Naruto held Haku close to him, her head resting on his shoulder. She was gone and no one knew of a jutsu, forbidden or otherwise, that could bring her back. Hinata reminded him that Madara spoke of one and that Konan might know it but Naruto didn't get his hope up. Serum bonded with him trying to comfort his lost. Riding on the back of Ebony, they were in the estate in minutes. "I'm sorry, Naruto, truly I am." Nothing more could be said to him so Ebony returned to his home.

Naruto turned to the others, "...We'll get your wounds dressed and you may go home. Anyone that feels like it though is welcome to stay."

Roushi grunted, "I'm a missing ninja and I'm too old for this shit. Plus with only one arm, I'm not going to be able to fight hunters off anymore. I'll stay."

Utakata nodded, "Don't have a home to go to. I'll see you around Nami."

She nodded to him, "I need to head back, Zabuza is waiting for me."

Yugito and Kira shook their heads, "My bro is waiting," Kira told them. "We're going home."

"As am I," Gaara stated and said the same.

Han looked at Roushi and tilted his head. "...Iwa holds nothing for me anymore. I go with Roushi."

"We'll find a place for you," Hinata said, handing him the scroll with his armor. "Everyone, please return your weapons."

"Do I have to," Fuu asked.

"You do," Naruto said. "Swords, bow, symbionts, and armor." He looked at Han, "And you aren't staying the juggernaut."

Kira looked at the swords lovingly, "If I gotta." Regretfully, he gave Kimimaro the Kusanagi and Naruto the Raijin. The symbiont slipped off Yugito and bonded with Hinata. Nami set the bowcaster on the table and Fuu got out of War Machine. Roushi placed his one hand on Naruto's shoulder and Greed joined again with Serum.

"You going to be alright, son," he asked him.

"Someday," Naruto replied, pulling Haku closer again. "...It isn't right."

"It never is," Roushi told him, "but it is how it goes. When will we..."

"We're cremating her," Naruto said, "...soon."

"I'm staying then," Nami said to him. "And I think the Seven Swordsmen are here so they will want to attend as well." Naruto thanked her, headed to their room, and sat Haku on the bed. A kiss goodbye and he left.

—oo000oo—

Naruto slowly walked through Konoha, heading to see the Old Man, when he met some people he haven't seen in a long time. "Naruto," Sakura called.

"Huh? Hey, Sakura... Who's he?" She was with a guy with round eyes, nicely combed back black hair, wearing khaki pants and untucked, button up shirt.

"Naruto, my eternal rival, I'm hurt you don't remember me."

Naruto blinked a few times, trying to compare several faces and voices he knew to the guy. "...Lee? Rock Lee!? You look...look...normal!"

"It was hard to get him out of the jumpsuit," Sakura told him, "but that was the last thing that was."

Lee sighed and whispered to Naruto, "In all truth, I miss my clothes. They were more comfortable." He turned back to Sakura and saw her looking at him darkly. He chuckled nervously, "Yes, dear?"

"Were you just saying something bad about my choice of clothes?"

"No, never."

"Good," Sakura said, sounding relieved. "We would stick around, Naruto, but we're on a date and we'll be late for our reservations if we don't go."

Naruto nodded, "Go on then."

Lee snapped his fingers, "How about you, Hinata, and Haku join us, we'll have a double date. Or triple date. How does that work...Naruto, is something wrong? You're crying."

Naruto raised a hand to his face and found he was. "Haku...we can't make it. Maybe next time though. H-Have a good day." Naruto walked away, trying to wipe the tears away.

"Naruto, what's wrong with Haku," Sakura said, grabbing his arm.

"...She died," Naruto said, more tears coming. "...We spent the day fighting the escaped Bijuu and Haku died during the battle."

Both their throats constricted, "Let's forget dinner, Sakura-chan," Lee said.

"No," Naruto started to protest.

"Yes. Naruto, you need us right now," Sakura told him.

"We do not," he denied, wiping the tears on his arm.

"Where are you going," Lee asked.

"...To tell the Old Man and Tsunade-kaasan."

"Come on, we'll walk with you." They took an arm and started walking.

—oo000oo—

Haku laid on a pile of wood and tinder, wearing her wedding kimono, while Naruto stood next to her, a lit torched raised in one hand. Behind him, friends, family, and comrades were there as well. Most couldn't honestly believe that she had died, both Naruto and her seemed so strong, how could they be beaten? The torch was shaking in Naruto's hand as he got ready to light the fire. "...No!" He threw it down away from her and cradled her in his arms. "We won't accept this!"

"Naruto," Sarutobi said, moving up to him, "I know it hurts but there is nothing you can do."

Naruto seemed to relax and he looked up darkly. "Yes, we can. The contract, give it to us."

"Contract? What are you..."

"The one our father used to summon the Shinigami! Give it to us!"

Sarutobi was shocked, "...I can't, to summon him means death," he said. "You wouldn't live through it."

Naruto set Haku back down softly, "We're not asking you, we're telling you, give it to us or we will take it."

"I..." Sarutobi looked up to see several sword, all belonging to one of the Seven Swordsmen, all drawn, ready to force him to help. "Naruto, I only ask you consider this."

"We've considered it."

Hiruzen sighed, "Alright, it is in a safe, hidden deep inside your parents home, behind a blood seal. I'll lead you to it." Sarutobi lead him to the basement of Naruto's home and motioned to a wall. "Your blood will open it." Naruto cut his hand and pressed it to the wall. The bricks began to rearrange themselves to reveal a secret passage. At the end of it, Naruto pressed his still bloody hand to the door of a safe. It swung open and Naruto picked up a scroll. "Naruto, once you start this, there is no going back."

"We know," Naruto replied, "But we would rather a world without us than a world without her."

Sarutobi nodded, "I imagine your father would have wished for the same. Goodbye Naruto."

Back on the surface, Naruto signed his name in blood next to Sarutobi's. His hands shaking a moment, he started the handsigns. The lights went off and the ghostly figure of the Shinigami appeared.

"...WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME," he demanded.

"You took the soul of our wife," Naruto told him. "We want her returned."

The Shinigami tilted his head up a little. "THE PRICE FOR THAT IS YOUR SOUL, ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE IT?"

"Yes."

The Shinigami reached his hand for Naruto but hit a barrier. He tried again and frowned, "I cannot, Thor. An immortal life is not equal to a mortal."

"No! Take us, it is more than equal!"

"I cannot."

Naruto lifted Mjolnir in anger and threw it away, only for it to return. "RRRAAAGGGHHH!" He slammed his fist down on the ground. "Damn it, why!?"

"Take mine," Roushi said. "An old man dies, young woman lives, fair trade."

The Shinigami looked at him and shook his head, "No, the scales would not be balanced, you hold the Gobi as well."

"Balance!? Why the hell does it have to be balanced," Naruto demanded.

"You're life energies will be used to restore hers," the Shinigami explained. Several were about to offer their own life when he continued. "So I must take something of equal value."

Naruto looked at Mjolnir a moment before he set it before the Shinigami. "My immortality and the hammer Mjolnir." Before he could say more, Greed and Yugito's symbiont, Peace, moved down to it. "Are you sure?" They nodded, "As well as Greed and Peace."

The Shinigami looked to them, "And one more thing. The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak." Naruto didn't hesitate, he set the gem with the hammer. "The lives of these two, the weapon of a god, and the avatar of a god. The balance has been made." A wave of his hand and the hammer vanished, returning to Asgard and the gem rose into the air and shot to some far corner of the earth. He reached down and picked up both symbionts. Raising his other hand, light traveled from them into a shard. As the symbionts vanished, he went over and pressed it to Haku's chest. He straightened and disappeared. Instantly, Haku's color returned and Naruto was at her side, the metal disc no longer on his chest.

"Haku? Haku-chan? Please, speak to us!"

"Not so loud, Naruto-kun," she whispered, "my head is hurting."

"HAKU!" He picked her and spun her around, letting Serum return. "We thought we lost you," he said before kissing her."

"Silly, we're right here," she said, returning that kiss. She leaned her head against his shoulder before looking around, "...Naruto-kun, is something going on? Why is everyone here?"

"They were just worried about you," he replied. "Let's get you back home and into bed." He looked to those there, "Kimimaro, could you..."

"Yes, Lord Naruto." Naruto took Haku inside and Kimimaro looked back at everyone else. "Thank you for your support everyone, but as you can see, it wasn't needed. Lord Sarutobi, thank you on behalf of Lord Naruto and all of the Uzumaki, Kaguya, and Fuuma clans." He bowed to him and was about to walk away.

"Kimimaro," Sarutobi said, "what were those things he gave to the Shinigami? The water like things."

"...Those were creatures he found while away. Haku's pets."

"Oh." He looked after Naruto, "Tell them both I wish them well. Tsunade, how about we go get a drink, seeing all that I have today, I could use one."

"Agreed," she replied.

"Oh, Kisame-sama, Lord Naruto has left something with me to give you," Kimimaro told him. He unsealed Samehada and held it out for him to take.

"But...the Gaki won it," the shark swordsman replied.

"He did, but Kyuubi created another to use. There are now two Samehada in the world and it is right that one stays with the Seven Swordsmen." Kisame nodded as he and his brothers turned and left with Nami back for home. Yugito and Kira head back north to their home as well, missing the mountains. Han, once again back in his normal armor, helped Roushi to his room. Hinata joined Naruto and Haku in their room. Fuu headed home to Takigakure, and Gaara stood there a moment.

"...You know, I just realized that Pestilence is still out there." He shrugged, "I'll deal with him later."

—oo000oo—

Pestilence pulled himself out of the hole in the ground and looked up at the giant tree that was there now, though it was beginning to vanish again. "Carnage? Lust? Gaara? Hinata?" He patted himself down, amazed that he was in one piece. "I'm alive? I'm alive!" He dropped to his knees, threw his head back, and raised his arms in the air. "I'M ALIVE!" His eyes widened when he saw an acorn the size of a truck break free from the tree right above him. "This is gonna hurt." CRASH! "...I was right. Gaara...somebody...a little help please."

—oo000oo—

Epilogue

—oo000oo—

"No, Yumi, don't play with that," Kimimaro said, running after a little girl that was laughing. MREOW! "Hizashi, put down that cat!" He grabbed both toddlers and sighed, it was calm for a moment. Crash! "Arashi, get down from the ceiling this instant!" He jumped up and grabbed the three year old as well. "Now, all three of you, stop this at once." They started tearing up. "No, no, don't even..." They started crying.

"Mommy, Kim-san yelled at us," Yumi said, bawling as well as her symbiont.

Haku walked in, looking as beautiful as she always did. "Yumi, Arashi," she said sternly, tapping her foot, making them stop. "Kimimaro, I'll deal with them," she told him.

"Thank you, Lady Haku," he said, dropping down to the floor, and setting her twin children on the floor.

"Hizashi too," Haku said. Hinata's only child, a four year old, gulped. "Now, what are you three doing, running around like animals?"

"Mommy, we were reading when Hizashi-kun showed us a new trick to do with Tranquility," Yumi said, referring to the symbiont she had been bonded to even before she was born.

"Us too," Arashi and Chaos, his symbiont, told her.

"And what was this trick, Hizashi," Haku said, turning from her three year olds.

"We saw daddy walk up a tree a few days ago," the boy said. "Fang said he could do that too." His symbiont nodded.

She narrowed her eyes at them. "You six are so luck it's your daddy's birthday today. It is eight in the morning, so stop, save it for tomorrow.

"Yes mommy," all three said.

"Now, go play nicely."

"We will," they said, running off.

Haku chuckled and walked back into her room to give Naruto a kiss. "Morning Naruto."

He smiled, his eyes still closed, "Good morning, love." He pulled Hinata close to him, "Good morning, hime."

"What's good about it," Hinata grumbled.

"Don't be like that," Haku said, giving her a kiss as well. "Don't forget, it's Naruto-kun's twenty fifth birthday today."

"Fine," she said, trying to get up. Failing a few times, she started to cry, "It isn't fair. We hate being fat," she said, looking at her over sized stomach.

"Hinata-chan, you aren't fat, you're beautiful and your pregnant," Naruto said, kissing her again and then her stomach. "Hey in there, you ready to come out?"

"Don't encourage them," Hinata said. "They kick whenever you ask that."

Another kiss and he helped her up. "We had the perfect dream last night. We were married to the two most perfect women in the world, we had several happy and healthy children, our best friend was married and his wife was pregnant with his child, and we were Hokage."

"Really," Haku asked, giving him a chaste kiss. "And what happened next?"

Naruto grinned, "We realized we should be dreaming of things besides our daily life so it changed to all of us just going fishing." He popped his back as he stretched and pulled on his Hokage robes. "So, what to do with our one day off? Spend it with you and the kids?"

"That sounds good," Hinata said. "Although, spending it in bed with you sounds good too." Hinata kissed him again.

"WHOA," they heard Roushi shout. "Haku, your son just webbed me to my chair," he called to them. "Then it to the ceiling."

Haku sighed, "Arashi, you are in big trouble young man!"

"We didn't do it! We didn't do it!"

Naruto laughed and said, "Just another day in paradise." He carried Hinata out while Haku ran after her son. It was around noon that his birthday party started and his family started singing. Naruto was smiling until he saw Hinata suddenly go pale. "Hinata-chan, what's wrong?"

"Naruto...I think my water just broke."

Naruto went pale as well as he looked down to the floor, seeing a puddle of bloody water there, making his face turn white while the kids gave a chorus of "Ewww!"

He worked his jaw a moment, "Kimimaro! We need you to watch the kids, we have to take care of Hinata!" He stood along with Haku, picked up Hinata, and carried her to the estate's private clinic. "Kin," he shouted as he walked in, "it's the baby!"

Kin sighed and looked at him with a smile, "Again, Naruto? What is this, the twelfth time?"

"Kin, this is no false alarm," Haku said an instant before Hinata had a contraction, screaming into Naruto's shoulder, and squeezing his neck so hard that his face turned blue.

"Love a duck, today!?" She turned to the nurses with her, "Get her to a room and the delivery room prepped!" She turned to Haku as she changed into scrubs. "Ready, ma'am?"

Looking after Naruto as he took Hinata to the first room available, she said, "Whether we are or not doesn't really matter at this point." Haku was the head doctor for all three clans and Kin, her friend, was her assistant and second. "Remember to have the anesthetic ready."

"You think she will be in that much pain?"

"No, its for Naruto when he begins to really panic," she said with a laugh, though she was being completely serious. "Hinata has been through this before, she'll know what to do as well." She looked to the door when her children came rushing in.

"What's wrong with mommy," Hizashi demanded, stopping right in front of her while Kimimaro ran after him, holding a snifling Arashi and Yumi.

"We're sorry, Haku, he got away from us," Kimimaro said.

"It's alright," Haku told him. "Hizashi, you're new brother or sister is about to be born." Hizashi took on a look of wonder at that. Haku smiled at all her children. Hizashi looked just like his grandfather, Byakugan and all. Melted his heart when the man first saw and held the child. He often acted like his grandfather too, trying to appear regal, stoic, and lordly...as long as his grandfather was in sight. When he wasn't, he was as much a wild child as his father.

"So mommy Hinata is okay," Arashi asked, a few tears escaping still. He and his sister were fraternal twins, oh they gave her so much lower back pain. Hinata even commented during the pregancy that she was glad she didn't have twins as Haku was nearly twice the size she had been before finally having them. Arashi and Yumi both had her dark hair but Naruto's blue eyes. Arashi was the one that had to go running and shouting, the attention grabber. Yumi though was shy, liked to hide behind the leg of her mothers or father when being introduced to people, and whenever she spent time with her parents, she liked to just curl up in their laps, trying to read a book. Whenever all three were together though...people were afraid, very afraid. At one moment, they'd be plotting military level pranks, another and it will be all out war between them, or to be more precise, the twins against Hizashi.

A scream came from Hinata's room and Yumi looked horified, "We though she would be alright!?"

Haku sighed, now they were going to worry themselves to tears. She took all three in her arms and hugged them. "Now you three listen," she said calmly. "Would we lie to you?"

"No, mommy Haku," they said.

"That's right. So, when we say mommy Hinata is going to be alright..."

"She will be," they finished, wiping away their tears and putting on brave faces.

"That's our babies," Haku said, kissing each of them. "And don't forget, Truth will never let anything bad happen to her. Now, go with uncle Kimimaro and we'll come get you when its time to meet your new sibling."

Reluctantly, they agreed and were led out. "Don't worry," Kimimaro said to them, "your mother, Lady Haku, is the best doctor in the clans, nearly all of Konoha. Lady Hinata is in the best of hands." He took them back to the Uzumaki home and called his home to check on his wife. "Tayuya," he said into the phone, "you feeling okay." The following string of curses about how she was too fat to do anything made him glad the children couldn't hear her.

Hizashi looked at the door to the downstairs that was normally locked, and found it partially open. Looking around him, he called his raven chick, Skarmory, to him and began walking down the steps. He reached the bottom and saw two metal men, standing at the wall, with wires and other things leading to it. At the back of the room though, he saw this metal thing with black windows on it. "Hello? Agh!"

The windows turned white and a picture of a blond haired woman appeared on it. "Hello, I am Cortanna, AI of the Stark Mainframe. How can I help you?"

Hizashi looked at her, amazed. "Who are you and why do you live in a window?"

She smiled at him before the screens went blank and she suddenly appeared in front of him. "I am Cortanna, an Artificial Intelligence program meant to organize and store forgotten technology and teach it to other, child. And you are?"

"Oh, sorry, I am Uzumaki Hizashi."

"Searching... Ah, yes, the first born son of Uzumaki Naruto. What can I help you with?"

"Uh... My mommy is hurting, can you help her?"

"What is wrong with her?"

"Mommy Haku said she is having her baby."

Cortanna chuckled and shook her head no. "I'm afraid I can't," she stated, "but I'm sure she will be alright in a little time."

"Okay...Who are those two," he motioned to the metal men.

"Iron Man and War Machine, robotic suits invented by the late Tony Stark, as means of keeping himself alive. They give the wearer flight, armor, and offensive combat abilities."

"That's very cool," Hizashi said.

"Very," she agreed. "What else would you like to know?"

Hizashi looked to Skarmory who looked back. Both the raven and the boy turned back to her and said, "Everything."

—oo000oo—

"Hinata-chan, breath," Naruto said, panicking like he always did.

Hinata grabbed him by his collar, pulled him close, and growled, "Naruto, shut up!"

"One last push," Haku told her. "Kin, get the towels. Hinata...and now." Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand, possibly breaking a few bones in it, as she pushed. "We got him!" Cutting the umbilical cord, she held the baby boy up by his feet and slapped his bottom, making him cough up the water in his lungs and cry. Wrapping him up in the warm towels, she said, "There there, it's alright," lovingly. She began to clean him off before giving him to Hinata. "He's going to be very handsome," she stated.

Tired, Hinata looked at her newborn son and agreed, "You're right. Want to hold your son, Naruto?"

"Yeah," he said, taking his son in his arms and looking at his face in shock. What he saw was a blond haired, blue eyes boy with three whisker marks on each cheek, and a black and white symbiont around his neck, both looking at him curiously. All his children had whiskers and were born with their symbionts. He smiled down at his son, "And here we thought all our children would look like their mothers. So, what do you want to name him," Naruto asked Hinata.

She sighed, taking her baby back. "We were thinking...Junior. Uzumaki Naruto Jr."

"After us," Naruto said, confused.

"Yes," Hinata replied before smiling. "Do you like your birthday present?"

Naruto looked to the clock and saw it was still his birthday. Smiling, he looked back to Hinata, gave her and their son a kiss, and said, "The best one ever." Junior yawned, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. "Kin, thank you so much," he said, turning to her.

"You're welcome, Naruto-sama," she said. "Well, its late and Shin is probably worried." Her and Sasuke never made it, though they got close. When she met Shin though, Sai's brother, they hit it off like that. He always made her laugh, even when he proposed to her. Not bad considering that they met when he stepped on her foot and she cursed him up one side and down the other. Stretching, she stepped outside, "The baby is born," she announced. Naruto heard a cheer and poked his head outside, seeing all his friends, Jiriaya and Tsunade, and as many of the Fuuma clan that could fit inside the small building.

"Alright, form a line," Naruto said with a sigh, knowing they wanted to see the new baby. "What a tiring day," he said as he sat down and Venom agreed with him whole heartedly.

—oo000oo—

Author's Notes: There you have it, an end of one of our favorite stories to write. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed writing it. By the way, how Kin met Shin was actually how our parents met. Our father stepped on our mother's foot and the first words out of her mouth was 'You son of a bitch!' And Pestilence did survive. Ja ne.