I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. Nor do I own any shillings, a life, or anything else that may prevent me from writing this fanfiction, so please do read, review, and enjoy.

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Five

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by Kaiyo No Hime

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The little girl looked between the two arguing adults with tears in her eyes, clutching at the stuffed puppy in her arms as she hid in the corner, under the cover of shadows in the poorly lit room. She didn't want to be there, standing there, listening to the angered shouts and yells, but she had no choice.

This was what happened to children with no parents.

She wished her parents had not been ninja, then maybe she would be at home, asleep right now, with all of her siblings. Or maybe her baby brother would be crying, and waking her up, and she could fall asleep as her father hummed a soft lullaby to the squealing infant.

And she could wake up in the morning as her mother popped waffles into the toaster and hurried of to report for duty, kissing them each on the forehead and telling them all to be good while she was away. She would hand them fresh made onigiri for lunch, and smile as she dashed out the door, calling out that she loved them all, and that her father was to make sure they all ate their veggies at dinner if she wasn't home by then.

But she wasn't at home now, and her baby brother wouldn't cry again, and her older brothers would fight and argue over who got the last piece of pie, and her father wouldn't sing to them, and her mother would smile and slip her the last cookie.

None of that would ever happen again, because they were all dead, and had left her all alone, to stand in the corners of a dark room while the two strangers argued over who would get her.

"....you're making her cry now!" the blonde man snapped, pointing at her as tears streamed down her face.

"Don't you dare blame this on me! Stick her in an orphanage or something, I don't care! I'm not going to take care of her!" the dark haired man roared, glaring at the blonde with blood red eyes.

I couldn't take it anymore. None of my brothers had ever yelled so loud, and mother and father had never fought with each other this hard. It wasn't right, especially if it was over me. But it was okay, I could make it stop. I shouldn't have lived through the attack anyway, I should have died with the rest of my family.

The kunai father had hidden in my stuffed puppy all those years ago was for me to use to defend myself in an emergency, and this seemed as good as one as any. People who loved each other shouldn't fight so much, and I remember mother pointing these two out to me once, and telling me that they loved each other more than any two people she had ever known.

The blonde haired man noticed it first, looking over at me as my blood spilled out upon the ground, blossoming into bright red flowers on the carpet, his blue eyes going wide. The dark haired man went pale, and tore the kunai away from my grasp, the blonde screaming my name as everything got light and fluffy, the room going black.

And, in the distance, at the very edge of my perception, I could see my family. Mother's pink hair, father's one blue eye, my older brother frowning as he tried to stick his pink hair under a hat, my older twin's gleaming red eyes, and my baby brother giggling as father tossed him in the air. I cried, and smiled, dashing toward them, I missed them so much.

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"Is she going to be okay?" Naruto asked, looking at the pale five year olds form, brushing a few strands of silver hair from her face.

Tsunade sighed, and glared at the two nin's standing before her. She had told them to be nice and kind around the girl, which of course registered as fighting as loudly as they could.

"Physically? Yes, just give her a few days of rest, and she'll be right as rain. Emotionally?" Tsunade glared at the two again, "I don't think she'll ever get over the massacre. It's not easy for little children to watch their entire family slaughtered in front of them, and then to be spared. They always feel some form of guilt, and you two just made things a thousand times worse with your fighting."

"We're sorry," Sasuke whispered, staring down at the little girl.

"As sorry as you may be, I don't think it would be healthy for her to live with you two, even if you knew her parents so well. Besides, you two are rarely home as it is, I think it would be better if she lived in a more stable environment."

"Who else would take her in?" Naruto demanded, "I don't want her to grow up in some stupid orphanage!"

"The head of the Hyuuga clan has offered to take her in and raise her," Tsunade explained, ushering the two out of the room so the little girl could get her rest.

"Hinata? But," Naruto was cut off as Hinata bowed politely in greeting.

"Thank you for letting me take care of Tsuru Ame, I assure you that she will be raised well to become a strong nin, and make Konoha proud, just as Sakura and Kakashi were," the white eyed girl whispered, her voice soft and strong as the Hokage nodded, and glared once more at Naruto and Sasuke, telling them to get lost.

She had many things to discuss with Hinata about the little girl's, Tsuru Ame Hatake, mental condition.

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"Don't worry, Naruto, she'll be fine. It's best if she didn't live with us, anyway, we would make horrible parents," Sasuke whispered, trying to calm his lover down, only causing Naruto to sob harder.

"Don't say that, don't ever say that!" Naruto snapped, pulling away from the Uchiha, "I thought you said you wanted to revive your clan some day! You can't do that if you never have children!"

"You dobe! I gave that up to be with you! I can't revive my clan with a male, you know that!" Sasuke hissed, glaring at the blonde. He hated it when Naruto brought up this subject, and Naruto knew it. It was a sticking point between the two, one that Sasuke didn't think he would ever be able to get over, the final sacrifice he had made for his love.

"But she had the sharingan! She could have been your heir!" Naruto screamed, tears streaming down his face.

"Her brother had the sharingan, not her! Besides, it was so weak it would have never lived up to the Uchiha name," Sasuke growled, resisting the urge to punch the blonde as rain streamed down around them, in the middle of the street.

"Nothing is good enough for you! Your own children won't even be good enough for you!" Naruto screamed, flinging his fist at Sasuke's face.

"Were you too stupid to hear me, I won't have any children! Two guys don't equal a child, dobe!" Sasuke roared, hitting his boiling point as he rebuked against Naruto's attack.

"But a demon does," Naruto whimpered, ducking and slinking away from his lover.

"What do you mean, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, pulling the blonde's face closer to him, staring into frightened pools of cerulean blue, "What did you do?"

"It was more your fault than mine," Naruto whispered, trying desperately to look anywhere but Sasuke's face, "But don't worry, Tsunade said it probably wouldn't end happy anyway, so you don't have to worry about having to raise any kids."

"God damnit Naruto, explain what you're talking about!" Sasuke shouted, unable to completely grasp the subject at hand.

"After I got so sick last year, Tsunade gave me an examination. She said the Kyuubi shouldn't let me get so sick. But I wasn't sick," Naruto looked down, watching muddy rivulets flow down the street, "Demons don't have a gender, they can all get pregnant, and I had absorbed so much of the demon, I could to."

"You're, you're, with my," Sasuke stuttered, backing away from his lover, eyes wide in terror, "But that was a year ago, and I never noticed!"

"The incubation time is a lot longer with demons," Naruto muttered, sinking down to his knees as tears streamed down his face. He had sworn to never tell Sasuke, "She said they probably aren't due for at least another year or two, maybe more. I might not even live long enough for them to be born."

"Them!? There's more than one!?" Sasuke demanded, glaring at the broken blonde in front of him. He had made up his mind so many years ago that he would never have children, and now he was being told differently, that it might be possible to restart the Uchiha clan with his beloved blonde. He had no idea how to take such news.

"Foxes have litters, Sasuke," Naruto explained, "Four or five, maybe. But don't worry, they probably won't survive, I make such a terrible host, so it doesn't matter. You won't have to worry about raising children."

Sasuke stared at Naruto, his eyes wide in shock, his mind wheeling. He had dreamt of something like this, but that's all it had ever been until that instant, a dream. He smiled, his laugh hysterical as it escaped his throat, and collected the blonde into his arms, swinging him around in a haze as the blonde began to freak out.

He was quite sure that Sasuke had cracked, just as Itachi had, and was now going to kill him and the entire village.

"Naruto, my beloved little Naruto, this is the best news I've ever heard!" Sasuke smiled, dashing back to the Uchiha manor, "This is better than best, this is perfect. Now the Uchiha clan will live on, it will be perfect."

Naruto growled at him, jumping out of his arms as Sasuke approached the bed, "Didn't you hear me? I probably won't live long enough for them to be born safely! It might take a hundred years for them to come to full term! I might miscarry, I probably will!"

"But you also said they might be born in a year or two," Sasuke reminded him, not understanding why Naruto was being so pessimistic.

"Depending on how human they are. The less human, the longer it will take. And they're not even showing after a full year," Naruto whispered, curling up on the bed, sobbing. He had wanted to see his children so badly.

"Don't worry, Naruto, I'm sure they'll be perfect, and love ramen too much. So don't you worry," Sasuke cooed, humming his lover to sleep.

This day had been stressful and confusing for all of them.

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Six years later.

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Sasuke paced outside of the operating room, cursing himself for letting the blonde take the mission. It wasn't supposed to be dangerous, just a simple C rank, but that didn't matter. He had let his lover put himself at risk, and his children as well.

Tsunade had confirmed only six months before that the litter was five. Five little Uchiha's just waiting to spring forth, and run around, causing more mischief than even Naruto could dream of.

"Sit down, Sasuke," Neji glared, his words neither soft nor comforting, "Tsunade, Hinata, and Tsuru are all in there. Naruto will be fine."

"But they've been in there for hours! I should have heard something by now, they should have said something by now!" Sasuke sobbed, collapsing into one of the chairs.

But Neji was right, Tsunade, Hinata, and Tsuru were all the best medics in Konohagakure. If they couldn't save his lover, no one could. His best hopes rested with them, and he knew they would try their best.

The door swung open, and Tsuru emerged.

"Daddy!" Tsuru chirped, rushing over to Neji, Hinata's husband, but did not hug him. She looked over at Sasuke, and smiled, "Tsunade-sama says you can enter now."

Sasuke didn't wait to be told twice, rushing into the room past the eleven year old, eager to see his blonde husband. Hoping that everything was all right, that Naruto would be smiling happily, and demanding bowls of ramen after having to put up with Tsunade for so long.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, running up to shake the sleeping man.

"Hold up, Sasuke. Let him rest, he's exhausted," Hinata smiled, "I must say, I don't think he's ever going to agree to coming near your bed again after this," she pointed to five baby bassinets that lined the room, each with a sleeping child in them.

"Are they all right? I didn't think it was time yet," Sasuke whispered, looking at each of the sleeping children. Four boys and a girl.

Five beautiful children, two dark haired boys, two blonde sons, and a dark haired daughter. Sasuke already knew than Naruto would dote upon the blondes, and he himself would spoil the little girl rotten.

"They're a little early, but they're fine. We almost lost the little girl once, but she's fine now. I don't think she wanted to leave her older brothers. I hope they don't all turn out like Naruto, though. I don't think Konoha has enough paint to keep up with that kind of trickster spree," Tsunade smiled, nodding for Hinata to go.

Sasuke smiled, looking over at Naruto.

"I hope he thought of some names, because I'm completely lost," Sasuke whispered, picking up his daughter, laughing as she opened her deep blue eyes, glaring at him for interrupting her sleep.

"I'm sure you can work on that later, though I think Kutsuu is a good name for her. She'll be a hell raiser later on, I can guarantee. It runs in the family," Tsunade grinned, leaving Sasuke to be alone with his stirring husband.

Sasuke grinned, and returned Kutsuu to her cradle, "Hey there, how are you doing?"

"Are they okay?" Naruto demanded, sitting up in bed, groaning in pain, "Please tell me they're okay!"

"They're fine, don't worry. How are you, though?" Sasuke asked, leaning him back in bed, curling up beside him.

"I'll be fine as long as they are," Naruto smiled, his eyes closing as the heart monitor went flat line, waking up the babies and bringing Tsunade running into the room.

"What's wrong with him!?" Sasuke shouted, getting pushed briskly aside by Tsunade and Hinata as they rushed to work, blood blossoming through the blanket covering the blonde.

"Damnit, the stitches must have ripped open! He's bleeding out," Tsunade snapped as Sasuke cowered by the wall, tears streaming down his face as he realized what exactly was happening.

Naruto was dying.

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One month later

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"You have to eat Sasuke, you need to be strong for your children," Iruka whispered, bringing a bowl of broth to the dark haired nin.

Sasuke had refused to sleep or eat since Naruto's death, and was getting weaker with each passing day. He was lucky that Neji and Hinata didn't mind children, Hinata doting upon them, in fact, or else they would have been split up and sent to foster homes by now.

"I killed him. I was so selfish, it's all my fault," Sasuke gasped, struggling for air as he slipped farther back into bed. Iruka sighed, knowing the inevitable had now happened.

The poor, heart broken man had finally succumbed to death, and had left his children as orphans in the world, with no one to teach them anything about their proper heritage.

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Seven years later

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"Akira, Seito, Batou, Shinji, Kutsuu, line up!" Neji barked, glaring at the five squirming children. He couldn't figure out how Hinata had convinced him to take in the five children, adding to a brood that was already three large, and causing him a never ending headache. Kutsuu the worst of them all in the trouble making department.

"Why are we here, Papa?" Batou demanded, tugging at the braid Hinata had tied into his blonde hair earlier that morning.

"We are here to say hello to your real parents, and to tell them you are all doing fine in life," Neji said, directing the children to each lay two white carnations on the twin grave.

"But why? We didn't know them," Seito whined, blowing his black locks out of his hair, "Besides, Mama said they look down on us from heaven, so they should already know."

"It's a formality, so shut up," Akira snapped, glaring at his siblings through his unruly blonde locks.

The other four children sighed, and quieted down, laying the flowers on the graves of two people for whom they owed their existence, but had never known personally.

"Were they good people, Papa?" Kutsuu finally asked, looking up at the Hyuuga in wonder.

"They were great people, Kutsuu," Neji whispered, keeping his emotions in check, and began to relate the great tales of the two ninjas of Konoha to their children.

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Owari

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Authoress' Note: That song, 'Devil in a Wishing Well' by Five for Fighting? Yeah, that's a really sad song. ;-;