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Chapter 44

[One month later]

Naruto sat at the bedside of his bestfriend, his feet propped up on Sasuke's nightstand that only had one 'Get Well Soon' card on its surface - and that one was brought by Naruto himself. It was strange really. No one seemed to be fond of the idea that the Uchiha was back in town. In the month since the unconscious Uchiha's return, there hadn't been one visitor except for Naruto. And maybe that was why the blonde shinobi was so inclined to sneak out while his girlfriend was napping to pay him a visit.

He sighed, moving his feet and tilting his chair back on two legs, looking over his friend. Over the month, he'd started to look a lot better. Since the slow regeneration of his tongue, the lower half of his face's swelling had gone down completely and the bruises were gone, too. Since he was in a coma, he had a feeding tube and other various wires sticking out of every inch of his even paler arms and chest. But all things considered, he looked a lot better.

"Tsunade did my last exam the other day. It's true, teme, I'm not dying anymore. Isn't that great?" Naruto asked his shell of a friend. He'd gotten into the habit of talking to him, even if he couldn't talk back. "Now I can go back on missions. Well, as soon as this stupid probation is over." He chuckled, leaning back further on his chair. "Maybe I'll start training again after Sakura-chan gets situated at home. I don't want you to wake up and think I've gone soft. We'll be sparring together in no time, and we'll be a real team again." His face grew sorrowful and he put all the chair's legs back on the ground.

"I'm really sorry, Sasuke. I didn't mean to... If I thought that we could have..."

"Naruto?"

Naruto glanced up towards the door, seeing Tsunade standing there waiting for him. He stood up abruptly, pasting a smile on his face and scratching the back of his head. "Hey, Baa-chan! Did Sakura-chan wake up yet?"

Tsunade nodded, crossing her arms. "Yes, and she's ready to leave. If I were you, I'd hurry. Shizune gave her an orange stress ball but I don't know how long that will last before she wants to replace it with your head."

Naruto paled significantly and ran out the door. "H-Hai, Baa-chan! Seeya later, teme!" he called behind him, rushing down the halls.

"BAKA! No running in my hospital!"

Neither seemed to notice the eyelid twitch on the comatose Uchiha patient.

Naruto got into the room just as Sakura's fists squeezed mercilessly down on her stress ball and popped it. And those things weren't meant to pop.

Naruto swallowed hard, continuing to stand in the doorway. "H-Hey, Sakura-chan. How long have you been up from your nap?"

Sakura settled her angry green gaze on him, tossing the scraps of the punctured ball on the floor. She gave a sickening sweet smile, pushing herself to sit up in bed. "Just long enough to realize that a stupid blonde fiance of mine deserted me as soon as he got the chance even though he knows that I'm sick of this hospital and ready to go home."

Since Sakua-chan went a month without going into labor and could now sit up in bed, she was able to leave and continue the duration of her pregnancy at home. Even if she would still be on bed rest, it would be ten times better than sitting in a stuffy hospital room all day.

"B-But Sakura-chan, you work in a hospital all the time. I couldn't even get you to stop your night shifts when you were first starting to show."

A nerve popped in Sakura's forehead. "Are you trying to justify yourself, Naruto-baka?" she seethed as Shizune slipped another stress ball into Sakura's hand, which the pinkette went right into squeezing. That would be her tenth one this week...

"N-No, Sakura-chan. G-Gomen." He swallowed again as a few other nurses brought in a wheelchair for his soon-to-be wife. In sync, he and Tsunade moved over to Sakura's bed. Tsunade grabbed her feet while Naruto grabbed her shoulders. "Ready Sakura-chan?" he asked in her ear.

Sakura continued to squeeze the ball as her anger at her fiance dissipated. "More than ready," she replied. Together, eh and Tsunade lifted her out of bed and settled her in the chair. The nurses put her feet up almost instantly and Naruto covered her legs with a blanket.

"Off to home," Naruto whispered to her, kissing her forehead.

"Naruto-kun...?" Sakura asked warily, not completely familiar with the side of town they were heading towards, which was a problem. She and Naruto had both agreed that they would stay in her apartment until the baby was born. It would be a tight fit, but Sakura figured she could convert the dining room into a nursery until they could move into a bigger place. What with their wedding and the inevitable expenses they would have after the baby was born, they didn't have the finances to move somewhere else right now, especially since they couldn't go on missions for a while. "Where are we going?"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, just sit back and relax," Naruto said from behind her where he was pushing her chair.

"This isn't heading towards home," Sakura protested, tilting her head up to glare at her fiance.

Naruto grinned boyishly and leaned down, pecking her scowling lips. "Worrying isn't good for the baby, Sakura-chan," he teased her.

She wanted to hit him. Her fingers twitched to hit him. But she refrained, closing her eyes and taking in deep breaths to calm herself. But she swore if Naruto had done something stupid...

Naruto stopped her in front of a gate that fenced off a house with a paved walkway that led up to a red painted door. The house itself was big and beautiful, like the kind of house Sakura would want to own in different circumstances.

"Naruto, this is no time for visits. I'm tired," Sakura sighed, just looking at the beautiful house enough to make her sad.

"I know. That's why I brought you home," Naruto said with a big grin, walking from behind her and up to the gate. He pulled out a key and unlocked it, throwing it open with a flourish.

Sakura met his expectant face with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. "Naaruto-kun... We... Naruto, we can't afford this," Sakura hissed at him. She was angry that she had something like this in her grasp and now she had to give it away. "We talked about this."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I know but, uh, jeez. Where do I start? It's kind of a long story. Remember how I started looking up some stuff on my parents?" he asked, starting to wheel her up the long path that led to the front door.

"...Yes?"

"Well, it turns out my dad was the only hokage not to never live in the hokage tower. He and my mom had their own house. So I did some digging to find out where it was and... this is it," Naruto finished, stopping in front of the door. "No one has lived in it in eighteen years, since they died. And it turns out that now it's mine. Ours," he corrected. He saw the way Sakura's eyes began to well up with tears and he frowned. "Oh no, do you not like it, Sakura-chan? Is it the paint or is the walkway too long? Is it too big?" he asked.

"Baka, of course not! It's perfect," Sakura replied, wanting to throw herself into his arms but was constricted by the chair. Naruto seemed to understand what she wanted and kneeled to wrap his arms around her and the baby. "I love it, Naruto. Thank you."

Naruto grinned and stood up again. "Yeah well, that's not it. You still haven't seen the best part yet," he teased, opening the door. He wheeled her in and flicked on the light, shutting the door behind them.

"Surprise!" was shouted as about four people jumped from the shadows and nearly gave her a heart attack. "Welcome home, Sakura," Ino added, holding a paintbrush. Sakura grasped at her chest and tried to even her breathing as she glanced at the smiling faces of her friends who were all holding home-improvement tools: Ino with a paintbrush still dripping with paint, Hinata with a broom and dustpan, Kiba somehow covered in paint even though he held window cleaner, and Tenten holding a duster.

From behind her, Naruto sounded annoyed. "I told you guys not to do that! Sakura-chan can't handle surprises right now."

Kiba shrugged. "We overruled you. One against four."

Sakura was still trying to gather her thoughts. "What's is... going on?"

Naruto sighed. "I needed help getting the house ready for you and the baby. No one has lived in here for eighteen years. It was dusty and gross." He made a face. "But I think we cleaned up alright."

Sakura looked around, taking in the spacious living room with windows that led out to a beautiful backyard, the kitchen off to the side, and the hallway that led to what she assumed were the bedrooms. Her eyes settled there as she bit her lip.

Naruto again seemed to read her mind. "Want to see the nursery?" he asked.

Sakura nodded and they left the group, traveling down the hallway. The door was a deep sea blue that reminded Sakura of Naruto's eyes. Naruto pushed the door open and she gasped.

The room was painted a soft blue-green with multi-colored swirls over every inch of the four walls. The baseboard was white and had adorable little orange foxes running along it with nine tails flapping behind them. The crib was blue and sat in one corner of the room, making room for the giant rug that made a map of konoha on the floor. The wall to their left was occupied by white shelves and a changing table. For a second, Sakura allowed herself to be in awe over Naruto's hard decorating work. But then something about the colors hit her...

"Naruto-kun..." she began sweetly. "These colors aren't really suitable for a baby girl."

"That's because we're having a boy, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied simply.

"Naruto-baka!" Sakura's eyebrow twitched as she tilted her head up to glare at her fiance. "What if I have a girl? You can't just try to influence the baby's gender by painting the room in boy colors!" she snapped.

Naruto shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Sakura grit her teeth. "NA-RU-TO..."

Naruto swallowed, watching her anger begin to bubble over. "Ah, w-wait Sakura-chan. Don't get too angry. I-It's not good for the baby," he warned her, holding his head in case she decided to swing.

Seconds passed, but finally the tension in the room fell away. "Naruto-baka," Sakura muttered, crossing her arms. "The room's... lovely," she bit out.

Naruto breathed out in relief. Phew! "Great. Now that you're finally on board, what are we going to name our son?"

That night, Naruto sat on the kitchen counter trying to ice the bruise Sakura gave him on his face. Apparently Sakura can only control so much of her anger before she snapped. Which, he was sure wasn't good for his health. He grumbled, setting the ice pack in the sink and getting ready to head back in the room where Sakura lay sleeping peacefully in their new bed. Of course, she didn't have any problems sleeping because she didn't have an throbbing ache pounding against her face all night.

There was a poof, and suddenly Kakashi was standing in his living room. "Yo."

Naruto jumped half a mile into the air. "Kakashi!" he barked. "What the hell are you doing in my house in the middle of the night!?"

"I have news," Kakashi replied with a smile, pulling out his little orange book and sticking his nose in it.

Naruto's eye twitched. "It couldn't wait until morning?"

"I figured you would want to know as soon as possible. It's important." Kakashi pulled the book away from his eye to meet Naruto's expectant face. "Sasuke just woke up."

Naruto's eyes got wide. He made the hand motions to poof away before he happened to glance at his closed bedroom door at the end of the hall. He frowned and made a shadow clone instead. "Watch over Sakura-chan until I get back. It shouldn't take too long," he instructed it. The clone nodded and disappeared into the bedroom. Naruto turned and met Kakashi's eyes, jerking his thumb towards the window in the living room. "I don't want to wake Sakura-chan by using the door."

Kakashi sighed. "After you."

[At the hospital]

Naruto stood outside the door, trying to muster up the courage to just knock or open the door or something, but he was frozen to the spot by fear. What if Sasuke wasn't as grateful to him as he'd seemed in their deaths? What if Sasuke actually hated him now and he was just waiting to get his strength back before he could try to kill him again? Of course, Sasuke wouldn't be able to do it now that Naruto was at full strength, but Naruto didn't know if he could handle that kind of thing now. He wanted so badly for everything to just turn out happily for him and his friends. Sasuke turning to the darkside again would crush him.

"Naruto... Open the door," Kakashi ordered him dryly, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts. "We've been standing here for five minutes and you haven't lifted a finger."

Naruto swallowed and raised his fist, knocking. Then he waited.

"Come in," a voice too high to be Sasuke's answered. Naruto looked at Kakashi questioningly but Kakashi ignored him and opened the door, shoving him inside. Naruto stumbled as he heard the door click behind him, but then did a quick surveillance of the room. It was the same as it was when he left it this morning but instead of an unconscious Uchiha heir lying in the bed, a conscious and alert Sasuke was sitting up as Tsunade pressed the end of her stethoscope to his back.

Naruto didn't allow his fear to creep up on him and choke him again. "H-Hey, Sasuke-teme."

Sasuke's dark obsidian eyes flew up to meet Naruto's apprehensive ones. A slow smirk spread over the Uchiha's lips. "Dobe."

"How are you?"

The Uchiha shrugged. "I've been better, I've been worse." Tsunade finished his exam and grabbed his chart off the end of his bed.

"I'm going to go check up on your test results, Uchiha," she said coolly, heading out the door and dragging Kakashi after her.

Sasuke chuckled. "I don't think she likes me."

"That'll be a first." Naruto walked over and sat down in the chair at Sasuke's bedside. "Listen, Sasuke..."

Sasuke held up his hand to stop him. "Don't you remember, Dobe? We had this conversation before. I already forgive you."

"But I killed you, Sasuke!"

"I killed you first. We're even," Sasuke replied evenly, lying back on his pillows.

"But because of me, you might never get to be a shinobi again! I ruined you for life!"

Sasuke shrugged. "I choose not to believe when people tell me I will never accomplish something. I'll never give up. Isn't that what you used to say, dobe?"

"But I-!"

"Shut up, will you? You can't be this stupid. Only you would keep trying to feel guilty after someone relieves you of the blame. I'm fine, Naruto. I'm alive and in control of my own body because of you. So shut up about it." Naruto continued to hang his head in shame so Sasuke changed the subject. "I've never heard of someone coming back to life twice before. How did you manage to do that, huh?"

And so Naruto filled Sasuke in on everything he missed out on in the last two years, and things he didn't know about the last five years. He told him about his journeys with Jiraiya and how powerful Sakura has become in her training with Tsunade.

At the mention of Sakura, Sasuke smirked. "Oh, right. I've been meaning to ask about that. Just before everything went black, I happen to remember her being a lot fatter than she was when I last saw her."

"Teme..." Naruto warned.

Sasuke waved him off. "I know she's pregnant, dobe. Relax. But I was wondering if you had anything to do with it."

Naruto blushed and sputtered. "U-Uh yeah. We're having a baby together. And we're getting married."

Sasuke nodded and closed his eyes. "Good. I know you'll take care of her. You both deserve someone like each other. What are you having?"

"A boy," Naruto said proudly.

"Any name ideas?"

Naruto slumped. "Uh, no. Sakura and I can't agree on a gender, let alone a name."

Sasuke cracked open an eyelid. "Do you want some help? Two heads are definitely better than one," he offered.

"You know that if you help me name my son, you're his godfather," Naruto warned.

"It will be a public service. If the only male role model he'll have is you, he'll need a godfather like me to show him how to be respectful and civilized."

"Teme..."

[Three Months Later]

"AHHHH! Naruto I am going to murder you!" Sakura shouted as yet another contraction tore through her body. As if she was trying to give her fiance a taste of what his future held, she squeezed his hand in a grip so tight the sound of grinding bones could be heard throughout the room.

"OW OW, Sakura-chan, you're hurting me," he whimpered.

"Don't talk to me about pain, baka! Do you have any," she hissed, "idea what you've done to me? I feel like I'm being torn apart from the inside!" she bit out before another contraction hit her and she whimpered at the pain.

"Alright Sakura, you're there. When I tell you to, I'm going to need you to push, alright?" Tsunade instructed her.

Sakura whimpered, nodding her head.

"Alright. One... Two... Three... push!"

She pushed. And screamed. And broke one of her fiance's fingers.

"Sakura!" Naruto whimpered.

She snapped her head at him. "I swear to kami, Naruto, if you say one more damned thing to me while I'm pushing out your baby, I will fucking castrate you where you stand and this will be the only child we have together!"

Tsunade was obviously ignoring the couple's one-sided bickering. "Push!"

"AHHH!"

"One more push Sakura, and then you'll meet your baby. Come on, one more."

And Sakura pushed with the remainder of her energy, screaming loud enough to probably disturb every new mother in the maternity ward. But it didn't matter, because she was soon rewarded with the crisp, healthy cry of her baby girl.

"It's a boy!

Or not.

"Told you so, Sakura-Chan," Naruto teased her, sticking his tongue out at her.

Not a good idea. Naruto barely saw the fist coming before he was sent flying through the air and through a wall, landing on the floor in the hallway.

"I told you to stop tempting me, Baka!" Sakura screamed at him.

"Sakura?" Tsunade asked, still holding the baby.

Sakura turned her head to look at her Shisou and instantly remembered the infant that was forgotten in her moment of blind anger. "Can... I hold him?" she asked softly, holding her arms out for him.

Tsunade smiled. "Of course. He's your baby." She took the blanket offered by one of the nurses and wrapped the newborn in it before handing him over to his mother. Almost instantly, the infant's cries stopped. "Oh, Sakura. He knows you," she cooed.

Sakura smiled at that. She liked the idea of her baby knowing her. She looked over him, taking in every detail of her little boy. She touched his little face with her finger, knowing that even though he was red now, he'd probably be the same golden hue as his father. Well, she hoped. He already had his dad's characteristic blonde hair, so it wasn't far fetched. The baby wriggled and opened his mouth to cry out in protest to something, so Sakura shifted him in her arms in hopes that it would relax him. He only wriggled more and Sakura looked up to see what could have possibly upset her baby already. Naruto had made his way back into the wall, rubbing the growing lump on his forehead.

"Sakura-chan... that really hurt," Naruto whined. At the sound of his voice, the little baby boy in Sakura's arms stopped squirming and opened his eyes for the first time to stare at Naruto with big, seafoam green eyes. Instantly, Naruto's own whining stopped. "Sakura-chan... he has your eyes."

Sakura nodded, feeling like she was about to cry. "Do you want to hold him?"

Naruto nodded silently and reached his arms out for his son. The baby boy's eyes fluttered closed upon impact with Naruto's warm chest, soothed for the moment. "He's beautiful," Naruto whispered in awe. "Hey there, little Hikaru."

Sakura smiled. "Hikaru. It fits him perfectly."

[Six months later]

"FOREHEAD!" Ino shrieked from the nursery as Hikaru's wails could be heard echoing throughout the house. "Your demon brat won't stop squirming! I can't even put his damn diaper on him!"

Sakura sighed, already stressed out at the day's events although it was barely seven in the morning. She'd been up for three hours and was beginning to wish this day would end and she could crawl back into bed. How could it be possible that the best day of her life was also the most stress-inducing?

Sakura made Tenten pause with her hair as she left the room and entered Hikaru's nursery where Ino continued to shriek at her six-month-old infant. Calmly, she walked over to the changing table and sweeped the crying child up. "Why are you causing so much trouble for Ino-pig, Hika-chan?" she asked sleepily, bouncing the baby on her hip.

"Don't call me that to him! He'll think it's my name!" Ino protested.

Sakura ignored her and laid out a diaper on the table. Hikaru had stopped crying and was now trying desperately to stick his entire fist in his mouth. Sakura expertly set her baby in the diaper on the table and snapped him up swiftly. Then she got him dressed in the outfit he would wear during the ceremony that it took her twelve hours to find. When she was finished, Sakura handed him back to Ino. "I'm trusting you to be able to take care of him for two weeks while Naruto-kun and I are on our honeymoon. That means being able to change his diaper, Pig."

Ino sighed and took the baby back. "It's not my fault the little brat hates me. Of all the people you could have chosen to reproduce with, it had to be the village's number one knucklehead, didn't it?" Ino asked, looking honestly displeased with the baby.

Sakura sighed. "Yes, Ino-pig, it did. Now stop whining, will you? It's not like you'll be completely on your own with him the whole time. Sasuke-kun agreed to help you, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah but-!"

"Then stop complaining."

Satisfied that Ino had things under control, Sakura went back to her room where Hinata and Tenten were still waiting to finish her hair and makeup. But as she opened the door, she was met not with her two friends, but with her fiance standing in front of her with a bouquet of roses.

"Baka!" Sakura hissed, trying to hide herself behind the bedroom door. "You aren't supposed to see me yet! It's not tradition!"

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah well, I'm not really one for tradition." He moved the door away and swept her in his arms, handing Sakura the bouquet of roses. "I just had to see you. I'm not used to being apart from you this long, Sakura-chan," he said, kissing her sweetly.

Sakura couldn't help but blush as she accepted the flowers. "You're an idiot, Naruto-kun."

"Your idiot." He kissed her forehead before releasing her. "Where's Hika-chan?"

"Ino's watching him while I'm supposed to be getting ready for our wedding day. By the way, what could you have possibly said to Tenten and Hinata to get them to let you in here? Tenten's being almost at militant about today as Ino is."

Naruto's eyes glinted mischievously. "Trust me, it didn't take much. It might not look like it, but Tenten's a sucker for a desperate lover." He winked at Sakura's appalled expression and went to sit on their king-sized bed. It was one of the only things in the home that were new: Naruto had wanted to preserve his parents' furniture in the house. But what he didn't know was that as soon as Sakura could go back to work and start earning money again, she was redecorating.

"Well, the ceremony's in three hours, Naruto-kun. I have to get ready, and so do you. So go back to Sasuke-kun's. Please? I don't want any mishaps today," Sakura pleaded.

Naruto frowned. "I didn't even get to see Hika-chan yet," he protested, pouting.

"You'll see him in three hours."

"But... he's never been away from me this long!"

Sakura's eye twitched. "And that's the problem. Shouldn't I be the one with separation issues, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's shoulders slumped. "I just don't want to miss a second of his life. What if an attack happens and I'm..." He swallowed hard. "What if I'll never see him again?"

Sakura's face softened, realizing the reasoning behind Naruto's desire to spend every waking moment with his son. She walked over to him, placing herself in his lap and tossing her arms around his neck. "Naruto-kun, you won't ever have to worry about that, I promise. You survived too much to die anytime soon. You'll get to watch him grow up," she assured him, kissing his cheek.

Slowly, Naruto's tension eased away. "You mean it?"

"Yup." She smiled. "Now get out of here, will you? I have to get ready."

Naruto kissed her once more, backing towards the opened window where he probably came in. "I'll see you at the altar, Sakura-chan. I love you."

"Baka. I love you, too."

The wedding was... magnificent, to say the least. The two were married with very few mishaps, though no one could say they weren't expecting something to go wrong at Konoha's number one most unpredictable ninja's wedding. Of course, Naruto's vows were crude and poorly thought-out, though the sentiment was felt enough by his cherry blossom bride that she only hit him over the head half as hard as she could have. Lee stood up halfway through Tsunade's marrying of the two in order to profess his love for Sakura-chan, only to promise right after that he would suppress his feelings for the good of the "youthful union of two of his closest friends." Hikaru almost ate the rings and cried when Naruto took them away from him so that Sakura and he could put their rings on one another, but the infant settled down when Tsunade threatened to send him back where he came from. Smart kid.

Anyway, the wedding was over and the citizens of Konoha were gathered in the center of the village for the reception. Honestly, Naruto did better than Sakura thought he would do on the decorating. The place was decked out with cherry blossom trees and orange and pink lanterns. Music flooded the center with beautiful tunes, the wind provided a comforting breeze to the warm night, and everything was just... perfect.

"What are you thinking about, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, resting his head on top of hers as they danced.

"How perfect this all is," Sakura replied, smiling softly. "Thank you so much, Naruto-kun."

He chuckled. "Ah, it was nothing, Sakura-chan. Only the best for you!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and separated as the song ended. She reached up with her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, taking his hand in hers at the same time. "Come on, Naruto-kun. I'm tired of dancing."

"Good." Naruto and Sakura both turned abruptly to see a frowning Tsunade holding a squirming Hikaru - who was pulling her hair. "Because you need to take your brat back before I punt him like a football. How many times do I have to tell people that I hate kids?" she grumbled, holding the child to it's parents and turning her head as if he disgusted her.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't even try it, baa-chan. You practically tore him out of Sakura's arms as soon as the wedding was over," he pointed out, taking his son and nuzzling his head. "Don't worry, Hika-chan. I won't let the mean old hag talk about you that way."

"... Who are you calling a hag, you idiotic brat!?" Tsunade shouted, holding up her fist. Sakura squeaked and quickly stole Hikaru out of Naruto's arms a mere second before Tsunade's fist connected with his face, sending him crashing int the buffet table. Sakura sighed in relief, balancing her trouble-making son on her hip.

"I'm sorry if he was too much trouble, shishou," Sakura apologized, bowing slightly.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Hmph. Don't worry about it." She crossed her arms, staring at the little infant. Slowly, her gaze softened until she was smiling gently. "He wasn't too much trouble, anyway." She reached out, petting the little boy's golden locks. "When Naruto manages to wake up, tell him I'm expecting him in my office first thing tomorrow morning. There are some matters I need to discuss with him."

"Hm? Like what, Shishou?"

Tsunade rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm starting to think it's about time I began prepping my successor to take my place, when the time comes. I might look young, but I should be relaxing at this point in my life. Time to pass the torch to some other unsuspecting brat."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Tsunade-shishou... does that mean...?"

The fifth hokage held up her hands, warding off her questions. "Nothing is set in stone yet. It could be quite some time before anything takes effect. But ultimately... yes, I've chosen Naruto to be my successor."

Sakura squealed. "I don't even know how he'll react! He'll be so happy, shishou. Thank you!"

Tsunade smiled. "Enjoy the rest of your wedding day, Sakura." She turned and left.

Sakura smiled down at her baby, who was desperately trying to grasp at the earing dangling from her ears. "Hika-chan, you might not be able to tell, but things were a little awful before you got here. Nothing seemed to be going right. But as soon as I found out that I was having you, everything seemed to fall into place. You must be my little good lucky charm."

"And mine, too! That hit didn't hurt as much as her punches usually do." Sakura looked up, seeing Naruto standing in front of her again and rubbing his head. He leaned down, kissing Hikaru's forehead, and then hers. "He's perfect, you know."

"I know. And so are you, future hokage-sama," Sakura said, pecking his lips softly. "Lady Tsunade wants to see you tomorrow, first thing."

Naruto frowned. "But Sakura-chan, our honeymoon-!"

"It can wait. This will be more important, I promise. We can leave right after, alright?"

Naruto sighed. "Alright, Sakura-chan. But what could be more important than our honeymoon?" he pouted.

Sakura ignored him, looking down just as Hikaru opened his mouth wide with a sleepy yawn. He gave up trying to steal his mother's earring and nestled up against her, cheek against her chest. "He's getting tired. Maybe we should get him home."

Naruto nodded. "I can't possibly say this enough, Sakura-chan. You've made me really happy over the years, something I thought I would never be again after everyone thought I was dead. I never thought that I could have any of this, you, Hika-chan... a family. I love it. I love you."

Sakura smiled. "I love you too, Naruto-kun. Let's go home."

A/N FIN (Sorry it's late)

Yes, it's over. Happy ending for all, just as I promised. Very mushy, but I figured I owed you a happy ending after the story was filled with so much ANGST.

And, no, the baby wasn't named after Kurai. I figured he was too inertly evil to have an adorable baby named after him.

Tell me what you think!

Comments, Questions, Concerns? REVIEW!