Hey guys! Here's another chapter for you guys! I know, shocking right! I hope you enjoy it!

Also, I just wanted to clear up the ages for some of the characters. Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara are eight years old. Itachi and Rei are both eighteen. I confuse myself with what I have planned in my notebook and notes and it makes it hard to keep track of it all. I'll be sure to fix any issues in previous chapters when I find some time.

Now, if anyone says that's not canon, I know. This story is not canon. That's the whole point of fanfiction. If everything stayed the same, then we could reread the manga or watch the anime again.

Chapter 10

Rei blinked tiredly; the words in front of her blurred and ceased to make sense. Sighing, she closed the thick text book and rubbed her eyes. She could hear occasional shouts from the boys, mostly Naruto, in the backyard. Glancing at the clock, she realized how late it was. It's been a couple of hours that she'd been studying the medical textbook and her brain could not process the types of cardiogenic shock any longer. She stood and put the book away on a shelf in her bedroom.

Crossing her arms, she mulled over the last couple of days that passed. She had been discharged later that evening with Sasuke. The Hokage had made the announcement of their survival to the village hours before. On their way home, the villagers could not help but stare at the two Uchihas. She quickly ushered Sasuke away from the main streets and set out to purchase a new home for the two of them. Rei knew for a fact that Sasuke would not be returning to the compound where his parents were murdered. Money was no longer an issue for the last Uchihas. She found a small two-bedroom home in a quite part of the village in no time. The home was already furnished but she had needed to fetch Sasuke's clothing and other belongings as well as hers.

She didn't want to bring Sasuke along, but she didn't want to leave him alone either. He'd been silent for the rest of the day and she worried what he might do alone. Luckily, Naruto and Gaara appeared and took Sasuke to their apartment without a word. Grateful for their help, she had gone to the compound alone.

Night had fallen when Rei gathered her clothing and a few other belongings from her home and sealed it in a scroll. Hesitantly, she had made her way to the clan head's home. Ex-clan head, she mentally corrected. She was temporary clan head until Sasuke became of age. Quickly making her way down the halls, she found Sasuke's room and sealed away everything she could find of his into the scroll. Sasuke could decide if there was anything he wanted to throw away or keep.

The plan was to make a swift visit and be on her way. That had been the plan. Her body walked across the hall and into the room that had been Itachi's. She had opened the door and stared at the room she had been intimately familiar with before her family's massacre. The walls were bare. No frivolous posters or decorations. It never used to bother her before.

Tears pricked at her eyes and a heavy knot formed in her throat. Angrily, she bit her lip and took out a kunai. She went threw the drawers and slashed at any clothing she could find. She kicked and tore through anything she could get her hands on. Breathing hard, she dropped to her knees, the kunai slipping from her fingers and cried amid the chaos she created. She sobbed heavily into her hands. She'd fallen in love with a man that murdered her clan, tried to murder her, and was now pregnant with his progeny. Was the massacre the only solution he could come up with?

She shrieked in despair and agony, fists knotted in her hair. She was unsure how much time passed before she collected her self and headed back to her new home without turning back.

Rei scowled as she recalled at her moment of weakness. She needed to keep it together. There was no way in hell that man was going to ruin her life. She had to be strong for Sasuke and for her children on the way. Determined, she left her room and went to fetch the boys for dinner.

Several Days Later

Rei rummaged in her pockets for her key to her home. She had just come from an appointment with the Hokage's medic nin who had now taken her as a patient. It was to assess how she was healing and to monitor her pregnancy. She couldn't believe how lucky she had been to survive. The blade had nicked her abdominal aorta as opposed to completely severing as had been its intention. She had some broken ribs and she had a collapsed lobe on her left lung. If Naruto hadn't come looking for Sasuke, she would have bleed out and suffocated due to the accumulating blood in her lungs. She shook the morbid thoughts away. She was healing just fine, and her babies were healthy.

She inserted the key and called out, "Sasuke! I'm home!".

Hearing no response, she headed to Sasuke's room. Empty. She frowned and made her way to her own bedroom. Upon entering the door, she found Sasuke, Gaara, and Naruto sitting on her bed with… an anatomy book in front of them?

"What are you doing?" Rei questioned.

"We are trying to figure out how babies are made. We looked through your books and found this one that has pictures." Sasuke explained with a shrug and returned his gaze to the book.

"Yeah!" Naruto added. "Ya never did explain how it happens!"

Rei groaned and rested a hand on her face. "I was hoping you'd forget." She murmured.

"Fine." Sitting on the bed, the boys rearranged themselves in a semi-circle around her and she thumbed through the heavy book to the correct chapter. Finding a certain illustration, she held it up in front of them. "This," she pointed, "is an egg. They are only inside of girls. It is very small, but it has half of the necessary…instructions on how to make a baby." Flipping to another page, she pointed to a different picture. "This is a sperm which is only in boys. It is even smaller than the egg, but it has the other half of the instructions. Once they come together, the egg starts to grow and get bigger until it becomes a baby inside a mommy. That's it." She finished. Nice and simple.

Unfortunately, she could tell the boys were not satisfied.

Sasuke looked confused. "If the sperm is only in boys and eggs are only in girls, how do they get together?" Gaara nodded in agreement.

Rei bit her lip. "Do you really want to know?"

Was this really the time to give them the talk?

The boys nodded.

Was this some kind of punishment for living? She thought. She was supposed to have died and as recompense she needed to give these boys the embarrassing explanation of how babies are made and now the act needed for conception.

Sighing, she skimmed the book for a different chapter. "Okay, do you know how girls and boys are different?" She asked. Maybe they already had some idea and she could skip parts of this conversation. Sadly, she knew she was grasping for straws.

Gaara cocked his head in contemplation. "Girls wear different clothes?" He offered.

"Girls are prettier! And they have long hair-dattebayo!" Naruto replied confidently.

Unexpectedly, Sasuke pointed at her chest. "Girls eventually grow those."

Rei blinked in surprised. "Uh. Yes, they do. They're called breasts. But not what I'm looking for." She cursed her luck and flipped over several pages in the book, showing them a picture. "This is called a penis. All boys have one."

She couldn't hold back a laugh when Naruto eyed Sasuke suspiciously who promptly smacked him across the head. "Of course, I have one!" He hissed.

"Anyways," She said, mildly amused. "boys also have testicles which is where the sperm are at. When it's time, the sperm travel up these tubes, through the penis and out to try to reach the egg." The boys nodded in understanding so far.

"Now, girls have what is called a vagina." She explained, pointing to a new picture. However, it was a diagram of the inner anatomy of the vagina and not a real female one. She did not need them being permanently scarred at such a young age. "The sperm travel all the way up here to meet the egg. After they meet, the egg travels here." She pointed at the uterine lining that was thickened in preparation of the fertilized egg. "The egg gets stuck here and starts to grow into the baby. Just like a small plant that grows up to be pretty flowers." She hoped that was the end of that. Of course she was not so lucky.

"But that does not explain how the sperm gets to the…tube things." Gaara insisted.

She felt like screaming at the top of lungs. "Alright fine. I didn't want to get into this. How the sperm gets to the egg is accomplished through an act called sex." She flipped to an image of the vagina from the outside. It wasn't a real one, but the illustration was accurate. "This is the hole to the vagina. The penis is inserted in the hole and the sperm travels up to where it needs to go. That's the basics. There is a little more to it, but I am NOT explaining that until one of you boys have a girlfriend! No more questions!" She huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

Gaara looked quite disturbed with this knowledge and seemed to be having a minor meltdown. Naruto looked just a horrified and had his hands pulling at strands of his hair. Sasuke seemed the most traumatized. He stood on the bed and shot her a betrayed and accusing finger in her direction.

"You did that with that man! Ahhh!" Sasuke shouted to the heavens, eyes closed tight like he was in the worst kind of pain imaginable. Naruto and Gaara's jaw dropped at Sasuke's statement and shrieked along with Sasuke.

Rei was unsure if the fluctuating hormones were beginning to affect her emotions now, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. She buried her face in her hands and screamed along with the three wailing boys.

The anbu with the mask of boar couldn't help but fidget in his hiding space. He supposed he should have adapted to the mission by now since he received the same mission every couple of weeks. The same anbu were being rotated ever since the Uchiha massacre. Two missions seemed to merge as one. Protect the kyuubi vessel and protect the now very pregnant Uchiha matriarch and the clan heir.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see his fellow comrade, Mantis become uneasy too. It was like clockwork now. The young Uchiha, Sasuke-chan, would wake up at 11:00 o'clock in the dead of night, screaming his lungs out from night terrors.

An interesting thing had happened since that day. Once Sasuke-chan started developing those nightmares, the boy had immediately looked for some walkie-talkie that he had. Boar had no idea how the device could be comforting to the child but observed nonetheless. The boy muttered something quietly, but his hearing was excellent, so he picked up what the boy had requested, 'Please come over.'.

The seasoned ninja was baffled. Who could he possibly be speaking to? The confusion cleared up when two small children came knocking on Sasuke-chan's window. The boy had silently let them in and the two boys were none other than the kyuubi vessel and the new orphan boy Hokage-sama had granted citizenship to.

Shock? Surprise? He had been unsure what he felt when the boys simply gathered around the Uchiha and simply hugged him. They huddled together, and they didn't let go. At one point Sasuke-chan began to cry, and the boys only tightened their hold and began to cry with him.

It became frequent. Daily. Sasuke-chan would call and they would come. Sometimes the boy would sleep over at Naruto-chan's apartment (he couldn't believe these kids had gotten under his skin). They'd start off asleep in different rooms, but come eleven o'clock, they came to Sasuke-chan to comfort him. They ended up sleeping clustered together that they reminded him of Dog-senpai's ninken summons.

Whenever Sasuke-chan didn't call for the other boys, he would seek out Rei-san. Boar noticed that he tried not to. He guessed that he wanted her to rest as her belly was becoming more prominent. It was probably for the best since she too had nightmares and would cry to herself in silence.

Boar had been indifferent to this mission at first. It was considered a vacation to guard either Naruto-chan or the Uchihas. A forced vacation. When was the last time he and the rest of his team had a significant break from missions? He couldn't remember so thus, the Hokage's adamant assignment of their current mission.

In all honestly, there was another reason for this mission. Boar knew the Hokage was subtly trying to push Dog-senpai to retire from anbu. He couldn't blame their leader. Senpai has been in anbu longer than any mostly sane and functional shinobi should.

Senpai was aware of this fact as well. He often tried to weasel his way out of his shifts. The squad had slowly grown to genuinely care for the boys and thus tasked themselves to ensure their senpai completed his mission.

Shadows shifted, and Boar sensed that Dog-senpai and Rat had arrived to relieve him and Mantis for their shift. He bowed his head in greeting. Dog rested a hand on his shoulder, sensing the unease he was emanating. It was a little past eleven after all. The hand calmed his nerves and nodded. He was worrying for nothing. The boys didn't need the worry of an anbu they didn't know existed. They had each other.

Lazy eyes slowly fluttered open. They blinked a couple times to adjust to the brightness of the academy classroom. Shikamaru had just woken up from his nap, his head resting on his forearms, and eyed his surroundings. It was one of the few things he liked doing. Naps. Cloud watching. Hanging out with Chouji and observing people.

Recently, three classmates of his had caught his attention. A little over a month has passed since the near annihilation of the Uchiha clan and a new development had occurred as a result. Sasuke, Gaara, and Naruto seemed to be nearly inseparable. in fact, Gaara and Naruto seemed to create a barrier of sorts, protecting Sasuke from others.

Shikamaru learned that their barrier included physically keeping Sasuke's ever worried fangirls away with Gaara's sand. This was new to Shikamaru. Never had he seen such a thing. The sand was effective, but the girls still flocked to Sasuke regardless. All it took then was an icy glare and a demand from Sasuke to make the girls scatter.

Interestingly enough, Ino's and Sakura's relationship changed. Now, Shikamaru was not at all interested enough in the drama between those troublesome girls but Ino yammered on about her problems to him anyways. She'd been upset that Sakura broke up their friendship in order to become rivals for Sasuke's affections. It had been a long couple of days of Ino's upset ranting.

Oddly, since the massacre, Ino and Sakura seemed to reach some kind of understanding and backed off bothering Sasuke for attention. They sat together and silently watched Sasuke from afar. Was it because Naruto and Gaara wouldn't let them get close? He didn't know but the curiosity wasn't enough to ask Ino outright and become involved in that mess. Girls simply didn't make sense.

Another curiosity was the ripple like effect that the boys' friendship seemed to be having. Shikamaru was sure the boys spent all their time together, which meant they began training with each other. He could see the slow improvements Naruto was making in all areas. They seemed to drive each other to improve. Kiba was the first to experience the change through their spars. He could no longer defeat Naruto so easily; in fact, losing half the time. Kiba was of course pissed off. He went home and demanded more training from his mother.

Shikamaru scowled at the growing problem. Was it some kind of clan pride or something? Shino was not gonna be left behind and he too began seeking additional training from his clan. It spread like wildfire among the clan heirs. Even the calm and shy Hinata seemed to throw herself into her training.

Now here he was, sulking and dreading heading home where his mother was waiting to start a new training regime she came up for him. Why did his mother have to be so observant, and be so nosy about his class? Now he was stuck with training he never asked for all because some weird twist of fate where Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara became friends.

Shikamaru studied them for a moment longer from his backrow seat before closing his eyes again for a nap. He didn't want to be surprised and out of the loop this time. He would keep a careful watch on them. Those boys didn't even realize the effects they had on others. Shikamaru shook his head, muttering "What a drag." under his breath and drifted off to the world of dreams.

Rei strolled leisurely through the roads, absentmindedly rubbing her growing stomach as she walked home. It was still early evening and the sun had yet to set. She was pleased with herself. Completing a shift at the hospital had been rewarding and she was making progress on her goal to become a medic. The sharingan was quite useful for learning vast amounts of knowledge. The Hokage's personal medic was impressed with her advancements and insisted that she shadow him throughout the days. Rei beamed at the request and eagerly accepted. She had begun treating patients as long as they didn't require fine chakra control since her four-month pregnancy was disrupting her control. Only after she gave birth would she be able to confidently and safely treat more complex patients. Sighing contentedly, she stepped inside her home.

Chaos. It described the current situation perfectly. Gaara seemed incredibly upset. He was chasing Naruto and Sasuke with his sand swirling about in the air menacingly. Naruto was giggling uncontrollably as he ran and leaped over furniture with Sasuke right on his heels with a small smile on his face.

A familiar anbu descended on the scene, hands flashing through hand seals and slammed his hand on the floor. Ninken appeared and swiftly tackled and pinned the young boys immobilizing them.

"What is it Gaara? What's got you so upset?" A small brown pug with a headband sat on Gaara's chest while the other summons continued to lick the three boys' faces.

Gaara scowled but stopped squirming. "Naruto drew on my face. With a permanent marker."

Rei blinked. The ninken hopped off Gaara, allowing him to sit up. She could see three whisker marks on each side of Gaara's poor face. She sighed, resting her face in her palm and turned to the guilty boy. "Naruto?"

Naruto was now sitting up along with Sasuke who was snickering in amusement. Naruto petted the ninken for a moment before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Okay, so I was just curious to what Gaara would look like with whiskers like me. Well, Gaara was taking a nap you see. Since he doesn't always sleep at night ya know…I decided to draw them on his face. I swear I didn't know it was a permanent marker dattebayo!" He confessed.

Rei rubbed her temples tiredly and turned her attention to the ninken and their master. "Thank you for your help Pakkun-san, Dog-san. I'll take it from here."

"No problem Rei. Take care of those pups." The anbu and the summons disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Hands on her hips, she whirled on Naruto and Sasuke. "Apologize to Gaara, Naruto. You too, Sasuke." She demanded, remembering to drop the chan suffix. The boys were adamant that they were no longer so small to be addressed as such.

"What!?" Sasuke sputtered. "I didn't even do anything!" He protested.

Rei shook her head in disagreement. "Even so. You were aware of Naruto's intention and did not attempt to stop him. You are an accomplice to Naruto's prank. Apologize."

Sasuke pouted but turned to Gaara. "Sorry I let Naruto draw on your face." He muttered and folded his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, sorry Gaara." Naruto added.

Rei turned to Gaara. "While I understand you were upset, you should not have tried to relieve your frustration with violence, alright?" Gaara looked down at his feet in shame and nodded.

"Good." She said with a satisfied smile. "Now come here. I'll help you wash the markings off your face Gaara. Sasuke, Naruto, no dessert tonight as punishment."

Rei rested a hand on Gaara's shoulder and led him to the restroom. She never noticed Gaara grin at the boys victoriously and stuck his tongue out at them. Hopefully they learned not to mess with little Gaara and his unpredictable bouts of temper when provoked.

Naruto frowned and rolled away from the arm that was shaking his shoulder. The shaking persisted anyways, and Naruto groaned as he sat up. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he gazed at Gaara tiredly. "What's up?"

"It's eleven thirty." He answered.

Naruto blinked. He nodded and rolled out of bed. "Okay. Sasuke's gonna hav-" He started but stopped short when Gaara shook his head. "What?" He asked in confusion.

"Sasuke is already awake but he is not in bed. He is up on the roof alone." Gaara explained, shifting uneasily.

Naruto frowned. It was unlike Sasuke. They were sleeping over at Naruto's apartment tonight and he and Gaara took turns sleeping on the couch so Sasuke could have the bed. Gaara slept on the couch today and must have felt Sasuke slip out of the apartment. The sleeping arrangement didn't matter much since they ended up falling asleep on the same bed later on in the night. They'd come to anticipate Sasuke's night terrors and sometimes even Naruto's nightmares of that night. Naruto would occasionally be reminded all too vividly of the tragedy that night in his dreams. He was glad they weren't as frequent as Sasuke's.

"Let's go then." He murmured.

Taking a blanket with them, since autumn was fast approaching and the night air was chilly, they made their way up to the rooftop.

Naruto instantly spied Sasuke sitting near a ledge, hugging his legs to his chest and gazing up at the stars. Wordlessly, the boys approached, sitting down next to the Uchiha and wrapping themselves in the warm blanket they brought.

Naruto could see Sasuke was cold when he shivered and tugged the blanket closer to him. He knew better than to ask what was wrong. What wasn't wrong? Sasuke's life was turned upside down in a single night and was still adjusting.

They sat silently, comforting each other with their presence. Naruto was unsure how much time passed before Sasuke spoke. "It was my brother you know." He muttered, not tearing his eyes from the sky.

Gaara was the first to respond. "He…was the one responsible for that night?" He asked in quite surprise.

Sasuke nodded. "He killed everyone. He said he was testing his strength against the clan. He let me live anyways despite how weak I was." He spat. "He told me to grow stronger with hate so I could avenge the clan. I've decided to do that. I'll grow stronger and get revenge for what he did. You guys don't need to worry about me anymore."

Naruto sat frozen in shock. He could tell Gaara was just as flabbergasted at the new development. He gritted his teeth and his fists shook in anger. How dare he!

Before he could stop himself, Naruto's fist met Sasuke's face, knocking him to his side. "You bastard!" He snarled.

Gaara sat up in alarm. "Naruto!" He stepped in between the boys before things escalated.

"What's your problem!" Sasuke shrieked, pulling himself to his feet.

"No! You don't get to decide to kick us out of your life Sasuke-teme! We're not leaving you alone!" Naruto responded, not backing down.

"You don't get it! I need to get stronger and avenge my clan!" Sasuke was breathing heavily.

"So, you're gonna listen to the idiot that killed your clan!" Naruto shot back.

Sasuke recoiled as if he'd been slapped. He was speechless and all he could do was gape at Naruto in his shock.

"Look Sasuke, I do get it. How does listening to what that murder says make any sense! We'll train hard together, okay! I'm not abandoning my friend even if I have to help you get revenge. I'll do it. I'm sure Gaara feels the same way."

Gaara dropped his arms to his side and nodded resolutely in agreement. "We'll do whatever it takes Sasuke." He promised.

Sasuke stared listlessly at the two boys, Naruto's words echoing in his mind. He felt his strength leave him and he crumpled onto the floor, tears flowing freely down his face. He tried holding back his sobs but failed. He felt two pairs of arms envelope him, wordlessly expressing 'we're here'.

"You're not alone Sasuke. We've got each other." Naruto proclaimed. Sasuke could only nod through his tears. Naruto was right. They'd get strong together. His resolve strengthened and vowed to follow his own path. He had two new brothers to protect after all.

Perfect! Rei thought, hanging the last streamer in Naruto's apartment. Balloons were all set, streamers hung, cake ready, and snacks waiting to be eaten. All that was left was for Naruto and the boys to arrive home. October 10th landed in the middle of the week, so the boys still had class. Rei was sure that they were training and playing ninja at the moment, but knew they'd be arriving any second now. Proving her guess right, the front door burst open.

"We're home!" The boys shouted.

"Welcome back!" She replied, making her way to the eight-year old boys. "Happy Birthday Naruto!" She congratulated and enveloped him in a tight hug. Rei felt him squeeze her back.

Rei could see the happy sparkle in Naruto's eyes and she couldn't help but grin widely. "Let's celebrate!"

Naruto was certain that he had never felt such happiness in his young life. It was his birthday, and for once, he didn't wish to never have existed at all. Even though it was the festival celebrating the defeat of the kyuubi and his hero the Yondaime Hokage, Naruto was having the time of his life.

Iruka-sensei had stopped by not so long ago and shared numerous bowls of ramen. Naruto snickered when he saw Sasuke's face when Gaara indulged and devoured bowl after bowl of delicious ramen. Gaara smiled, Sasuke laughed, Iruka-sensei shared funny pranks he pulled when he was younger, and Rei shared ridiculous patient stories she'd encountered.

The sun had long set, and the night rolled on in. Naruto sighed contently and asked, "Can we have cake now?"

Rei nodded. "Sure. I made a large cake, so there's more than enough to go around." She stood from her spot on the couch and rested a hand on her back. Naruto supposed her tummy must feel heavy and hurt her back since she was five months pregnant now. With a hand, Rei motioned for them to follow her into the kitchen.

Naruto excitedly leapt into a chair and zeroed in on the gigantic cake Rei pulled out of the fridge. He was positive it was so big since she had been craving sweets lately. Even the anbu guards carried candy and other sweets in their pockets.

Gaara and Sasuke pulled up right beside Naruto as Rei began putting candles on the cake.

Sasuke pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you still not know if the babies will be a boy or a girl?" He'd been dying to know but Rei had explained she didn't know when he asked a couple months ago.

"Oh! Thanks for reminding me Sasuke!" Rei said, placing the last candle, and rubbed her belly. "I found out a couple days ago but was waiting for today to share the new. They're both gonna be boys. They'll be your nephews Sasuke!" She shared excitedly.

"Congratulations Sasuke." Iruka-sensei said sincerely. "Have you picked any names yet Rei-san?" He asked curiously.

"Yes. After some thought, I've decided to name them Takuya and Tadashi." She confessed. "What do you think?"

"I like it." Sasuke said, smiling in approval.

"Cake!" Naruto chimed in.

Laughing, Rei lit the candles and raced to find a camera. Taking it out of her bag, she brought it up to eye level, ready to snap a photo. "Make a wish and blow out the candles Naruto!".

Naruto pondered for a second before breathing in a big gulp of air and blowing the candles out all at once. The camera flashed, and Naruto held out a peace sign. Before he knew it, Sasuke and Gaara shared some look, and next thing he knew, he was face planted into the cake. Naruto could hear the camera click and everybody's laughter.

Placing his hands on the table, Naruto pushed his face out of the cake and blinked frosting away from his eyes. Another flash of light. Despite the prank, he grinned.

"You guys are lucky I'm in a good mood or else I'd be plotting a revenge prank right now!" Naruto warned.

Rei recovered from her laughing fit first and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay Naruto let's save the threats for later. Let's cut the cake now."

Naruto nodded and grabbed the knife she held out to him. It was a good thing Rei made the cake so big; there was still plenty that wasn't destroyed by his face. Carefully, he cut the cake neatly and put them on paper plates. Suddenly, he felt various eyes stare at him in confusion.

"What?" He asked.

"That's more than enough slices for everyone Naruto." Gaara explained.

He shrugged. "These are for the anbu and the ninken too."

Rei blinked in surprise and then burst into tears. "How sweet! You're so considerate Naruto!" She sobbed.

Naruto blushed and grabbed some forks, waiting for Rei's crying to pass. They'd become used to it now. She'd become emotional at unexpected moments and they simply waited it out. Serving the last slice, he held them up into the air. "Here ya go guys!" He shouted.

A moment passed, and then black figures descended with Boar pulling Dog down with him. Rat and Mantis stepped forward and accepted the slice of cake, ruffling Naruto's hair, wishing him a happy birthday before disappearing again.

Dog sighed but summoned his ninken anyways. The pack instantly rush to the young boys and Rei and eagerly eating the offered cake.

"Thank you, Naruto-chan." Boar said.

"No more chan! I'm eight now!" Naruto protested. He finally got Rei to quite using the suffix, and he'd be damned if the anbu continued to use it.

Boar only chuckled in response.

Dog took a slice, give a simple wave in greeting, before disappearing along with Boar. He decided to let his ninken stay a while longer and enjoy the small gathering.

The night carried on when a sudden knock interrupted their fun. Naruto stiffened. Pakkun, the only ninken to remain, shook his head and placed a reassuring paw on Naruto's arm. "There's no threat. Don't worry. Besides, the anbu would have taken care of them before anyone reached the door alright, kiddo?"

Naruto released a sigh of relief. He stood and felt Gaara and Sasuke follow him to the door, offering their support. Turning the door knob…he saw… no one?

"Anyone there?" Naruto called out. No response.

"You have a package." Gaara pointed to the box wrapped in golden cloth.

Frowning, Naruto picked it up and closed the door.

"From who is it? The Hokage?" Sasuke questioned, eyeing the box for some kind of note.

"I don't think so. The old man always gives me his presents in person." They walked back to the living room and showed Rei and Iruka-sensei the box.

Iruka smiled at Naruto. "It seems like Pakkun knows who left you that present Naruto. Pakkun recognized the scent."

"Really? Who was it?"

"It was a classmate of yours. Hinata-san is her name I think. Girl with short indigo hair and is real quite." Pakkun relayed, scratching an itch behind his ear.

"Hinata?" Naruto repeated in confusion.

Gaara glanced at Sasuke who nodded and grinned knowingly.

"Well, go on. Open it Naruto!" Rei requested.

"Okay, okay!" Naruto set the gift down and unwrapped it. Inside laid various sweets and snacks from the festival as well as a decorative mask of a lion. To the side he could see a mini paper lantern, like the ones used to light and ornate the roads as villagers walked about. It was like a mini festival in a box.

"Wow!" Naruto breathed. A warm feeling coursed through him and he couldn't stop smiling.

"Ah! How thoughtful!" Rei spluttered, tears gushing down her face.

Naruto blushed. He barely spoke to Hinata, so he was confused as to why she would remember his birthday and even consider buying him a gift. He guessed there was a lot about Hinata he didn't know. Nonetheless, he was immensely grateful for her gift.

"I'll be heading home now. Thank you, Naruto, for inviting me. I wish you all have a good evening." Iruka waved and showed himself to the door.

Rei yawned and stood as well. "I think I'll be heading home too boys. Takuya and Tadashi tired me out today with their kicking. Will you be coming with me Sasuke?" She asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "I think I'll stay over tonight." He replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Rei couldn't help but smirk. She could tell Sasuke was planning on teasing Naruto about the gift. Pakkun offered to walk her home and waited by the door. Smiling, she waved and shouted one last piece of advice, "Don't stay up thinking about Hinata-chan all night Naruto!" and promptly closed the door.

Rei could hear Naruto's embarrassed shouts from down the road and Pakkun laughing to himself at her side. She rubbed her belly, patiently waiting for their arrival. Those boys brought happiness and light to everyone who'd let them. She only hoped her sons would grow up to be the same.

AN: Please review and tell me your thoughts if you have the time! I would really appreciate it!

P.S. Do you guys have any ideas for funny, cute, angst or any other ideas I could add in the story. Lack of creativity and ideas seriously hinders my ability to write and upload quicker. Any ideas shared would be amazing and would be given credit of course.

Thank you again for sticking with me!

Stay safe everyone!

-toorealreality

P.S.S. I also have a large collection of Naruhina fics in my favorites in my profile if you guys are looking for some good fics. ^.^