find Ino, Sakura, and TenTen were already in the water. 'Crap…' She caught Sakura's attention, giving her a pleading look as she sat on the edge of the bath with her towel covering her front.

Sakura nodded subtly and moved a little closer to Ino. "So, pig, is there anything interesting going on with you? Maybe with a certain ink jutsu user?"

Ino crossed her arms over her chest. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Sakura smirked. "Hmm, maybe he was wrong when he told me that he kissed some blonde-haired woman at the Christmas party…"

"Some blonde-haired woman?!" snapped Ino defensively. "I'll have you know he called me Beautiful that night. What does he call you again…?"

As the two friends playfully argued, Namiko stealthily slipped into the warm water and traded looks with Hinata. 'Those two have such a unique friendship, but I'm so thankful Hinata and I aren't like that. I swear it's like they enjoy insulting one another.'

"Why do you two have to argue? Can't a girl just relax after a mission?" said TenTen as she laid her head on the edge of the bath. Suddenly, they heard one of the guys yell in the next room. "And why do the guys have to be next to us where we can hear?"

"Well, sorry," said Ino before the subject. "So, Namiko, I'm curious…how did you and Sasuke get together? You said you two had been together for months during your reveal at Christmas, so how on earth did you get together while you were stuck with Orochimaru?"

"It just kind of happened." Namiko thought back to the last few months. "I honestly couldn't stand to be near him at first because I was so angry at him for leaving Konoha and Naruto, but after a few days of being forced into each other's space, we got used to each other and became friends of sorts."

Ino looked at her curiously. "What about your first kiss with him?"

Hinata perked up. "Ino has a point there. How did it happen? You never told me."

"To be fair, you've never asked either, but I kind of unintentionally goaded him into it. I was teasing him about how people had joked that he was probably gay at the academy because he never showed interest in girls and it only amplified that rumor after he and Naruto accidentally kissed," she paused as she laughed.

"When he kept arguing with me that he wasn't gay, I just teased him further and then he said he could prove it to me that he wasn't gay. I told him I didn't think he could and he blocked me in against the wall and…kissed me." Namiko fanned her reddening face with her hand. "It was full of fire and passion. Everything I ever thought kissing him would be and more."

"Sasuke, cover up! No one wants to see your dick!" snapped Naruto, but Sasuke just rolled his eyes and got into the hot springs.

Sai tilted his head as he looked between the two before asking, "Is it because he's bigger than you?"

Naruto's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "What?! No! I just don't need the reminder that he's screwed my sister!"

At that comment, both Shikamaru and Neji looked at Sasuke, who looked quite pleased he'd struck a nerve without saying a word.

Sai closed his eyes as if he understood. "Oh, then it's because he has had sex and you're still a virgin?"

Neji turned to glare at Naruto, muttering, "You better be a virgin…"

Kiba got in the hot spring as well. "Don't worry, Neji, he is."

"How the hell would you know?!" shouted Naruto, though quickly calmed when he saw Neji's glare.

"The nose knows," said Kiba, tapping the side of his nose. "Hana says it has something to do with the way your body chemistry changes afterwards or whatever."

Sai looked intrigued by this information. "So you know who in this room has had sexual relations and who has not?"

Kiba shrugged casually, leaning back in the steamy water. "Yeah, more or less. It's not like I go around sniffing for it or anything, it's just part of someone's natural scent."

At that, Shikamaru coughed, Chouji sunk deeper into the water, and Neji had the faintest smirk on his normally stoic face.

"There is nothing wrong with celebrating one's virginity! It just means you spent more time training!" declared Lee proudly.

Naruto shot Kiba a horrified look. "So...you can tell every time someone...you know…does it?"

"Why do I have to explain this?" Kiba groaned. "I only know details of who with who if it happened within the last day or two of me seeing someone. But I can also just tell when someone has had close contact, like you with Hinata…I'm going to guess this morning?"

At the mention of Hinata, Naruto's face turned crimson, and he spluttered, holding up his hands in surrender, "We were just kissing, I swear!"

Neji stood threateningly over Naruto. "That better be all you ever do until you marry her," he warned in a low voice, "Hinata is a Hyuuga. You'll treat her with respect or I will turn off some very important chakra points. Permanently."

Naruto gulped and nodded furiously. "Y-yeah, of course, Neji! I wouldn't dream of it…"

Sai, still examining each reaction like he was studying a rare species, finally leaned back, satisfied. "Relationships are...very complicated. It seems the more you care about someone, the more awkward everything becomes."

Shikamaru let out a sigh, muttering, "Relationships are a drag. Why do you think I stick to shogi?"

"Speaking of rumors," said Ino and she moved closer to Namiko, but still not close enough to see anything beneath the dark water. "Is it true you're living with Sasuke at the old Uchiha compound instead of with your brother?"

Namiko's face went red in a split second. "Well, I—uh…kind of…I—" She sighed. There was no point in hiding that; it was clear she was no longer living with Naruto. "…yes. Sasuke and I are living together."

That got TenTen's attention. "What?! You're living with him?"

"Ooo, give us all the juicy details! Do you two do a lot of late-night training?" asked Ino, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Ino! Leave her alone, it's not your business," said Sakura, trying to divert the conversation.

Ino raised a perfect blonde eyebrow to glare at her friend. "Why are you not curious about this? This is the juiciest gossip I've heard in ages! I mean, why would you be living together if you aren't sleeping together?"

Namiko's face grew even redder, and she wished the warm water could somehow swallow her whole. "Well…" Namiko began, feeling the eyes of her friends on her. "It's not like we planned on moving in together, but…it just made sense."

"Make sense?" said Ino. "You moving in with him doesn't make sense unless there's something more going on. First, you hide your relationship for months including while living under the same roof as your brother, next, you're moving in together the second you get an opportunity. You're acting like you're married already!" She paused. "Wait, are you married?"

Namiko almost choked on her breath. "What? No! I mean…we're not even thinking about that right now." She looked down, swirling her fingers in the water to avoid meeting everyone's eyes. "Besides, Sasuke's… not exactly traditional when it comes to that stuff."

Sakura gave Namiko a knowing look. "Ino, stop teasing her. Living together doesn't mean they're automatically planning a wedding." She then gave Namiko a reassuring smile, which Namiko returned, grateful for the escape.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Whatever, though I still say there's something fishy going on because Godaime wouldn't let them do it unless it was a good reason…"

Realization hit Ino like a ton of bricks. "Oh my…"

Hinata and Sakura traded looks of hidden panic, and TenTen furrowed her brow in confusion. "What?" she asked, looking at the blonde.

Ino's jaw went slack. "Namiko is pregnant!" she yelled, her voice reverberating off the walls.

Namiko froze. Tsunade warned them to keep her pregnancy quiet and only tell their teammates. It was bad enough now that Ino and TenTen knew, but when she realized they could no longer hear the guys talking in the bath next door, she knew their secret was fully out. "…well, crap."

Shikamaru groaned. "Why can't Ino ever keep quiet?"

Lee looked curiously at Sasuke for confirmation. "Is it true she is bearing your child?"

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Yeah, she's three and a half months pregnant with twins."

"I thought Baa-chan said to keep this quiet?" Naruto hissed quietly to Sasuke.

"It's not like it wasn't going to get out eventually, she's already showing and no one in here is stupid enough to miss it except you," retired Sasuke.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "That was different! Hiding a relationship is different than hiding a baby!"

Sasuke just shrugged. "Just saying, people were bound to find out sooner or later. Especially considering how Ino's always trying to dig up gossip."

"Yeah, but we could've at least tried to keep it under wraps a little longer," Naruto muttered, folding his arms and glancing around at the others. "Baa-chan is gonna be pissed…"

Chouji spoke up, "Twins, huh? It sounds like the Uchiha clan is about to make a real comeback. Maybe we should all go out for barbeque to celebrate." Shikamaru just shot Chouji a look and shook his head.

Neji crossed his arms, eyeing Sasuke with a mixture of reservation and respect. "That's quite a large responsibility. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Sasuke met Neji's gaze evenly. "I don't need reminding of how serious this is," he replied, his voice low but calm. There was the unspoken understanding that Sasuke would go to any length to protect Namiko. "There's a lot going on behind the scenes. This has to remain quiet until Tsunade says otherwise."

"It's not just the fact that she's pregnant that makes this serious. She's a host to the kyuubi and carrying kids that could have a valuable dojutsu later in life. We'll all keep this quiet," assured Shikamaru. "Look, I know you got used to doing everything yourself, but you're back in Konoha now and we protect our own."

Ino moved closer to Namiko. "I knew it! How far along are you? Is it a boy or a girl? When did you find out? Was the sex good? Nevermind, it had to be good if you're pregnant—"

"Ino, leave her alone!" snapped Hinata.

Hinata's unusually sharp tone made Ino suddenly feel guilty. "Sorry, this is just really big news."

"It's okay. It's a lot to process, but I don't mind answering questions." Namiko sent Hinata a thankful look before turning to Ino. "I'm almost fifteen weeks with twins but we don't know what they are just yet. I found out just after New Year's. And…" Namiko blushed again, fanning herself with her hand. "All I'll say about the last question: he's good. Very good."

Ino's eyes sparkled with curiosity, but before she could ask anything else, Sakura intervened, giving her an elbow to the ribs. "Ino, she's already answered enough. You don't need to grill her about every little thing."

Ino huffed but didn't push further, settling back in the water. "Fine, fine, I'll stop… for now," she said, flashing Namiko a mischievous grin. "But I expect more details later!"

Namiko chuckled quietly before reaching for her towel behind her and wrapping it around herself as she got out. "You can try, but that's all you're getting out of me."

She turned back around and Ino gave a little squeal of excitement. "Oh! You have a cute little bump already!"

Namiko rested one hand on her stomach. "I feel huge already, and I know it's only going to get worse."

"Stop! You're just glowing!" Ino rested her chin in her hands on the edge of the bath, sighing dreamily. "I can't believe you're going to be a mom, Namiko. And to twins, no less!"

"Yeah," TenTen added, giving her an impressed look. "And you're so calm about it! If I found out I was going to be a mom right now, I'd be freaking out. Like, beyond freaking out."

Namiko laughed, feeling a bit more at ease. "Oh, don't worry. I've had my freak-out moments, just ask Hinata and Sakura. Still do sometimes. I take it one day at a time. But if I can handle Naruto, I think I can handle twins."

Sakura shook her head and chuckled. "As his teammate, I agree. If you can handle him, you could probably handle six kids at one time."

The girls all got out of the bath and redressed, sitting around in their clothes. Before they left, Namiko stopped at the door and looked at her friends. "Tsunade said to keep this on a need-to-know basis. So, please don't tell anyone else." Both TenTen and Ino nodded in agreement.

Sakura patted Namiko's shoulder. "No one will say a word. Though now everyone does know, that just means you have even more people to support you both," she said with a kind smile.

Ino grinned, some of her usual nosiness softened by genuine excitement. "You know, I'll make sure they're the cutest Uchiha babies this village has ever seen. I know all the best baby shops."

Namiko laughed, feeling a rush of gratitude for her friends. Maybe the secret had slipped out sooner than they'd planned, but she knew they wouldn't have to go through this alone. Now all she could do was hope Tsunade wouldn't be too pissed.

A/N: And the secret is out among the Konoha 12 and now to make sure it stays a secret from everyone else. How much longer do you think that'll last? And who wants to guess the twins' genders? I already have it planned and picked out their names, but I'd love to see your predictions.
Thank you all for your wonderful comments/reviews! It really means a lot to me to have your support! See you next weekend!
Love, Eriisu

PS: Comments are my tip jar!