Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Kishimoto Masashi. This story is written without permission, for fan purposes only. Do not reproduce without permission.
Apology: I have never attended a Japanese Tea Ceremony. All the information I have used was gleaned from the Internet. If my interpretation has offended anyone I apologize.
The Uzumakis
The sun rose slowly over the eastern side of the mountain, its rays barely cresting the top signaling a new winter day. As the sun raised higher in the sky the mountain's shadow pulled back revealing the Hidden Village of the Leaf, Konohagakure. The village had a large tower which dominated the center and it in turn was surrounded by smaller buildings which radiated outward in a circle. As the circle spread further out the smaller building seemed to be surrounded by small homes and then larger homes. These homes, surrounded by land in gated areas, were the clan estates. If one were to look further pass the estates they would see the 30 foot wall that encircled the village and then merge with the mountain at each end. This wall had three openings appropriately called The North, The South and The West Gates. Looking even further one would see a giant forest spanning hundreds of square miles with very few roads passing through it and thus giving the village it name.
A number of the clan estates within the Konoha had many buildings on them which occupied most of the land but on one particular estate the land was occupied by a single home. Now this is not to say that this house was a one room shack but compared to the other houses on the other estates this one was modest. The house was surrounded on one side with the forest of the area and had a small stream that ran behind the house, which fed a pond garden across the courtyard from the main room and a large pond to the south of the courtyard. The large pond had islets and bridges combined with mountain shapes, trees, and rocks to create a feeling of being in the open instead of a forest. The main part of the house faced south onto the open courtyard which allowed the winter sun to warm the place. It hardly ever got cold enough to snow in Hidden Village but a chilling wind could make it seem that way. Two secondary sections of the house were built to the right of the main section, where the main family slept, and to the left of the main section, where guests would sleep, and were orientated to give the home a U-shape. The main and the secondary sections were connected by two corridors, with a central opening at the half way points of each corridor which led to the south courtyard, where entertaining could be done. The main section consisted of a large open room which one could partition off with portable screens and a kitchen. There were a few areas outside, further to the south and cleared of trees, which looked like they had been used for training.
In the kitchen of the home a young woman with blue-black hair was preparing the morning meal which consisted of miso soup with ramen, grilled fish, rolled omelets, pickled cucumbers and rice. She had risen early and allowed her husband to sleep late because this was the first day off he's had in a while. As she was going about her duties she felt someone enter the room behind her. The next thing she felt was two strong arms gently encircle her waist and warm lips pressed against her neck.
“Good morning, Hinata-chan” she heard a strong voice say to her.
Leaning her head into the kiss she replied “Morning, Naruto-kun”.
Even though they have been married for more than seven years she always added the `-kun' suffix out of habit unless she was angry with him for some reason. As he released her and went to sit down at the table she asked him, “Are the children up yet?”
Naruto stated “I'm not sure but I didn't hear any noises when I passed their room”
Hinata said “Naruto-kun, please go make sure they are up and ready. We have a lot to do today and you don't get days off very often”.
Naruto smiled and said “Okay” and then put his hands together in a familiar sign and said “Kage Bushin no Jutsu”.
An exact duplicate of Naruto appeared behind him and Naruto told the clone to go wake the kids.
As the clone was leaving the kitchen Hinata said “Oh and Naruto make sure Kiyoshi brushes his teeth”.
One thing Naruto noticed about Hinata was that she never called his clones `Naruto-kun' and what amazed him even more was that she could actually tell the difference between him and his clones even if they were close together.
He smiled and said for the millionth time “How can you always tell the difference between me and my clones?”
And for the millionth time Hinata answered “A wife just knows”.
Hinata always smiles when thinking about how this ability came about. After they had started dating and had been hanging around each other more often, Hinata began to notice something unusual about Naruto. Now all ninja, with the exception of a few, had chakra and used chakra for their ninjutsu, genjutsu and sometimes taijutsu. Because of this all ninjas have a `chakra field' which surrounds them. Also because of this `chakra field', experienced ninjas can sense when another ninja is in the area and if the other ninja's chakra field is strong enough then the experienced ninja can actually identify the other ninja. Now if the other ninja doesn't want to be recognized then he/she will suppress his/her chakra field and blend in with the normal civilians.
Well one thing Hinata noticed about Naruto was that his chakra field was “comforting” when it touched her field. At first she couldn't understand why and then she noticed that Naruto's chakra field `pulsed' like there was a rhythm to it. Now she didn't know why, maybe it was the `fox's chakra' or maybe it was the way Naruto's chakra reacted against the `fox's chakra. She really didn't understand why but she did notice that the chakra field of his clones didn't vibrate the same. The clones' chakra field vibrated at a steady state almost like the drone of a swarm of bees. She giggled, thinking of how Shino would probably object to the analogy but that is what it seemed like to her. When she was close to Naruto and his clones she could tell which one was the real Naruto. Now if Naruto was suppressing his chakra or in the mist of a battle aided by a bunch of his clones she couldn't tell one from another. But if she was within 3 feet and he wasn't suppressing his chakra she could definitely tell and even at a further distance if they were alone. And this little secret was never going to escape her lips.
As Hinata was placing the food on the table the clone returned with a giggling squirming bundle under each arm. When he set the two children down at the table he dismissed himself and the family started breakfast. Hinata smiled looking over her family. She had the man she once admired and then truly loved sitting across from her and two lovely children sitting on her left and right. The oldest was five year-old Mine who sat to the right and looked like a little Hinata with her blue-black hair and paled eyes. But whereas Hinata's eyes had a tinge of lavender, Mine eyes had a tinge of blue. And she didn't have `true' Hyuuga hair as Mine's hair was as wild as her fathers. The hair simply would not fall flat. There were always small tufts sticking out every few inches.
Two year-old Kiyoshi looked like a Hyuuga except that he also had paled eyes with a blue tint. And both children had their father's trademark birthmark courtesy of his `tenant', the whisker marks on their cheeks. In the beginning this bothered Naruto because he felt that if the Mine had his whiskers `birthmark' then maybe the Kyuubi had somehow infected her. However a thorough examination by Tsunade showed no signs of the fox in Mine and later Kiyoshi. When Naruto asked about the whiskers Tsunade said it was obviously a sign that Naruto's DNA was altered by the Kyuubi chakra as that would explain the physical changes in his body when using it. But Tsunade reassured Hinata and him that other than chakra coils larger than a normal child would have at that age she could find no trace of the fox in them.
Now usually tradition states that picking out a child's name was done after the child's birth and some kind of characteristic could be associated with the child. However as soon as Naruto saw his first child's eyes he knew that her name was Mine. When Hinata asked why he said he could tell she would be a “fierce protector” of what she loved. At first Hinata just accepted that but as Mine grew she found Naruto's instincts to be correct. Mine didn't really mine sharing her things but if she felt that she was not being treated the same way with her own toys then she displayed a fierce temper. Her cousins had learned early that if they were going to annoy her they had better be ready for a fight.
Hinata was the one who named Kiyoshi. He was as his name meant: quiet. That is not to say that when he was hungry he didn't cry loudly. It was just that after his needs were satisfied he didn't make much noise. Sometimes she would check on him to see if he were asleep and he would just be laying in his crib looking at everything he could see. Even though Mine usually did the talking when the kids asked something of their parents, if Mine forgot something Kiyoshi felt was important Kiyoshi always made sure to speak up about it.
As the kids were talking to their father about what they were going to do today, Hinata's thought were about her family and her life. Their house was on the estates Naruto inherited from his father the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Though he accepted his heritage and his father's name Naruto was just used to being called Uzumaki. And since it was his mother's surname he felt he owed it to her to keep the name alive so he changed his name to Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto. Even though he preferred Uzumaki he would easily answer to either name.
With the estate being so large one would expect a large house and compound but Naruto wasn't comfortable around opulence. And truth be known neither was Hinata. Even though Hinata was raised in the Hyuuga clan, a clan known for it wealth and prestige, Hinata always felt out of place there. She never felt comfortable with servants waiting on her every beck and call. She would try to do most things on her own but there was always someone who would tell her it was not proper for her to be doing this or that and they would take care of it for her. That was why when Naruto asked her to marry him and he warned her that she wouldn't be living the life she had at the compound, it made her doubly happy.
Hinata actually enjoyed taking care of her family and home. She wasn't allowed to cook much at the Hyuuga compound as she would have liked. Here she could cook whatever she and her family liked. She could even experiment with different dishes so that Naruto would have something different to eat than just ramen. A few of the experiments were a disaster, like the Yoba incident, but the majority of the recipes turned out pretty good. She would do most of the gardening herself as it would be relaxing and she could keep an eye on the children at the same time. Being the wife of the Hokage did not allow her to go on missions outside Konoha anymore however her Hyuuga upbringing was indispensable for diplomatic gatherings as either guest or hostess. Naruto's clones came in very handy when planning a party and Hinata did not feel guilty about commanding them to do certain chores as she would a real person.
Hinata was always amazed at how many Kage Bushins Naruto produced on a whim. The Kage Bushin technique always divided the user's chakra evenly among the user and the number of clones created. And even though the left over chakra the clone didn't use and the memories went back to the user at the dismissal of the clone, it still seemed as if Naruto still had more than he needed. Now that could probably be attributed to his tenant but it can also be said that Naruto chakra grew as a protection from its constant interaction with the fox's chakra. The kids saying that they were finished brought Hinata back from her thoughts.
“Okay, put away your dishes” she said “and let's get going because we have some shopping to do and we have to pick up your father's new formal kimono for the party tonight”.
That statement got a groan from Naruto; tonight was Hyuuga Hiashi birthday party. Now Naruto had to admit that some of the Hyuuga were alright, Neji, Hanabi, Ko and a number of the branch members. Man, he'd even admit that Hyuuga Hiashi wasn't so bad as long as it didn't involved clan business, but their formal gatherings were BORING!! Their gatherings were always steeped in Hyuuga traditions and rituals. Even though he kept his promise to Neji about the changing the Hyuuga, that was one aspect he had no control over.
Now Hinata looked at him pointedly and he just smiled and rose.
“Now Naruto-kun, I don't ask you to go to many of the Hyuuga functions and a lot of times your job gives you a built-in excuse” she said, “but this is my father's birthday”.
“I know, Hinata, and that is why I cleared my schedule for today. Me and ten bushins worked late getting all the reports ready and signed. I made sure the mission rosters were finished and given to Moegi for today. The group of local daimyos doesn't arrive until tomorrow. I even let Shikamaru, Sakura and Sasuke know that unless the Akatuski rose from the dead that I was not to be disturbed” Naruto replied.
“But do I have to wear that hakama?” he pleaded.
Hinata knew Naruto hated to get dressed up. He would usually avoid the problem by wearing his Hokage robes under which he wore his normal orange jumpsuit. But this time it was different, there wouldn't be political overtones, no jockeying for the Hokage's favors, just a family celebration.
So Hinata put on hers warmest smile and walked towards Naruto and said, “But Naruto-kun, you look so good in your new kimono and hakama and if you wear it tonight I promise we will have fun taking it off later”.
When Naruto heard this his eyes went wide. “Really?” he said softly.
Hinata just looked adoringly into his eyes and nodded.
At this point Naruto was whipped and he just smiled and said “Sure!”
As the family left the house and headed for the gates to the estates Mine and Kiyoshi ran in front in a crisscross pattern with their arms extended imitating butterflies. Once everyone reached the gate Naruto made a few hand signs releasing the protective seal around the gate and opened it for everyone. He then left a couple of Kage Bushins as guards while he resealed the gate and turned towards the center of the village.
As always Mine and Kiyoshi wanted to ride piggyback into the village so Naruto made two clones. The clones bent down to the children's level and Mine and Kiyoshi got on without a word. Now this was not always the case. When Kiyoshi was little he would ride in an onbuhimo on Hinata's back and Mine would ride on Naruto's back. When Kiyoshi got to be too big for the onbuhimo both kids wanted to ride `daddy's' back. At first Naruto made one clone and told the children to hop on. But both insisted that they only wanted to ride on daddy's back. So then he told the kids if they could pick out daddy from the clone that child would ride daddy's back.
Well at first Mine would pick out one and the Kiyoshi would say he wanted the same one and if Kiyoshi picked first then Mine wanted the same one. So Naruto made twenty clones and looking at Kiyoshi and Mine all twenty said “If either one can pick out the real daddy then you can ride daddy's back.”
Well Mine and Kiyoshi took turns touching `daddies' and each puffed away into a cloud of smoke. If one actually picked correctly Naruto would kawarimi with another clone before dismissing the clone. Hinata's trained eyes would see the delay of the second puff but the children were too young to notice. If it got down to one daddy left then nobody got a ride. After `losing' two times at this test Mine decided the ride was more important and just accepted any `daddy's back'. Kiyoshi decided to try once more and failed so he had to walk while Mine rode. After about 100 yards he also decided he would rather ride. So as `Naruto-kun' walked with Hinata, Mine and Kiyoshi rode Narutos' backs into the center of the village.
On the way into town the Uzumakis would pass villagers along the way and wave. The villagers would smile back and warmly greet their Hokage and his family. After the incident with Pein, Madara and the rest of the Akatsuki most villagers felt they were wrong about Naruto and had felt guilty about the way they had treated him while he was growing up. Oh, there were a few who still blamed him for everything under the sun but that group was small and becoming smaller every day. As they came closer to the business direct the full front of the Hokage Mountain was visible with all six faces showing. Hinata would smile every time when she saw his face adorned there as he had finally achieved his dream. Mine always said it didn't look like her daddy.
Their first stop was the Akimichi Spices and Herb Shoppe. Here Hinata could find all the cooking spices she needed and any additional ingredients necessary for her own herbal potions. The herbs used in most medical ninjutsu were usually grown on the hospital grounds under close scrutiny by Sakura and her team but normal everyday potion and teas could be purchased from the Akimichis. As they entered a young blonde woman was waiting on a customer at the counter.
Hinata heard a voice say “Welcome, I will be with you in a minute”.
Hinata replied “That’s fine, no hurry”.
Upon hearing that voice Ino looked up and saw who had entered. She quickly finished with her customer and then headed straight for Naruto and Hinata. The customer, seeing who had entered, smiled and greeted the Namikaze family before leaving.
Ino said, “Well, nice seeing you, Mine-chan, Kiyoshi-kun, Hinata and `Hokage-sama'”.
Naruto just rolled his eyes and said “Ino, I told you, you don't have to call me that when it just us present”.
Ino grinned and replied, “I know, but how else can I annoy you and not get in trouble for disrespecting you. Now what is it I can get for you?”
Hinata answered, “Oh, just a few things today; sugar, salt, some shouga and some wasabi”.
Although the Akimichis didn't carry a large quantity of sugar or salt as other stores did in the main marketplace, they did keep some around in case of an emergency midnight errand. Ino grabbed one box each of sugar and salt and then went behind the counter to get the rest. As Hinata and Naruto came to the counter Mine noticed the pocky sticks and poked Kiyoshi to get his attention. Now both of them couldn't care less about anything else that was happening around them. While Ino was gathering the spices Hinata asked how Chouji was doing. Naruto had told Hinata that on Chouji's last mission he had broken his leg. Ino replied that he was fine and that after Sakura had personally healed him Sakura told Chouji to stay off his feet for a few days. Since the Akimichi clan weighs a lot as a part of their family jutsu, the extra stress on the bones after healing was not a good idea so he still needed crutches for a few days.
While Ino was totaling up the purchases she noticed two pair of eyes glued to her counter. As she traced their line of sight she saw what was of interest to both kids.
So Ino slyly stated, “I just remembered, I have a new shipment of pocky sticks and I was wandering if I could get someone to taste them to make sure the factory didn't mess up this order like they did the last”.
Four small eyes immediately got big and two grown slightly lavender eyes narrowed as they all looked at Ino.
Ino just grinned, shrugged and said, “Just advertising. If the Hokage's children like it then everyone else's child will buy it”.
Hinata just sighed and said, “Only one package and you have to share”.
Both children just nodded their heads vigorously and kept grinning. After that the Uzumaki family left with the Kage Bushins carrying the packages
Next on the list was the tailor shop. Now if Naruto found it boring there Hinata knew the children would be just as bored. So she told the clones to take the kids to the park to play and that she and Naruto-kun would join them afterwards. After they entered the little shop they were greeted by the owner and seamstress Mori Keiko.
Keiko came forward and bowed saying, “Welcome Hokage-sama and Hinata-sama, I am honored to have you bless my store with your visit”.
Both Naruto and Hinata bowed with Hinata saying, “We are honored that you were able to help us with your talents, Kieko-san”.
Mori Keiko had been doing seamstress work for the Hyuugas for a long time. Now the Hyuugas had in-house seamstress to do daily work and mending but if they wanted an elegant original design done then they would commissioned Keiko to do it.
Knowing Naruto, Hinata had explained to Keiko a week ago that the design had to be simple and if she could, please find a way to incorporate a little orange into the design. At first Keiko raised an eyebrow at the request but she said that she would do her best. And now was the moment of truth. Keiko left to go into the back of the store to get the garment while Hinata looked hopefully and Naruto groaned again knowing he was going to hate it. But Naruto knew that if it made Hinata happy he would wear it and also there was the little promise of afterward. Keiko brought out a covered mannequin on wheels and rolled it next to the couple. Then Keiko pulled off the cover and Hinata's eyes changed to one of relief while Naruto actually smiled.
There rested a black, crested kimono with the haori coat and the long pleated grey with black pin-striped hakama. The haori, which has a single Uzumaki crest on the back mid seam, matched the color of the kimono. However the color of the haori's cords matched the color of the kimono's and haori's trim and the single crest. And that color was ORANGE. Even the folding fan that completed the ensemble and is held in the hand or inserted in the hakama was orange. The accompanying tabi socks were white and the zori had a design of white with black stripes.
Hinata was relieved, it had the necessary formal design to please most of her family and yet it was uniquely Naruto. When she turned and saw that Naruto was smiling she was doubly happy. Hinata thanked Keiko-san profusely and paid her twice the price in gratitude. As they were leaving the shop Hinata noticed Naruto looking pensive and then he made a clone and sent it on an errand. When Hinata asked what that was all about Naruto just smiled and said he would show her later. Hinata wasn't sure if she should be worried or not but decided she would just trust him.
Now Naruto and Hinata headed towards Konoha's park to get the children as it was noon and time for lunch. As they neared the park Hinata and Naruto saw the clones playing ninja with the children. The children were the `brave ninjas' defending their `clients' which were two small toy foxes and the clones were the `missing nins' trying defeat them. Mine was doing her best to do hands signs as she had seen her mother do and calling out Hyuuga ninjutsu. At the same time Kiyoshi had a small stick that he was using as a katana to slash and stab the `bad' ninjas. The clones, of course, were being repelled by these `S-Class' attacks but they kept coming back. It was at this time that Hinata would always get a little sad because after playtime was over she would only get to know how much fun they had through the children's narration. When Naruto would dismiss his clones he would get all the memories first hand. Now Hinata could make Kage Bushins also and she often did while inside the Uzumaki estates but outside the estates they always used Naruto's clones. Being Hokage, Naruto had a lot of enemies outside the Konoha walls. Not only that but he had accumulated a number of enemies while he was just a regular shin obi, not to mention the enemies of his father and Hinata's father. Hinata had accepted the fact that two Naruto clones, each with one third of his chakra, was infinitely better than two Hinata clones with one third of her chakra reserves. And besides, Naruto could recharge his missing chakra faster than anyone in the village and possibly the world.
When Mine noticed her parents, she called to Kiyoshi and then picked up the `clients' and ran towards them with Kiyoshi not too far behind. After Naruto and Hinata kissed both kids and Hinata gave the clones the new package everyone walked to Ichiraku for lunch. Though Naruto was always happy to go to Ichiraku for any meal, Hinata tried to limit her visits to social meeting with the owner Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. As they walked Hinata asked Mine where she got the toy foxes. Mine told her that when they decided to play ninja she and Kiyoshi wanted to have a client to protect. When they couldn't find something in the park one of the fake daddies disappeared for a few seconds and returned with the foxes.
Hinata looked at the clones asked, “Which toy store?”
The clone on the right grinned, shrugged and said, “Tsubaki”.
Hinata made a mental note to go by Tsubaki and settle the bill.
As the Uzumakis arrived at Ichiraku they found that the noon time crowd had not arrived yet so the `stand' was somewhat empty. They word `stand' was not really accurate because after the attack by Pein the owner, Teuchi, was able to rebuild an even larger restaurant after the site was restore and some of his business neighbors decided not to rebuild. Ayame was the main cook now with some teenagers helping with the serving. Teuchi would just hang around and only cook when special customers came to eat. When Naruto came to eat with his family in tow Teuchi was more than happy get off the chair and man the stoves again.
“Welcome Hokage-sama, Hinata-sama, Mine-chan and Kiyoshi-kun” Teuchi said in greeting.
Again Naruto rolled his eyes and said, “Please, you know you don't have to call me that”.
Teuchi just smiled and said, “When you first came here, when you were little, you were Naruto-kun. When you returned from your trip with Jiraiya-sama looking all like a true shin obi, you were Naruto. When you defeated Pein and help protect the people from his power, you became Naruto-san. Now that you are Hokage, you are Hokage-sama. Don't begrudge your people the right to honor you”.
All Naruto could do was smile and shake his head while accepting his fate.
“Now Hokage-sama what would you and your lovely family like to have for lunch?” Teuchi asked while smiling.
Naruto ordered the pork and shrimp ramen while Hinata ordered the miso ramen. Hinata then ordered two small bowls of pork ramen for Mine and Kiyoshi. Teuchi went into the kitchen to cook and Ayame came out to talk to Naruto and Hinata. Now Naruto usually didn't have time to come to Ichiraku himself so he would usually have Moegi order some takeout to be delivered to the Tower. So having him sit down with his family was sight the teenage servers were not accustomed to seeing. Ayame had to tell them to get back to work three times before it finally registered and they started moving.
Hinata smiled and asked Ayame how her husband Kenichi was doing. Ayame said that he was fine and that he loved his work at the Hokage tower even though he has to work late two nights a week. She said the last part as she looked directly at Naruto. Naruto just smiled and shrugged but wisely kept his mouth shut as he had learned early enough to not comment when women started talking amongst themselves. He decided to keep an eye on the kids while the women caught up on current events otherwise known as gossip. Mine and Kiyoshi seemed to be satisfied with playing with their small foxes so Naruto just thought about old times eating here with Iruka. Suddenly he stiffened as the memories of the clone he had sent on the errand earlier had arrived. He smiled knowing the mission was successful.
Teuchi finally arrived with their meals and after breaking apart their wooden chopsticks everyone started to eat. Mine was well adept with using her chopsticks but Kiyoshi was still a little unsteady but he insisted he could do it by himself. As long as the meal was solid he did pretty well but when any kind of broth was involved then napkins were a must. After the meal was done and apologies were made for the mess, the Uzumaki family left the restaurant to join the clones waiting outside and finish their chores.
Their final stop before heading home was the Konoha Hospital. It was time for the children's annual checkup and it was a chance for Hinata to talk to Sakura about some of her own medicinal salves. Officially Tsunade was still head of the Konoha Hospital but for all intent and purposes Sakura was running the place. Tsunade would still come in as consultant or if there was a shortage of surgeons but she deferred everything else to Sakura and spent most of her work time researching new techniques and her play time gambling. As they were entering the hospital they were in luck as Sakura was standing at the reception desk looking over some forms. She smiled and turned when she heard two high pitched voices screaming “Auntie Sakura”. She knelt down and picked up both children giving them both a kiss and a hug and getting two in return.
She smiled and said, “Hi Hinata, Hi Naruto, what brings you here today? Naruto said that he didn't want to be bothered unless the Akatsuki were back”.
Hinata giggled and said, “It time for the children's checkup. Don't you remember I made the appointment last month?”
Sakura slapped her forehead lightly and said, “Arrgh, I'm sorry Hinata. We had a water leak in the records room and I have been trying to organize the preservation of some of the older documents. Though a lot of documents can be saved with a simple fire jutsu, we have to be careful of older documents not becoming illegible in the process. Anyway, come on, I am sure I can find an empty examination room for my favorite niece and nephew”.
Naruto was going to follow the women into the examination room until he heard Sakura saying that she and Hinata had a lot to catch up on. Naruto immediately made a u-turn and started to go the other way. Hinata noticed Naruto turning and asked where he was going.
Naruto was going to make up some excuse when Sakura said, “Ah, let him go. He doesn't need to hear girl-talk. Besides if he goes into the cafeteria he may find Sasuke still there”.
Naruto didn't need any more encouragement; he waved and took off in the direction of the cafeteria.
Naruto found Sasuke sitting in the cafeteria drinking what looked like tea and reading some papers. When Naruto sat down at the table Sasuke, without even looking up, said, “Hey Dobe, what brings you here? I thought it was your day off?”
Now Sasuke had a lot of respect for Naruto and he would never used the word `dobe' in front of anyone else but their friends. And he would threaten anyone other than the Rookie Nine plus Team Gai if they ever called Naruto `dobe'. But when they were alone, Naruto was `dobe' and Sasuke was `teme'. That the way it was and that is the way it would always be.
Naruto answered, “This IS my day off, Teme. Hinata and I brought the kids in for their annual checkup.” “As soon as Sakura said something about `catching up' with Hinata, I thought I had better make myself scarce”.
Sasuke smirked when he heard that because he understood the situation all too well.
Now it was Naruto's turn to ask, “Hey, whatcha reading?”
“Just some police reports about last nights patrols” Sasuke answered.
After the Akatsuki incident Sasuke had decided he wanted to stay in Konoha. It was only through judicious pleading from Naruto and Sakura that he was not executed. Since Naruto had saved the Village and made a personal promise to watch over Sasuke, Sasuke was only given five years hard labor with his chakra sealed until such time as the Hokage deemed safe. After his sentence was over Sasuke was confined to Konoha and could only leave under a special order from the Hokage. Well by that time Naruto was Hokage and that wasn't a real restriction. However when Sasuke was released he went straight to Naruto's office and requested that he be placed in charge of the Konoha Police Department.
Ever since the Uchiha massacre, the Konoha Police Force was headed by a civilian and there weren't any ninjas within its walls. Sasuke heard that the present chief was retiring and Sasuke felt that if he was ever to redeem his family's name this would be the way to do it. Now even though stories about a possible coup, led by the Uchiha, were covered up not many people were happy with the way the Uchichas ran the police force in the past. There had been some unsubstantiated rumors about forced confession using the clan's doujutsu on possibly innocent people. In any case the new Village Council wasn't too happy about Uchiha Sasuke being given such power again. It was only through Naruto and Sakura personal vow to watch over Sasuke that permission was granted. However there was a condition; the police force now and in the future would comprise of no more than half its member being of the Uchiha clan. And secondly the Village council would investigate any complaints by civilians of any alleged wrong doings. Sasuke accepted the terms since he was the only Uchiha at the moment and became the Head of the Police Force.
“Anything in those reports I should know about?” Naruto asked.
Sasuke looked at him and said, “Probably, but not until tomorrow after your day off”.
Naruto just smiled and muttered `teme' under his breath. A second later he could have sworn he heard Sasuke mutter `dobe' under his breath.
A half an hour later Naruto decided he should check up on Hinata and the kids. As he approached the hallway to the examination room both Mine and Kiyoshi ran up to him and hugged him. Naruto saw Hinata still talking with Sakura when he could swear Hinata looked at him real quickly and then looked back at Sakura. After they were finished talking Sakura waved goodbye to Naruto and went in the opposite direction and Hinata came towards Naruto. Naruto asked Hinata if there were any problems and she answered no; that Sakura said the kids were just fine and Hinata looked at little flushed and shouldn't let the children wear her out.
The walk back to the Uzumaki estates was rather uneventful. Naruto made one extra clone to carry their packages while Mine and Kiyoshi rode the backs of the other two. When they got to the estates this time Hinata made the hand signs to unseal the gate and Naruto opened it to let everyone in. After entering one of the two clones Naruto left to patrol the inside appeared and reported that nothing happened while they were gone. Naruto then dismissed the two patrolling clones and after resealing the gate had the other three clones follow them into the house. Once they were inside and the children and packages were set down Naruto dismissed the rest of his clones. He chuckled for a second when the memories of the park returned to him and he told Hinata that the clerk at Tsubaki was so nervous and in awe when `he' came in to get the foxes that he could barely speak. It was at that point that Hinata made two clones and took the kids for their bath and to get ready for the party. She then walked up to Naruto, kissed him lightly on the lips and said it was time to put on his kimono.
After Hinata and Naruto had taken their baths, separately for Hinata told Naruto they didn't have time and he wasn't getting his present until after the party, she put on a simple light purple kimono. The kimono had the design of a meadow with a pond in the middle and two white swans swimming in the water on the front. Her obi was a darker purple with a design of two swans flying at night past the moon. As she was putting her hair up and attaching two purple hair pins with garnets hanging down, Naruto entered wearing his kimono saying he was ready to go. Hinata thought Naruto looked handsome in his formal kimono but something was off. It was then that she noticed he was wearing orange tabis.
Wondering where he had obtained them she asked, “When did you buy those?”
Naruto smiled and answered, “When I sent my Kage Bushin on the errand after we left Keiko-san”.
Hinata smiled as she walked closer and putting her hand on his chest said, “Well, they certainly are you”.
And as she was leaning in to kiss him she stopped short and she whispered, “And if Naruto-kun does not want to sleep on the couch for next two weeks he had better get in here now”.
With that said she sent a spike of chakra through her hand and into the clone dispelling it. She heard an `ouch' coming from the bathroom and as Naruto entered the bedroom he was rubbing his chest muttering to himself `how can she tell?'
After Hinata and Naruto left their bedroom and moved into the main hallway leading to the main room, Mine and Kiyoshi came shuffling down the hall. Hinata stiffen slightly as she received the memories from her clones of the bathing and dressing of the children. Because they were going out, the bath had consisted of just the scrubbing without a chance of soaking in the tub. But Mine and Kiyoshi liked the soaking part because it gave them a chance to play. So while Mine was disappointed but accepted the situation Kiyoshi was having none of it. Now when Kiyoshi was mad he didn't yell or scream or throw a tantrum, no, he would just stand where he was, cross his arms in front of his chest and pout. And he would stay like that until he felt justice was served. You could pick him up and move him where ever you wanted but he would not change his position. If Kiyoshi was wrong in his view of the situation then a simple explanation would usually do the trick but in Kiyoshi mind bath time meant soaking and he wanted to play. Scrubbing was the price you paid in order to have fun soaking. Since time was of the essence Hinata's clone had decided to bribe him. She told him that if he got dressed so that they could go to the party she would let him have two pastries instead of one tonight.
Kiyoshi's eyes got wide and he asked ”Really?”
Hinata's clone nodded and Kiyoshi took off for the bedroom. When the clone got there she saw Kiyoshi trying to put his regular clothes so she stopped him and said “No, not this time. This time you have to wear your kimono because it Grandpa's birthday and you want to look good”.
Kiyoshi didn't really like wearing the kimono because you really couldn't play well in it and so he was about to start pouting again but then he thought about the pastries and decided it was worth it.
So here were her two children standing before her all dressed up. Both Mine's and Kiyoshi's kimonos were light blue but Mine's had a floral field printed on the front whereas Kiyoshi's had horses racing across the front. Both children were excited about going to the party but she knew Kiyoshi was only thinking about his bribe. However what Kiyoshi didn't know was that Hinata had planned on giving both children an extra pastry anyway. With her family gathered together and looking sharp Hinata decided it was time to go. As they were heading towards the gate Hinata had to admonish the children not to run so they wouldn't trip and get dirty even before they left the house. At the gate Naruto again made two clones to guard the estate while Hinata undid the seal on the gate and then he led his family out. After resealing the gate the Uzumakis headed toward the Hyuuga compound which just happened to be next door. Now even though the estates were separated by a wall the gates into the estates were one mile apart. So Naruto created two clones to carry the kids and the Uzumakis made their way to the party.
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