Why Orange?

I KNEW it!

Itachi: What, are you babbling about now?

T.W.: Kyaahhh! (glomps Itachi) Ita-kuuun! (cuddles)

Itachi: (vein pops) Get off NOW.

Sai: Now now Itachi she's just happy about her suspicions being proven correct.

Itachi: WHAT suspicions?!

Sai: The ones about you, your clan, and the council.

Itachi: Oh gods no, she read Chapter 398 didn't she?

T.W.: You bet your hot sexy anti-hero ass I did!

Itachi: (sighs and looks down at T.W.) I'm never going to get rid of you as a fangirl now am I?

T.W.: (cuddles Itachi) Not a chance in hell.

Itachi: Damn it. At least get off of me you mentally damaged squirrelly freak.

T.W.: (lets Itachi go) You may not be completely evil but you're still an ass.

Itachi: That's part of my charm.

Sai: (sidles up to Itachi to purr in his ear) It certainly is koishii (gropes Itachi)

Itachi: (raises eyebrow and smirks at Sai) Something you want? (grabs Sai's ass) Sai?

Sai: You, me in bed with handcuffs and candle wax.

Itachi: (pulls out handcuffs) Who needs a bed when there's a perfectly sturdy stripper pole behind you? (backs Sai towards pole)

T.W.: (plugs a nosebleed and clears throat) Um well I'll let ya'll read the new chapter of Why Orange while I watch my favorite boys. By the way I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written.

'thoughts'
emphasis

Kyuubi speech

Chapter 51 Family

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Sasuke tried to slink out of the room only to freeze when Naruto pinned him with a look that said 'leave and you'll be sleeping on the couch for a month'. The Uchiha grimaced and gingerly took his screaming daughter while Naruto tried to soothe Arashi. Kaji had already tired himself out with crying but his brother apparently had Naruto's stamina.

The triplets were teething and not very good-natured about it. Teething rings and numbing gel had become Sasuke's best friends and as he rubbed some of aforementioned gel on Hikari's gums he pondered over the difference between the triplets' reaction to teething and Mikomi's. Itachi's daughter had been incredibly quiet when she was teething, rarely crying and usually resorting to whimpers and squirming to get the point that her gums were hurting across. But the triplets? All three sent up screams that could probably be heard in Suna.

The crying babies flummoxed Sasuke and he was man enough to admit that if he thought he could get away with leaving Naruto to deal with it on his own then he'd be a blur out the nursery door. As for Naruto, if he wasn't so distressed over his babies' pain he'd be more than willing to let Iruka and Kakashi look after the triplets for a day or two, if only to get some sleep. It seemed that as soon as he and Sasuke were drifting off to sleep one of the babies would start screaming because of their swollen gums. Arashi seemed to be the worst and Naruto had his suspicions that it had something to do with the Kyuubi abilities. The fox had mentioned that some kitsune had empathic abilities and would unconsciously take on their pack mates' pain. Naruto rocked Arashi gently as he began calming and noticed that Hikari had also worn herself down to sniffles.

He met Sasuke's gaze in relief and waited until Arashi and Hikari had joined their older brother in sleep then they started to edge out of the room. A fussy whine had them standing stock still and turning cautiously to see Mikomi awake and squirming in her crib. Sasuke and Naruto played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, which Sasuke lost, to determine who'd take care of the 8 month old girl. Naruto leaned against the door jam and watched as Sasuke determined that Mikomi just needed a diaper change. The Uchiha changed the dirty diaper swiftly and his niece dropped back to sleep like a rock.

The raven joined Naruto in exiting the room swiftly and they both stopped in their tracks when they met Kana in the hallway. The teenage girl was watching them with a great deal of amusement. She'd become more confident after passing the genin exam and having Anko take her on as a student. She had her own apartment but visited at the Uchiha mansion often because Obito and Sai had moved into the huge house. When they'd asked her to remain she'd shaken her head and said that she didn't want to walk in on her foster father playing hide the kunai with Sai, that being Orochimaru's daughter was enough mental damage as it is thank you very much.
She chuckled and moved aside so that the exhausted daddys could get by her, "You know you could ask for help with getting them settled since they wake everyone up anyway."

Naruto froze, followed her pointing finger, and looked at a familiar dark gray eye peeking out of a crack in a doorway. He crossed his arms and frowned at Kakashi, "Soundproofing jutsu sensei?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes on the jonin, "You know Naruto, I think Kakashi just offered to take care of the triplets next time they wake up in the middle of the night."

"I'd say you're right Sasuke."

As Naruto and Sasuke went back to their room, Kana laughed at Kakashi's 'oh shit' expression and proceeded to her original destination. Kakashi slumped in the doorway and sent Iruka an irritated look as the teacher laughed at him, "I told you we should just offer to do it once or twice for them before they figured out that you don't know any soundproofing jutsu Kashi."

The copy ninja growled and stalked back to bed to tackle the brunette, "I'll remember this when the brats start learning ninja skills. I'm going to make sure that they put Naruto and Sasuke through the wringer."

Iruka refrained from mentioning that it would most likely backfire on his lover and just kissed the jonin; seeing Kakashi fall victim to the pranks of children would be wonderful comic relief.

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triplets 7 months Mikomi 9 months

Naruto chuckled at the sight in front of him. Mikomi was cruising, standing and moving around the room while holding onto the furniture, and the triplets were crawling after her in a line, like ducklings following their mama. It was almost insanely cute and made Naruto wish that he could stay home but Tsunade had summoned him back to major missions now that the triplets weren't dependent on milk anymore and he was back to normal physically. Sasuke came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Naruto, "You're going to be late dobe."

Naruto turned in his husband's arms and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "I know. I'll see you when I get back."

"Hn."

Naruto flashed a quicksilver grin, went to give the babies kisses goodbye, and left before all hell broke loose. Sasuke grimaced as Mikomi realized that Naruto had left and started to whimper, followed soon after by the triplets looking around for their 'mommy' and crying when they didn't see Naruto. The Uchiha sighed, set Kaji and Arashi on the couch, and scooped Mikomi and Hikari up in his arms before sitting down so the boys could cuddle up next to him. It took half an hour and endless nonsense words from Sasuke to calm the children down and he sighed as Mikomi started to hiccup. He rubbed her back gently and let relief wash over him when Iruka came into the room and joined the Uchiha in getting the infants' minds off their separation anxiety.

This was the third mission Naruto had left on since being put back on active duty and, though they had all been just two days, the babies had a cow each time Naruto left but it was getting better. The first time they'd cried all day between sleeping and eating, the second they'd cried for a couple hours, and now it had taken just half an hour for them to settle down. Because Sasuke had never really been taken off active duty the babies hadn't gone through separation anxiety with him, it was the norm for him to be gone for two days to a week for them but Naruto's absence was another story. They were getting used to it though and Sasuke knew that it would only be a matter of time until they didn't panic when Naruto left.

Sasuke smiled as Mikomi's hiccups ceased and nuzzled her hair as she watched Iruka make nonsensical babble at the triplets who mimicked a few of the syllables. She looked up at Sasuke and opened her mouth, "Chi."

He blinked and looked down at her, "Huh?"

"Chi. Chi."

Iruka chuckled, "I think she's calling you chichue."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he gaped at the little girl in his arms as she repeated herself. He was so lost in thought that he missed the flash of light that was Kakashi taking a Polaroid picture. The copy ninja smirked, "I can't wait to show this to Naruto. He'll laugh his ass off."

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meanwhile at Hokage Tower

Naruto looked down at his mission information grimly. It was an A-rank mission that would keep him away from home for a week at least. The mission involved the daughter of a prominent clan from Konoha who'd run away for reasons unknown. He met Tsunade's eyes, "I'm to bring her back to Konoha?"

The Hokage had her suspicions as to why the girl had run so she shook her head, "Only if she didn't have a truly solid reason to leave. This is mostly a re-con mission Naruto. I want you to find out why she left and if she had a valid reason to leave I want you to help her find a safe place to live."

"Why is this A-rank Baa-chan?"

"Because I think that her family has employed other ninja to execute her."

Naruto cursed as he realized exactly what that meant. He'd be fighting ninja who were at least high level jonin, possibly ANBU level. There was a damn good chance he'd be injured severely. He met Tsunade's eyes once again and nodded, "Understood Hokage-sama," and he disappeared in a silent puff of smoke. Tsunade rubbed her temples and prayed that Naruto would make it out of this mission safely.

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two days later, at a village several miles away from Konoha

Naruto shadowed the girl who'd run from her family to a doctor's office and henged into a rat. He scurried along the bottom of the building, crawled into the air vents, and made his way to the office where the girl was crying to the doctor. The doctor was a kindly older woman and pat the girl's shoulder gently, "Now dear is it truly all that bad?"

"You don't understand! My father will force me to miscarry, I can't go back to them!"

"But you need prenatal care and you won't be able to get a job to pay for medical care or the necessities while pregnant."

The girl buried her head in her hands, "What else can I do? I can't go home."

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the doctor draw out a kunai and realized that it was one of the ninja sent to kill the girl. He jumped down and grabbed the 'doctor's' wrist twisting it up behind 'her' back painfully, causing the ninja to release the henge. He growled lowly in the ninja's ear, "You have two choices. You can abort your mission and leave this girl alone or I can kill you."

The ninja spat out a foul curse and Naruto narrowed his eyes and snapped the man's neck. He turned to the now terrified girl who took one look at his hitai-ate and ran away. Naruto cursed and lept out the window to follow her. He knew that the ninja most likely had companions and they would be waiting to kill the girl. As he turned a corner, he saw her cornered by three shinobi in an alley and immediately performed the shunshin jutsu to appear between her and the ninjas. They eyed his Konoha hitai-ate while he took their measure. All three held themselves in a manner similar to Kakashi, it was a stance that spoke of men who'd seen and survived many dirty shinobi battles. These men were obviously experienced. They also had no headbands.

Kit this is not going to be a battle you can win by taking them all on at the same time.

'I'm aware Kyu. I don't plan to fight them face to face.'

He ignored Kyuubi's soft growl of approval as he created a few Kage Bunshin to distract the shinobi, grabbed the girl, and shunshined away. He appeared in a clearing and cursed as the girl hit him on the head and screamed loudly. He set her down, clamped his hand over her mouth, and snarled, "Be quiet! If I wanted you dead I'd have let those shinobi kill you. I am not one of the bastards your family hired. Now will you please stop screaming and running?"

She swallowed hard and met his irritated eyes before nodding. He cautiously removed his hand and let her stagger back a few steps. She eyed him suspiciously, "What do you want?"

Naruto sighed, "I'm here to help you."

"Why?"

"First of all it's my mission and second, there is no way I'm going to let a bunch of rogue ninja kill a pregnant woman."

"Do you even know who hired those ninjas?"

"Does it matter?"

"My father did."

"And he would be?"

"Ex-councilman Danzo."

Naruto nearly choked on air. The man who'd made his life the most difficult, attempting to block him at every slight advancement he'd made, trying to keep him contained inside Konoha, and trying to get Sasuke executed multiple times, was the father of the trembling terrified creature in front of him? Naruto stared at her, "Why in hell would he order your death?"

"The father of my baby died in battle before he and I could get married. My father refuses to have the stain of a bastard child in his family. Since I refuse to abort the baby, my death is his only solution."

Naruto growled softly, "That man is long overdue for a visit from shinigami."

She blinked as he knelt with his back to her, "Get on. I'm going to take you somewhere you can raise that baby in peace."

She clambered onto his back and as he straightened she said, "My name is Sachiko. Who are you?"

He grinned at her over his shoulder, "Uzumaki Naruto, at your service Sachiko-chan."

Her eyes widened and she smiled for the first time in a week. If anyone could stymie her father's plans it was the man who was carrying her on his back.

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4 days later in the Land of Waves

Naruto gaped up in shock at the bridge before him. He'd brought Sachiko to Wave, to a place he hadn't visited since he'd said goodbye to Inari seven years ago, and his welcome was seeing the bridge he and Team 7 had busted ass to protect named the Great Naruto Bridge. Before he could absorb that someone approached, a red haired man wearing a hitai-ate with a symbol Naruto hadn't seen before, a rising wave. The man moved in front of Naruto, blocking the blond's path, "What brings you to Namigakure?"

Naruto felt his jaw drop. 'Namigakure?! Since when did this place become a ninja village?' Naruto was about to answer when a familiar voice called to the red haired ninja, "Ichigo-san is something wrong?"

Naruto turned and felt a grin split his face at the sight of the young man approaching them, "Yo Inari what's up?"

The young brunette froze, stared at the blond for a moment, then returned the grin as he walked over, "Naruto-nii what brings you to Namigakure?"

"Well the young lady on my back has a bit of a problem that I need to take care of and I was planning to ask you if you and your family could look after her for a bit while I deal with some nuke-nin after her."

Inari narrowed his eyes and took in the girl Naruto let down from his back. She looked pale, scared, and exhausted. The brunette met Naruto's eyes, "Why are there nuke-nin after her?"

"She's pregnant but her lover died in battle and her father doesn't want the stain of a bastard child in his family."

Naruto's disgust and anger was evident in the snarled statement and both Inari and the redheaded ninja stiffened in outrage at the fact that a man would mark his own daughter for death because she was pregnant out of wedlock. Inari exchanged a glance with the other shinobi and nodded, "Come on. I'll take you to our shinobi chieftain."

Naruto followed Inari and after a bit he cleared his throat, "So Inari, Hidden Wave?"

Inari chuckled, "Yeah. After the bridge was built we had several ninja from a defunct village come here and offer to teach whoever wanted to learn ninja skills. Our leader is going to send a treaty to Konoha along with a request to participate in the chunin exams soon."

Naruto shook his head, "Amazing. I should have come back sooner."

"It'd have been nice but we've heard of your exploits. You didn't really have time to come for a visit if half of what we've heard is true."

"What's the last thing you heard?"

Inari grinned, "That you are officially the Godaime Hokage's heir."

"Hmm, your grapevine's a little bit behind. I'm also married to Sasuke and have four kids."

Inari turned to stared at Naruto, "You married the emo-bastard? and had kids?"

Naruto chuckled, "Yup, I'll give you an explanation later okay?"

"I get the feeling I'm going to want sake during this conversation."

"Probably."

Inari shook his head and finished escorting Naruto and Sachiko to the chieftain's hall. From there they went through the security that came with being brought to a village leader.

Soon they stood before a red haired behemoth of a man. His hands were the size of pie plates and he was taller than Hoshigaki Kisame. His hair was threaded with silver and he had a bushy beard in the same blazing red as his hair. His eyes were a sharp emerald green and crinkled when he smiled at Inari, "I've already got the basics so I'll just ask my questions of this young Leaf nin."

"Hai Akihiko-sama."

The big man looked at Naruto and raised his eyebrows in surprise as the blond met his gaze with a calm, level one of his own. The assured vibrant blue gaze caught him and prodded a memory of many years past but the man shook it off in favor of dealing with the issue at hand, "Well young man, what exactly are you seeking here?"

Naruto crossed his arms loosely, "I'd like to leave Sachiko here while I take care of the ninja her father sent to kill her."

"And afterwards?"

"That's up to her."

"Meaning?"

"If she wants to stay here then I'll like to be able to leave her here with the assurance that she'll be safe. If she want to go elsewhere then I'll take her wherever she'd like to go."

"And if she stays here, how will you keep more missing nin from coming after her?"

Naruto grinned fiercely, "I plan to make a personal visit to her father."

Akihiko nodded, "Well young man, unless your Hokage is against it then you may stay here to deal with the bastards after this young lady."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Just like that?"

Akihiko nodded in approval of his suspicion then met the blue eyes once more, "Let me tell you something about myself and many of the ninja here. We are the last of the ninja from Whirlpool country and if there is one thing we hold sacred above all others it is our women. They are adored, doted on, and beloved by everyone and one that is pregnant, whether married or not is considered even more precious because they hold our future within them. Nothing pisses us off more than someone threatening an innocent woman."

Naruto read the honesty in the man's eyes and nodded, "My mission to protect Sachiko comes from the Hokage herself, she will have no issues with my dealing with the ninja after Sachiko here."

Akihiko smiled, "Good. Inari will escort you to where you will be staying."

Naruto nodded, sketched a quick bow to the chieftain and turned to leave. He was almost out the door when the red haired man spoke again, "One more thing young man."

Naruto looked back over his shoulder, "Yes?"

"Who are your parents?"

Akihiko inhaled sharply at the sadness that came into the blue eyes as the blond answered, "I don't know."

Before the man could ask anything more, Naruto had left, shutting the door silently behind himself. Akihiko frowned and pulled out a mission form, he was assigning one of his best ninja to shadow the blond and discover all he could about him.

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2 days later at Inari's home

Naruto smiled as he watched Inari help Sachiko down the front steps. The young brunette had developed a tendre for the pregnant girl and Naruto found it rather adorable. Naruto shook his head and returned to applying traps to the perimeter of Inari's home. He glanced over at the bushes to his left and sighed, "You know it's getting kinda annoying being stared at. Would you please just come out and ask me what ever you want to know?"

The masked Nami ANBU walked out of the bushes, "How did you know I was there?"

Naruto snorted, "I spent several years avoiding nine of the most dangerous S-class missing-nin while hunting someone who was hunting one of those missing-nin. That's a pretty good way to polish your ability to sense if anyone's watching you."

The ANBU crouched next to Naruto and watched him set up the traps, "You are not an ANBU," he nodded at Naruto's exposed and unmarked upper arm, "so why would you be hunting someone?"

"To keep him from committing suicide by aniki."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why not just ask me what you really want to know?"

The ANBU nodded, "Very well. Who are you?"

The blond smiled as he straightened to move to another spot, "I'm the vessel of Kyuubi, married to Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the Godaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, at your service."

The ANBU nearly tripped then disappeared to report to Akihiko. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the now empty space. He didn't think that the reason for the ANBU's sudden disappearance boded badly for him but he'd reinforce his traps and the defenses in his own room anyway.

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Akihiko signed as his secretary brought in another stack of paperwork. Gods how he hated the paperwork associated with being a village leader. 'At least I don't have as much paperwork as a Kage does. Extreme patience for this crap has got to be a requirement for that position.' Akihiko's head shot up when the ANBU he'd assigned to watch the blond appeared suddenly and took off his mask to reveal a paler than usual man.

The redheaded leader stood, "Shinji? What is it?"

The ANBU sat down in a chair in front of the desk and rubbed a palm over his face, "I don't know whether to jump around like a child in a candy store or to curse fate to hell."

"Shinji what did you discover?"

"First of all the blond is good enough to detect me."

"And?"

"His name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Akihiko's legs gave out as the name hit him in the face and he sat down hard before bellowing for his secretary to fetch Inari.

The brunette entered the room with a confused expression, "Akihiko-sama you summoned me?"

The redhead met Inari's eyes steadily, "I should have asked this earlier but I was perhaps too angry over a woman being threatened to remember my duties as the chieftain of Nami."

"Asked what Akihiko-sama?"

"The name of our young blond visitor. What is it?"

Inari blinked in surprise, "Eh? Ichigo-san didn't tell you?"

Akihiko grit his teeth and got a firm grip on his straining patience, "No Ichigo did not inform me, why would he know our visitors name?"

"Cause he was there when I greeted him."

"I see. Well I am still unaware of his name so if you would please?"

"Sure. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, he's the one my Grandpa named the bridge after."

Akihiko's hand clenched on the edge of his desk so tightly that it cracked and Inari's eyes widened, "Akihiko-sama is something wrong?"

The chieftain shook his head and gestured for Inari to leave. The brunette went out the door with a concerned expression on his face and the ANBU got up and laid a hand on Akihiko's shoulder, "What do you wish me to do cousin?"

The large man let go of the desk and ran his hand through his hair, "How about tell me how to deal with the fact that my sister's only son is here and he's a Konoha ninja?"

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Naruto narrowed his eyes and listened to the almost silent rasp of clothing against leaves. After the ANBU had left, one of the shadow clones that Naruto had stationed along all the routes to Nami had dispelled, giving Naruto the information that the ninja after Sachiko were less than a day's travel away. It appeared that they were here now.

The blond watched a lone ninja pass under him and dropped silently from the tree he was in, slashing downward with a kunai into the top of the man's spinal cord. The rogue ninja made a muffled gurgle before Naruto finished him off. The Uzumaki then ran to intercept the other two before they got to the house.

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Shinji crept toward Inari's home silently, intending to talk with Naruto. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the blond facing off against an unknown ninja, the dead body of another sprawled on the ground a few feet away. Shinji stayed hidden to watch the battle.

Naruto was being very careful about avoiding any blows from the rogue ninja. Shinji wondered why as the blond ducked under the chopping motion his opponent made and flipped a few feet away to perform a few katas, creating a wind dragon the charged towards the rogue ninja. The ninja dodged it with a few inches to spare leaving a small opening in his guard which Naruto took. He created a rasengan and rammed it into the man's side just as the rogue ninja brought a glowing blue hand down and hit Naruto's shoulder blade.

Shinji walked forward and caught Naruto as he staggered back, gasping for air. The blond looked questioningly at the masked man before Shinji knocked him out. The Nami ANBU cursed mentally. 'Fuck Chakra Scalpel. No wonder he didn't want to get hit by that bastard.' Shinji blessed his mother for being adamant that he learn some medical jutsu as he assessed the damage the missing nin's last blow had caused to Naruto. The Scalpel had sliced into the lung and knicked an artery causing serious internal bleeding. Shinji healed the artery and slung the unconscious blond over his shoulder to bring him to the hospital.

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next morning

Naruto groaned as the sunlight hit his face and woke him. The events from last night came rushing back and he shot straight up in bed only to be knocked back onto it by several pounds of upset pregnant girl.

Sachiko had him in a death grip hug and was babbling over him being hurt and thanking him repeatedly. He pat the girl on the back gently as he noticed that he was in a hospital room, "It's okay Sachiko-chan."

She pulled back to look him in the face furiously, "It is not alright! Your lung was sliced into! You could have died last night if that ANBU hadn't found you!"

He met her eyes, "Listen to me Sachiko. I am a ninja. My job is to risk my life to complete a mission, whether that mission is personal or given to me by the Hokage. Believe me I don't want to die on a mission but if my death protects others then I'll die with pride. You grew up in a shinobi household. You know what it means to be a ninja. Besides you know about the fox?"

She let him go and nodded, "Yes."

"Well I've had a chidori rammed through my lung, endured a pile driver, and had an enhanced chidori hit me in the gut all in the same day. My tenant is not about to let something a minor as a sliced lung kill me okay?"

She nodded again and let Inari get at Naruto. The brunette looked at him for a long moment then smacked him on the head.

"Itai! Inari what was that for?!"

"Don't scare me like that again nii-san."

Naruto blinked then laughed, "I'll do my best Inari."

The door opened to reveal Akihiko. The chieftain asked Inari and Sachiko to leave so he could speak to Naruto. He sat in a chair by the blond's bed and stared at him. Finally Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Do I have something on my face?"

Akihiko jolted and shook his head, "No I'm just looking for something."

"What exactly would that be?"

"A feature you get from my sister."

Naruto tensed, "Excuse me?"

Akihiko ran a hand through his hair, "My sister was your mother."

Naruto felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, "What?"

Akihiko stared at Naruto blankly, "You don't know who your parents were?"

Naruto shook his head slowly and Akihiko blew out a breath, "I did wonder why we never got any word of someone searching for the remnants of the clan."

Naruto clenched his hands, "So my parents didn't abandon me?"

The redhead met Naruto's eyes, "No. Your mother wouldn't have abandoned you as long as there was breath in her body nor would your father."

"Who were they?"

"Your mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina and your father was Namikaze Minato, better known as the Yondaime Hokage."

Akihiko expected any reaction but the one he got. He expected fury, tears, demands for information but he certainly didn't expect Naruto to pass out.

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later that day

Naruto was in his room in Inari's home, packing his belongings for the trip home and pushing the information about his parentage to the back of his mind. He had a mission to accomplish and he couldn't afford distractions. He picked up a special seal that Akihiko had given him and fingered it. The chieftain had said that it would give him access to his mother's bank account and safety deposit box in Konoha's bank. He stuffed it the inside pocket of his jonin vest and turned when he heard someone come in.

Sachiko fiddled with a shell necklace that Inari had given her, "Uzumaki-san I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

She smiled, "For helping me and for arranging for me to stay here in Nami."

He shook his head, "You don't have to thank me for that Sachiko-chan."

"I know but I wanted to. Also I wanted to give you this," she handed him a chain with an orange pendant dangling from it, "It's citrine. It promotes mental and emotional clarity among other things."

He blinked, "Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because you seem disturbed by something and because I certain that it will be helpful when you're Hokage."

He smiled, put the pendant on, and gave her a hug, "Thank you Sachiko-chan. I'll take good care of it."

He stepped back and slung his pack on then went down stairs to say good bye to Inari who insisted on accompanying him to the bridge. As Naruto gave Inari a final wave goodbye after to visit with his family as soon as the triplets were old enough to travel, Inari smiled down at Sachiko, "You didn't tell him did you?"

She shook his head, "No I think it would have embarrassed him to know that I'm going to name my daughter after him."

Inari just grinned and imagined what his nii-san's expression would be when he visited and heard Sachiko call her child Naruko.

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mid-afternoon, back in Konoha

Naruto crept into former councilman Danzo's house after knocking several ROOT operatives out and entered the man's bedroom. The old man was sitting in front of his bedroom window, feeling certain of his safety, when a kunai was brought against his throat and a voice hissed in his ear, "Don't bother yelling for help. Your ROOT operatives are all indisposed and any normal ANBU in the area would not lift a hand to aid you."

Danzo swallowed thickly, "What do you want?"

"I'm here to deliver a warning. Leave your daughter alone or you'll soon find yourself dying a very long PAINFUL death. She is now a citizen of Namigakure and their forces are aware of the danger she is in. They are about to make a treaty with Konoha so the Hokage and the chieftain of Nami would be quite...irritated if a misfortune were to befall her," the kunai pressed harder and left a shallow cut to make the point clear, "So I suggest you forget that you have a daughter before you do something you will regret."

"Who are you?"

"Someone who has no qualms about scraping the mucus from your digestive tract, sewing you back up, and watching as you eat yourself alive from the inside out if you continue to threaten Sachiko. Now are you going to leave your daughter alone or do I have to deliver you to shinigami?"

Danzo closed his eyes, "She is safe from me. I will not send any more assassins after her, I swear."

"Good. I'll be watching you to make certain that you're keeping you word and if I even suspect that you aren't..." he let the statement trail off, allowing the press of the kunai to speak for him. Then he disappeared into the night, leaving a shaken Danzo calling for the captain of his guards only to discover that those of his ROOT forces that weren't unconscious were tied up and gagged.

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Naruto appeared before Tsunade and handed her his mission report without his customary loud hello. She blinked at his uncharacteristic silence, "Naruto are you all right?"

"Hokage-sama, I am tired, homesick, and I just found out who my parents were. Right now I just want to go home, hold my children, and be with Sasuke to center myself."

She stood swiftly, "Someone made the connection between you and the Yondaime?!"

Naruto met her eyes, "My mother's older brother told me when he learned my name."

The blond woman sat down hard, "She had living relatives?"

He nodded, "Apparently most of the Uzumaki clan survived."

She rubbed her temple, "Thank the gods. I thought it might have been one of your father's enemies."

"I take it that your silence on the subject of my parentage was meant to protect me?"

"We didn't want anyone with a grudge attacking you and we didn't know if it would hurt you knowing..."

"That my own father sealed the fox into me?"

She nodded and he sighed, "I can't say it makes me feel very good but I do understand why he'd use me instead of someone else."

She got up and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Are you angry at me?"

He shook his head, "No. I know you meant well and everyone's entitled to three big screw ups a day."

She chuckled and gave him a small hug, "Okay. Go home and rest."

He disappeared in a swirl of leaves and Tsunade sat on her desk for a moment before a very pissed off Danzo entered her office.

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Sasuke smiled at the blissfully peaceful triplets and Mikomi. They'd fallen asleep for a nap a few minutes ago and now the raven planned to go take a hot shower and catch a few minutes of sleep for himself. He turned and froze at the sight that greeted him from the nursery door. A wearily smiling Naruto leaned against the door jam, "Taidama teme."

Sasuke walked over to his husband and pulled him into a kiss. The blond let Sasuke's tongue into his mouth and sucked on the slick muscle for a moment before breaking the kiss to lean into Sasuke and burrow his face into the raven's shoulder. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto, "Okakeri nasai usuratonkachi."

Naruto drew in the scent of his beloved, "Mmm it's good to be home."

Sasuke maneuvered Naruto out of the nursery and into their bedroom. He tugged the blond down onto the bed and they settled against each other. The Uchiha ran his fingers along Naruto's scalp, "Tell me."

The Uzumaki drew in a breath and the entire tale spilled out while Sasuke pet his hair soothingly. When Naruto finished, Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he nuzzled Naruto's hair, "You're too forgiving Naruto. They should have told you."

Naruto just smiled, "Maybe but they were trying to save me some hurt. I can't be mad at them for caring about me Sasuke."

"Can I at least kick Kakashi's ass?"

Naruto laughed and nuzzled Sasuke's neck, "Sure. He probably deserves it for something he's done lately."

Sasuke chuckled and rubbed Naruto's back, "Oh by the way something happened while you were on your mission."

"Hmm? What?"

"Sakura had her baby."

Naruto angled his head up to look at Sasuke, "Ah damn I missed it!"

Sasuke laughed softly, "I'm sure she didn't mind."

"So was it a boy or girl? I know Sakura-chan and Choji wanted it to be a surprise. Oh and what does the baby look like?"

"A girl. They named her Cho. She's got Choji's hair and Sakura's eyes and forehead. Plus the Akamichi chubbiness."

"Oh gods, I hope she inherited Sakura-chan's temper."

Sasuke chuckled again, "I'm sure she did plus I'm rather certain that she'll grow up friends with our kids Naruto. I pity any bully foolish enough to take that on."

Naruto smiled, "Yeah you're ri-" a yawn interrupted the exhausted blond and Sasuke pet his husbands hair gently, "Go to sleep Naruto."

"M'kay. Night teme."

Sasuke listened contentedly as Naruto's breathing eased into the pattern of sleep and savored the feeling of everything he cherished being safe and sound before his thoughts turned back to kicking Kakashi's ass.

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Tsunade finished the last of her impromptu paperwork and smirked in amusement as she thought of Danzo's angry panic driven demand that she reprimand the shinobi who'd threatened him. She'd of course told him to fuck off before she gave the shinobi the order to execute Danzo, shutting the ex-councilman up immediately. She locked the information about the two new ANBU members she'd be inducting into the ranks tomorrow away and headed home to inspire her husband's next novel.

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next morning

Naruto groaned as the morning rays pierced his peaceful dreams and woke him up. He burrowed into the arms holding him gently and breathed in the scent of his husband. 'Damn it's good to be home.' As the blond lay there he realized that something was off. 'Wait a sec. The babies haven't cried yet.' Naruto shot up out of bed so fast that he woke Sasuke up. The ravenette watched his usuratonkachi race out of the room in confusion before his brain kicked back in and he too realized that the usual 'feed me' wails hadn't woken them up. Sasuke got up and followed Naruto a bit more leisurely.

The blond threw the nursery door open then stood blinking in surprise when he saw Iruka, Sai, and Obito on the floor playing with the four babies. Iruka looked up and smiled, "We thought that you would like to sleep in today so we fed them before they could cry for food."

Naruto relaxed and walked over to pick Arashi up, grinning as the little boy burbled at him. A tiny voice squeaked out, "Ka!"

Naruto looked down startled at Mikomi who had her arms stretched out towards him. The little girl wiggled her fingers and said, "Ka," again. The blond man crouched down to pick Mikomi up in his other arm, "What was that Komi-chan?"

The baby girl cooed, "Ka. Ka."

Iruka chuckled and Sasuke spoke from the doorway, "She's learned baby talk for 'mommy' and 'daddy' usuratonkachi."

It didn't take Naruto long to get it and he laughed ruefully before nuzzling Mikomi's hair, "So I'm kaa-chan for now huh?"

Sai smirked, "See even children know that you don't have a-"

A bare foot planted itself on Sai's mouth and knocked the pale shinobi to the floor with a foot gag holding him down. Naruto glared at the artist and wiggled his foot to make his point, "First of all Sai, watch your language around the children and second I do have a you-know-what as Sasuke can attest to."

A muffled apology came from under Naruto's foot and the blond removed the impromptu gag from Sai's mouth as Obito chuckled, "I told you that Naruto would take offense to your dirty mouth around the kids koi."

Sai wiped his mouth and looked over at his lover, "So maybe he's not as di-," a throat cleared loudly and Sai amended his words, "Not as girly as I thought."

Naruto rolled his eyes and sat down so that he could blow razzberries on Mikomi and Arashi's bellies. Sasuke came over to sit beside him and took Kaji from Iruka. The baby boy decided to grab one of his daddy's bangs and chew on it. Sasuke grimaced and began the process of tugging his hair out of his son's grasp. The baby boy released the hair with a baby version of the Uchiha 'hn' as the wet strand hit Sasuke in the face and lay plastered against the pale cheek. A gurgle of laughter was heard from Hikari, who was being cuddled by Obito and Sasuke eyed her as he grabbed a small hand towel from Iruka and wrung the baby spit out of his hair. He raised an eyebrow at her but she just looked back happily. The Uchiha shook his head, "You, are far too much like your Kaa-chan."

Naruto sent a mock scowl Sasuke's way, "Oi, don't you start with that Sasuke."

Before the Uchiha could tease his husband, Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke much to the squealing delight of Hikari, who immediately began squirming and reaching for the copy ninja. The masked man casually picked the blond girl up and bounced her in his arms while he gave Naruto and Sasuke an amused look, "I'm sorry to interrupt but Hokage-sama needs to see the two of you."

The two exchanged glances and handed the babies in their arms to either Iruka or Obito before shunshin-ing away.

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Tsunade looked up as Naruto and Sasuke appeared in front of her desk. Naruto folded his arms irritably, "Okay Baa-chan what's up?"

She smiled, "I have a question for the two of you."

"Well then ask."

"Hn."

Rather than get angry like she normally would she smiled, causing both the shinobi before her to shiver in worry, "Alright here's my question. Do either one of you wish to join the ANBU?"

Naruto blinked, "Well duh Baa-chan. It's kinda a requirement for me to become Hokage."

Sasuke just nodded and the Godaime chuckled happily, "Good then as of today you two will officially be ANBU members. The only thing needed is for you to get the tattoos."

Naruto's jaw hit the floor and Sasuke raised an eyebrow in surprise. The blond man gathered his composure and looked Tsunade in the eyes, "You're serious?"

"Yes. Sasuke was tested while on a mission a few months back though he didn't know it and you proved your capabilities when you took out Danzo's entire ROOT bodyguard force. Of course you'll be starting at the bottom of the food chain but knowing you two you'll rise through the ranks soon enough."

Naruto grinned ferally, "You bet we will Baa-chan."

She chuckled and began explaining exactly what was expected of them in ANBU, at the end of the lecture she'd place the tattoo on their arms.

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Well I know I said I'd start major rearing children time skips this chapter but as usual my muse decided to make me do otherwise.

Ri:(munching on popcorn while watching Itachi and Sai go at it) You know you love me.

T.W.: Hmph. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse with each chapter I add to this.

Ri: Oh lighten up, you have two gorgeous men banging each other in front of you and you're worrying over how long this fic is?

T.W.: I can ogle and worry at the same time, it's called multi-tasking.

Ri: (smirks and make a few hand signs) I think you need a distraction.

T.W.: (edges away nervously) Ri what are you doing? (recognizes the signs) NO! NOT HIM!

Ri: Yes him.

T.W.: (starts running away) I'm outta he-yipe! (falls down into a lap)

Danny: (nuzzles T.W.'s neck) What's your hurry beautiful?

T.W.: Danny watch where you're putting your hands! Ri I'm gonna kill you.

Danny: Aw but kitty I am watching where I'm putting my hands.

T.W.: (squawks and slaps at Danny's hands) Keep you hands to yourself buster before I cut them off!

Danny: If I do will you introduce me?

T.W.: (sighs) Fine but keep your hands away from my ass and chest. Everyone this (points at the guy holding her) is Danny. He's my sex muse. You see Ri is the muse that comes up with my plots and story lines but she can't quite manage lemons so she brought her own personal slave with her.

Ri: Yup but Tee hates when I bring him out with me because-

T.W.: Hands! Danny keep them on my waist damn it!

Ri: He's constantly horny and Tee's his favorite target for his affection.

T.W.: Affection my ass.

Danny: I'm very affectionate towards your ass.

T.W.: (slaps at Danny's hands again) Hands OFF! Ri damn it you know he's too much of a handful for me to focus on anything.

Ri: Exactly my point. While he's here you can't spazz over how long WO is.

T.W.: I could learn to hate you Ri. Danny! What did I just tell you!

Danny: (pouts) But kitty you're sooo cute when you're flustered.

T.W.: (growls) Danny if you don't behave I'll neuter you.

Ri: Since Tee's a little distracted I'll end this chapter by saying, Tee hopes you liked it, please review and feel free to question her.
Oh! and Garmiet Tee's not ignoring you she just hasn't gotten around to replying to your reviews yet due to school obligations but she is seriously, pleasantly surprised that you really reviewed every chapter even though there were already 50 chapters.

Well take care kiddies, see you again soon hopefully.

T.W.: Ja ne! Danny you touch that again and I'll feed you your balls!

Ri: (sweatdrops) Uh bye.