Notes: At last, the final chapter of White Dog Night. This is set some time after Chapters 4 and 5 of Building Clan Uzumaki.

White Dog Night

Part 8: Epilogue

A Naruto Fanfic by

Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Hinata didn't want to get out of bed. Naruto had left early every morning that week, and today could turn out to be the only time she got to wake up next to him for a while, if he kept having those meetings with Kakashi. She had missed greeting the day with his scent thick in her nose, and his arm draped possessively over her waist.

Not to mention the house was strangely quiet for it being so early in the morning. Hinata couldn't recall the last time that had been the case.

Still, she had to get up. There was food that needed cooking, clothes that needed cleaning, and if the familiar flare of chakra she felt approaching was who she thought it was, there would soon be visitors to entertain.

With a wistful sigh, Hinata slowly removed Naruto's arm, brushing his chin with a kiss to quiet the soft growl that slipped from him whenever he sensed her leaving the bed. She quickly slipped on a simple robe, before heading over to the two cribs waiting against the wall of their bedroom. She couldn't help smiling as she peered into the nearest crib, only to find a pair of deep blue eyes staring up at her.

"Hello, my bright little sun," she cooed, reaching down to stroke the boy's golden hair. "I think this is the first time you haven't woken me up. You're not feeling sick, are you?"

Much to her amusement, Enten seized her fingers in a firm grip, but squealed with laughter when her other hand poked at his exposed underarm. She lifted him out of the crib with practiced ease, cradling his blond head against her shoulder as she moved to the other crib.

Hinata was surprised to see that Tsuki was still asleep. Usually, Enten's cries woke up everyone in the room, and Tsuki would join in more out of habit than actual need. It honestly felt strange, only having to tend to one child at a time, if only for the moment. But Tsuki was a sensitive baby, and she would no doubt wake up soon, missing either one or both of them. And even if that weren't the case, there would soon be more than enough noise to awaken anyone left sleeping in the house.

Sure enough, Hinata had barely made it out of the bedroom when someone banged on the front door in an all too familiar manner.

"Open up, oba-san! You promised to let us see the babies!" a young voice shouted.

Shaking her head, Hinata hurried downstairs to the front door, but made no move to open it. "I know that couldn't possibly be my niece pounding on the door like that," she remarked loudly. "I remember her having much better manners!"

"That's only when stuffy, important people are looking, and you know it!"

"Now what would your mother say if she heard you talking like that?"

There was a loud snort. "Where you do you think I learned the phrase 'stuffy, important people' from?"

Laughing, Hinata opened the door, and was instantly tackled around the waist by a very loud, very eager, and slightly sweaty Hyuuga Irihi. Enten whimpered uncertainly, not sure if his mother was being greeted or attacked.

Irihi was followed a few seconds later by her only friend to date, Aburame Shinju. Like her father before her, Shinju wasn't the type to speak much or often, and kept herself well-covered from head to toe. But she was polite, and so Hinata didn't need to remind her (as she probably would have Irihi) that it was common courtesy to make sure a door was shut after you'd practically shoved it open. On the other hand, Shinju had never taken off the wide, black straw hat that did an excellent job of hiding her entire face unless you were standing far too close, which was neither comfortable nor advisable. But Irihi liked her, and Shinju seemed to return the sentiment somewhat (not even Naruto would get up this early to go running around the village with Irihi every single day), so she was a saint in Hinata's view.

"Have you girls eaten yet?" Hinata asked, directing the question more to Shinju than Irihi. Shinju was more likely to be honest, where Irihi was more likely to lie outright if she thought there was any chance of getting some of Hinata's famous cinnamon buns.

"No, Uzumaki-san," Shinju replied at once. "Irihi thought it would be best to wait until we got here."

Not surprisingly, Irihi was carefully avoiding Hinata's knowing gaze by checking her sandals for dirt.

"I suppose it would be rude not to offer you some breakfast," Hinata said slowly.

"Oh, you don't have to go to any trouble, oba-san!" Irihi immediately answered, waving her hands. "I mean, if you've got some cinnamon buns lying around, then we'll-"

"Gladly eat them all?"

"Well, there's no sense in WASTING them; that's just CRAZY!"

Hinata rolled her eyes. "As if they even could go to waste between you and Naruto."

"But it's not our fault! You're the one who makes them taste so good!" Irihi protested. "And you make them small, so it just seems silly to eat only one!"

Hinata could only shake her head again, since Naruto had used the same excuses on her more than once. "Fine, fine. Think you can keep an eye on Enten while I get started on breakfast?"

"No problem, oba-san! Just leave him to us!" Irihi grinned as Hinata handed Enten to her. "Hey, little guy! How about a big smile for your favorite cousin, huh?"

Far too used to having women fuss over him, Enten merely yawned and clung to Irihi's neck, looking bored at best. He had never been picky about who held him, and he almost never got excited about it, either. To this day, Naruto still joked about testing his son for Nara blood, which Shikamaru didn't find funny at all.

"Isn't he the cutest thing, Shinju?" Irihi demanded proudly.

Shinju looked about as excited as Enten did. "Adorable," she replied flatly.

Once she was sure that Enten would be okay with the girls, Hinata went into the kitchen. A quick look around revealed that they were running low on most of the things she normally would've prepared for breakfast. On the other, she had yet to receive any complaints on the rare occasions when she made nothing but cinnamon buns...

And, sure enough, the only ingredients Hinata could find a surplus of were those required for cinnamon buns. "It's like they planned it this way," she muttered under her breath, glancing over her shoulder suspiciously. Irihi had talked Shinju into holding Enten, and the latter two were staring uncomfortably at each other, though it was impossible to tell who was enjoying themselves less.

"Hinata!" Naruto suddenly shouted from upstairs, sounding panicked. "Enten got out again!"

"He's down here!" she shouted back.

"Oh. Well, couldn't you have left me a note? I wake up to find his crib empty, I freak out, then Tsuki wakes up and SHE freaks out, then-"

"Can't hear you, I'm making cinnamon buns!" she called up.

Rather predictably, the complaints were almost instantly replaced by rapid footfalls, a pause, and more footfalls that were not as rapid, but as fast as they could be while safely carrying a child. Naruto entered the kitchen a moment later, humming an upbeat tune while gently bouncing their daughter in his arms. He shifted her to one arm so he could wrap the other around Hinata and pull her in for a proper kiss (Naruto firmly believed that you weren't in love unless you could kiss anywhere like you kissed at home, a philosophy which often got other husbands sour looks from their jealous wives).

"I never get tired of doing that," he confessed with a lecherous grin.

"You'd better not," Hinata replied, smirking.

Naruto laughed before turning his attention back to the tiny, dark-haired girl in his arms. "Hey, angel. Wanna say hi to Mama? Uh, I'm just gonna assume that drool bubble is a yes."

Hinata giggled softly as she leaned over to kiss her daughter's cheek. "Good morning, my beautiful little moon."

As she always did when someone kissed her, Tsuki shrieked in delight, waving her pudgy little hands excitedly. Her milky lavender eyes shifted back to Naruto when he caught her tiny fist in his mouth and pretended to eat it, sending her into another fit of happy, high-pitched squealing.

Naruto had just released Tsuki's fist when he suddenly felt some extra weight on his leg. He looked down, only to find Irihi wrapped around his leg, smiling sweetly up at him. Having known her far too long to be fooled, he just came right out and asked, "What do you want, and how much trouble am I going to be in with your parents if I give it to you?"

Irihi let go of him and did her best to look deeply offended. "I was just going to ask if I could hold Tsuki, oji-san!"

"I don't know... she can be pretty picky about who holds her," Naruto murmured, which was not exactly a lie. Tsuki usually only remained calm if she was held by Hinata, Naruto, or a member of the Hyuuga Clan. She hadn't even warmed up to Temari yet, while Enten preferred (but didn't insist on) being held by blonds like himself.

"But you know she likes me!" Irihi insisted.

There was no way Naruto could debate that, for as soon as Tsuki spotted her cousin, she began to wriggle wildly in his arms. Of all the Hyuuga, Irihi was the only one that had figured out that Tsuki loved playing peek-a-boo with people that resembled her.

"Okay, fine," Naruto sighed, feeling a bit betrayed as he allowed Tsuki to squirm out of his grip and into Irihi's arms. "Just don't-"

Irihi immediately kissed Tsuki on the nose, and was promptly rewarded with a joyous screech.

"Get her excited," he finished, shaking his head.

"She's with me; how could she NOT be excited?" Irihi asked with a grin.

Naruto grinned as well, but for a completely different reason. No matter how different they were, Irihi looked and dressed like a small, female Neji. And just imagining Neji talking like his daughter always made Naruto snicker.

"Well, you don't want Hinata distracted while she's cooking. The cinnamon buns might come out too sweet or something."

Naruto paused, considered that for a moment, and then gave serious thought to kissing Tsuki again himself. But even though Hinata was peering into the oven, he could practically feel her eyes on him, so he simply watched as Irihi carried Tsuki over to the couch, where Shinju was giving Enten's bottom a rather suspicious stare.

"So no meeting today?" Hinata asked suddenly, still facing the oven.

"No meeting today," Naruto confirmed, pleased with himself as he said it. He walked over to Hinata and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I have the whole day off."

"Oh, good. So you can watch the girls watch the twins."

Naruto frowned and squeezed her waist. "No, the correct answer was, 'That's wonderful, my sweet Naruto! I also have the day off! We should spend it together! Preferably in bed!' See how it just rolls off the tongue?"

Hinata glanced at him. "That was a horrible impersonation, I have never called you 'my sweet Naruto,' and how can you, of all people, possibly think of going back to bed without eating first?"

"I was actually thinking we'd take some cinnamon buns with us." His hands drifted lazily down her body. "Aside from these, I mean..." A small gasp and a flush of color to Hinata's cheeks was all the answer he needed. "Great. So we'll stuff the girls with sweets, shove them off on Temari, and see who tires out who first."

"Ugh. There goes my appetite for the day," Temari groaned as she walked into the kitchen. "Honestly, Naruto. 'Cinnamon buns' is the best compliment you can come up with?"

He smirked. "You've never tasted-"

"Naruto!" Hinata cried, completely red in the face.

"Well, she obviously hasn't, or she wouldn't disagree with me!"

Hinata was seconds away from stealing Temari's fan to whack him over the head with, when she heard a strange noise. It almost sounded like there was a very large bug somewhere close by, except the droning buzz it made was more relaxing than it was grating.

Temari was the first to spot the source. "Hey, what's with the kids?" she asked, walking over to the couch.

Tsuki was staring at Shinju with a wide-eyed, confused expression on her face, and Enten was carefully patting different areas on Shinju's body, trying to figure out exactly where the noise was coming from. Even Irihi seemed mesmerized by the Aburame girl's unique song.

"Great. We've been trying to figure out how to get Tsuki quiet forever, and Shinju does it in five minutes," Naruto groaned. "You think Shino would rent her to us at night, Hinata?"

She shook her head. "I really doubt it. Most parents prefer to have their children home at night."

"Well, I'd pay him a lot," Naruto pointed out, as if that might help.

Hinata patted his cheek tenderly. "You'll just have to accept that fact that we might actually have to raise our own children at some point, Naruto."

"I raise them! I just prefer to do it when they're good!"

"They're just babies. They don't know when they're good or bad yet."

"You think so? Then why did Tsuki giggle when she went all over Neji?"

Hinata blushed. "That was completely innocent. Anyway, Tsuki is always giggling."

Naruto snorted loudly. "She was practically cackling! Not that I blame her, but-"

"It only happened once!"

"Yeah, but only because Neji won't come near her anymore. Not that I blame him."

"That's not fair! Temari won't hold her, either."

"Totally different situation," Temari interrupted as she came back into the kitchen holding Enten. "I lost the use of my ears for a whole day the last time I even touched Tsuki. Meanwhile, I can carry my little man here around all day and never hear a peep of protest." She gave Enten a loud, wet kiss on his cheek, and was rewarded with a playful tug on her hair. "Anyway, at least I'll still hold one. Hanabi probably wouldn't even poke them with a stick."

"She's waiting for them to be a little less messy," Naruto replied. "And I guess I can't blame her. She can't go to all those important meetings with spit-up on her."

"I'm starting to think you don't even like our children," Hinata complained, glaring at Naruto.

"Hey, you know that's not true. They look just like us. I like us! In fact, I like us so much, I think us should go back to bed while everybody else leaves!"

"Real subtle, Naruto," Temari sighed.

"I don't have to be subtle! It's my house, and I'm hor-"

"Horrible for talking like that in front of our son?" Hinata suggested, poking Naruto in the ribs.

"He needs to know that his parents need their alone time," Naruto maintained stubbornly. "The sooner he learns it, the better off we'll be. Besides, he's a guy, too. One day, he'll understand, and he'll thank me for not messing around in front of him."

"Hell, I'll thank you for that now," Temari chuckled.

"Thank me by watching the kids today?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Nice try. I'll watch the kid who likes me. You want them both watched, you get me a partner."

"Iri!" Naruto shouted. "Wanna make some money?"

"Yeah!" Irihi shouted back excitedly.

"Help Temari watch the kids!"

"Okay, oji-san!"

Naruto sighed wistfully. "Damn Neji. Why'd he get the easy kid?"

Temari rolled her eyes. "Don't be dumb, Iri isn't good. She just doesn't act up when she's with us."

"She sleeps when we tell her to, and she keeps all her food down. That's all I really need right now."

"I hate to tell you this, Naruto, but kids aren't built for convenience. That's the way it's always been. Most of them grow out of it, but... eh. You might get lucky, though. And it could always be worse."

"How?" Naruto asked at once.

"Enten could be fussy, too. Or he could've turned out like my little brother."

"Hey, come on. Kankurou isn't THAT bad."

"Very funny," Temari remarked, flicking his forehead. "I'm serious, though. You should be thankful he's so calm most of the time. But that probably means that Tsuki will give you nothing but trouble. One of them had to inherit the bad behavior genes."

"Actually, Kyuubi's been almost content recently," Hinata pointed out.

"Who's talking about him? I meant Naruto."

"HEY!" Naruto cried, glaring at her.

"Quiet, you. You're disturbing my nephew." Temari kissed the top of Enten's head as he buried his face in her shoulder.

"Neji's right, it really is weird to see you with a kid, nee-chan," Naruto commented.

Temari grinned at him. "No weirder than the idea of Hinata agreeing to marry YOU, and I got over it."

Hinata cleared her throat to interrupt them. "I think we've insulted my husband enough for one day. Temari, please remind Irihi not to excite Tsuki too much. She can get pretty loud, and lately Akamaru's been holing himself up in Sayuri's..." She trailed off suddenly, her lips pressing into a thin line.

"The shed," Naruto said quietly, squeezing his wife's shoulder.

"The shed," Hinata repeated softly. "Just make sure she knows."

"Yeah, okay," Temari murmured slowly, recognizing the pained look on Hinata's face. "I'm just gonna take Enten and the girls outside for a few minutes."

Naruto waited until Temari had slipped out of the kitchen before drawing Hinata into a tight hug. "We talked about this, Hinata. There was nothing else we could do for her here."

"How can you be sure? Sayuri was... IS our first child, so-"

"So she's got the best teacher around to learn from. It's what Sayuri wanted and needed. You shouldn't feel bad about her leaving."

"What if... she doesn't come back?" Hinata whispered.

"Don't think like that. She's fine. And don't forget who she's with. What are the chances that anyone could snatch a cute young girl from the biggest pervert that ever lived?"

Hinata managed a choked sort of laugh. "I miss her, Naruto. I miss her so much..." She buried her face in his chest, clinging to him tightly.

"C'mon, stop that," Naruto murmured soothingly in her ear, gently stroking her back. "Sayuri would be mad if she knew you were acting like this. You know she's allergic to affection. Told me so herself. We don't want her to come back with a rash, do we?"

"You're not worried at all?"

"Nope! Sayuri's tough, and she's smart. To tell you the truth, I'm more worried about Ero-sennin. He'll be lucky if she doesn't crack his fool skull open for spying on girls. Anyway, we... huh."

Hinata raised her head, spotting the curious look on his face at once. "What is it?"

"We've got a visitor. Nobody we know, either. Doesn't seem hostile, though. I'll go check it out." Naruto released her and quickly strode to the front door, not at all surprised when Hinata followed him. A few quick sniffs told him that Temari had taken the children to one of the other houses, so he wasn't worried about them for the moment.

Seconds later, a man in a brown uniform appeared in the yard, and recognizing him as a courier-nin, Naruto relaxed considerably as he walked out to meet him.

"The fox ate the man, the boy ate the fox. What does the boy eat now?" the courier-nin asked.

Naruto grinned. "Ramen every day."

The courier-nin nodded and produced a small box, which he handed over. "Your package, Uzumaki-san, in the same condition it was given to me." Making a polite bow, he was gone again in an instant.

The first thing Naruto noticed was a red line on the box that looked a great deal like smeared blood. A sniff confirmed this as fact, as well as the identity of the sender, but Naruto had known that the moment he heard the security riddle. He walked back to the house, where Hinata was staring anxiously at the box tucked under his arm.

"What is it, Naruto? And who sent it?"

He only smiled and gave her the box. "Let's find out."

Hinata turned the box over in her hands, her eyes going straight to the blood smear. "Oh... he was injured! I wish he'd stayed so I could take a look at him..."

"I don't think it was his, Hinata," Naruto chuckled, handing her a kunai. "Just open it, okay?"

More curious than ever now, Hinata carefully sliced open the shipping tape and slowly pulled the box open. Inside were three paperweights of crudely carved clay: a fox, a dog, and a toad. Along with them were two slightly dirty scrolls, one with Hinata's name printed on it.

While Naruto gathered up the paperweights and looked for a good place to put them, Hinata opened the scroll and read it aloud.

"Hina-mama, this is my first letter. Ever. Jiraiya-sensei thought you might like to know that. He won't tell me what I should put in it, though. So I stole a little of his next novel to send to you and Naru-papa, just to punish him. I think he based the main couple on you two. It's about a fox and a dog spirit, who both disguise themselves as humans, and are tricked into falling in love by a crafty but handsome toad. I don't think it will sell well. Make sure Irihi doesn't slack off in her training. The baby should be there by now; do they really smell as bad as Jiraiya-sensei says? And Hina-mama, stop worrying about me; it's insulting to my ability, plus it makes me itch. I found a good use for your staff, but Jiraiya-sensei's head is so hard, he might break it soon. Do you have an extra? We should return a week before the chuunin exams. Don't worry about the blood, I wanted to make sure Naru-papa got my package to you. Sincerely, Sayuri."

Hinata was still staring at the scroll, a smile plastered across her face, when Naruto returned empty-handed.

"Found a place! So what did it say?" he asked.

Hinata handed Naruto the second scroll. "A gift. From our daughter."

He nodded expectantly, slipping the scroll into his pocket. "And she's okay, right?"

"Yes, you were right," she sighed. "I shouldn't have worried."

"One of us has to. It's in the job description somewhere. Just don't get all sad about it. I might think I wasn't making you happy or something."

Laughing, Hinata kissed his cheek. "I don't think that's possible, Naruto. I'm always happy with you."

"Sure, you say that now," Naruto teased, ticking her ribs. "But I seem to remember a certain videotape where you damned me and Kyuubi to hell."

"That's what you get for recording childbirth," Hinata replied smugly. "I warned you it wouldn't be pretty, especially not with twins."

"How was I supposed to know you were serious? Neji made everyone wait outside when Tenten went into labor, I was on a mission when Ino gave birth, and Sakura knocked out half the lights in the hospital when she punched Lee through that wall."

"And yet that didn't tip you off?"

"It was Sakura and Lee! I figured that wasn't normal!"

Hinata opened her mouth to tell him it was, paused, and thought about what she was saying. "Well, I suppose the wall and the lights weren't, and usually they don't have quite so much trouble restraining the mothers, but it all worked out fine." Which really only meant that Lee had repaired the damages, and the hospital staff insisted that if Shizune got pregnant, Tsunade would have to deliver the baby herself, as they just couldn't risk the lives of so many employees again. Needless to say, Shizune was mortified, and the nurses still told horror stories about Sakura and the trail of crushed hands she'd left on nearly every floor.

"I just hope Shikamaru remembers to lock up Temari's fan somewhere if he ever gets her pregnant. That's a good way to get booted out of his clan early," Naruto noted, wincing at the thought.

"Getting her pregnant before marrying her, or the resulting property damage?" Hinata asked absently.

Naruto shrugged. "Either, I guess. Or both."

"We were lucky, weren't we?"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? We were married way before-"

"Not that, Naruto," Hinata interrupted. "I meant we were lucky to have the children. All of them."

"I'll make up my mind after Sayuri meets the twins. Knowing her, she'll probably break out in hives as soon as she sees them."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Naruto gave her a long, doubtful look.

"Well, I hope it won't," Hinata murmured softly.

End of Part 8.

---

Endnotes:

Enten: scorching sun.

Tsuki: moon. The phrase "kitsune-tsuki" also refers to being possessed by a fox.

Irihi: evening/setting sun.

Shinju: pearl.

Sayuri: small lily.

For more info on Irihi and Shinju, see "The Iron Hyuuga" (in progress).

For more info on Sayuri, see "A Uchiha Among Uzumaki" (also in progress).

For more info on Enten and Tsuki, chances are they'll show up in both, as well as in a few more stories.

I liked the idea of courier-nin, so I made an excuse to use one in a story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I make no money from this. Hyuuga Irihi, Aburame Shinju, Uzumaki Enten, Uzumaki Tsuki, and Sayuri belong to me.