After the pain

Disclaimer: Okay, as anyone who knows the story of Naruto knows, I do not own any of
the characters.
HOW EVER! In this chapter you will meet some oc's and they are MINE!
Uta(song), Hiki, Meeka, Oshi, Most of which are of
coarse minor members of the cast.

Darkness lives: Thanks, hope you continue to enjoy.


Chapter eight,
I would like to dedicate this chapter to mylittle girls. Hinata, Hinabi, Nina & Anko

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Temari sat nervously playing with her fingers as she waited for Naruto to return.
When she had woken up around noon she had found a note telling her he would be back early to take her shopping.

After finding something to eat and having a shower, she realized that she didn't have anything to wear except the t-shirt and boxers she had slept in.
And the boxers had a knot tied in the side to keep them from falling down.

She had snooped through Naruto's closet, but without much hope as his t-shirt nearly reached her knees.
So it was no surprise that all the clothes she found were at least five times too big for her.
Naruto was a big man.
Although only slightly taller then her two brothers, the blonde leaf Shinobi had a much larger build, even larger then Kankuro's.

Funny how she had never noticed that before now.
And strange that she didn't feel threatened by his obvious strength.

Of coarse none of that was the reason she was fidgeting on the couch now.

She was reliving the events of the previous night and berating herself for being such.... such a sniveling weakling.

Temari was still having trouble believing that she had actually begged Naruto to let her stay with him.
She was a Jonin for crying out loud!
She shouldn't be so dependant on anyone.


The sound of a key in the door caused her to jump.
But she was able to compose herself before Naruto stepped through the door.

"Hi Temari, did you sleep well?" He asked with a cheerful grin.

It was amazing how she felt herself relaxing in his presence.

"Yes thank you." She had about worked up the nerve to open her mouth and tell him to forget about her asking to stay when he held up a bag.

"I stopped by the hotel and picked up your things. Your clothes have been washed and pressed."

For some strange reason Temari found her self ready to cry.
He had gotten her clothes cleaned!
She was really getting pathetic.

Doing her best to keep her wayward emotions in check she retrieved the bag from Naruto and thanked him.

"Why don't you get dressed and we'll go catch a bite to eat before we go shopping." He offered.

"Are you sure?" Temari asked, she had never heard of a man who willingly went shopping with a woman in tow, especially for said women's clothes.

"No problem, I need to get a bunch of groceries any way. I cleaned out the fridge before I left so there isn't much food in the house." He informed her with a smile.

'So that's the reason, well at least he's being honest.'

Temari decided not to let the offer pass, even if she wasn't planning on staying with him. So she quickly retreated into the bathroom to change.

Scarcely five minuets later she reemerged ready to go.

She felt herself blush when Naruto took in her appearance then nodded him approval before ushering her out the door.

"So what would you like for a late lunch Temari?" Naruto asked as they descended the five flights of stairs that lead down to the street.

"Well, I seem to remember you saying once that you always eat at the Ramen stand at lunchtime, do you still do that?" Temari asked, she really didn't care where they ate as long as it was food.
"I do." Naruto confirmed. "But you already had Ramen today."

Startled, Temari glanced up at him.
"How do you know that?"
Did her breath smell?

Naruto chuckled. "Because that's the only thing left to eat in my cupboards other then pickles and crackers."

"Oh, I guess your right." Temari admitted feeling kind of silly for her reaction.

"I really don't mind though." She assured him.

They reached the street and Naruto steered her towards the market area.

"I don't care either way, whatever you want." He told her. "Food is food and I'm starving."

"Then Ramen it is." Temari stated firmly.

With another chuckle Naruto lead the way and they were soon slurping down noodles.

"So how has your day been?" Temari asked when she was finished her bowl while Naruto was on his third.

"Not bad, I could use a nap though." He winked at her to tell her he wasn't serious about the comment.

Temari still felt guilty having kept him up most of the night.
She was really going to have to find a way to make up for all the trouble she had caused him.

"Ready to go?" Naruto's voice brought her back from her musings and she realized that he had finished his noodles.
He was placing money on the counter to pay for the meal when...

"UNCLE NARUTO!!!" Split the air.

"Here comes trouble." The blonde chuckled as he turned and slid off his stool.

Temari also slide from her perch and was just in time to see two young children launch them selves at a crouching Naruto.

The blonde caught one in each arm then quickly stood and started to spin in a tight circle.
The boy and girl squealed in glee at his antics as their legs swung out from the momentum of the rapid turning.

Once Naruto came to a stop with the two giggling madly in his arms, Temari was able to determine who they must belong too.
With their black hair and eyes they had to belong to the Uchiha clan.

"Dooobeee." Came another childish squeal. The source was a small boy who was toddling towards them as well.
Temari guessed he was about two years old and it appeared that he was trying his best to keep up with his older siblings.

The toddler was followed by a glowering Uchiha, Sasuke who was also escorting a chuckling, very pregnant black haired woman with dancing blue eyes.

Temari almost didn't recognize the woman it had been a number of years since she had seen her. Uta, a girl Sasuke had met in Sound and after escaping Orochimaru had with Naruto's help gone back to get her.

Naruto set the two older children down and bent to pick up the little one. However the older boy who appeared to be about seven and girl approximately five, didn't seem ready to let go of the big blonde so they both jumped onto his back and hung onto his neck and shoulders when he stood again with the toddler in his arms.
All three children squealed as they were lifted into the air.

"What are you doing here Dobe?" Sasuke growled at Naruto once he had caught up with his children.

"Doooooooo-beeeeeeeeee." The toddler mimicked with a toothy grin.

Ignoring the child Naruto rolled his eyes at his old rival.

"Eating, what else ba..bird head."

All the youngsters giggled.
Temari didn't catch the Uchiha's reaction, she was distracted watching the way the older kids were now clinging to Naruto's clothes in an effort to stay on his back.

But she didn't miss the correction Naruto had made in mid speech she was pretty sure what he would have said if the little ones weren't present.

"You're late!" Sasuke retorted. "Your usually done lunch by now."

Temari was puzzled she had no idea why it would matter when the blonde ate.
'I am definitely missing something.' She mused as she noticed Uta trying to suppress a grin.

"You know me Sasuke, anytime's a good time to have Ramen." Naruto's chuckle was almost drowned out by three little voices.

"RAMEN!"

Temari started as the two clinging children suddenly dropped to the ground and ran over
to their father.

"Can we have Ramen Daddy? Please, please!" Two voices begged in unison.

"Pees, pees." The toddler mimicked from Naruto's arms.

Temari saw both Naruto's and Uta's shoulders shake with silent laughter as Sasuke was being assaulted by three pairs of puppy eyes.

Still unsure exactly what was going on Temari stepped up to Naruto's side and gave him a questioning look.

"The 'R' word was mentioned." He explained with a grin. "It just happens to be their favorite food."

The sand nin still wasn't sure she understood until she heard Sasuke point out that lunch had already been had for the day.

"But it's Ramen Daddy, Please." The older boy begged.

"We'll share." The girl offered.

"No, you had some the other day." The Uchiha stated firmly.

"AWWW Daaaad." Again in unison.

"No. And that's final." The black eyes man then glared over his children's heads at Naruto.

Meanwhile Uta untangled herself from her harassed husband and approached Temari.

"Temari of sand right?" She asked in her soft voice as she extended her hand in greeting.

"Yes, Uchiha, Uta isn't it." Temari replied as she shook the offered hand. "It has been some time since we have spoken."

Nodding the dark haired woman smiled. "That is true, I don't believe you have been in Konoha in quite some time."

"It has been at least a couple years." Temari agreed.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sasuke's voice, which was a little louder then usual as he had to raise it in order to be heard over the begging voices of his children.

"This is all because of you I should bar you from my house." He told Naruto.

"Ya, you probably should." Naruto agreed with a straight face as he walked over to the black haired man and handed the smallest Uchiha over.

"So when do you need me to baby sit?" He asked, one corner of his mouth twitching.

Sasuke sighed as he settled the toddler on his hip. "Saturday."

"Five?"

"Six."

"I'll be there." Naruto promised as he ruffled the little one's hair.

Uta smiled at Temari and went to rejoin her family.
Naruto claimed her hand for a kiss before biding the Uchiha's goodbye and watched with a grin as Sasuke ushered his pouting children and chuckling wife past the Ramen stand and down the street.

Temari stood rooted to the spot, a little too puzzled to move.
The lack of a greeting from the brooding Sasuke didn't bother or surprise her but the rest of the goings on left her completely baffled.

"Ready to go Temari?" Naruto asked offering his arm.

"What just happened here?" She asked, sliding her arm through his before she thought better of it.

"Well the long and the short of it is that I introduced the kids to Ramen, which they have decided they love. But Sasuke really doesn't like it all that much."
Naruto grinned. "It's sort of a standing joke between us that sometimes the kids act more like me then they do him."

Temari frowned, that clarified absolutely nothing.
"I'm not sure that I understand." She confessed.

"Well I guess it is a little hard to figure out, basically it's just the way the kids and I like to bug Sasuke." Naruto winked at her before leading her towards the shopping district.

Temari mentally shook her head, it still didn't make a lot of sense but then she had never had a friend that was close enough to develop inside jokes with.

'I wonder what it would be like.'

To have someone other then her brothers to hang out with on a regular basis, another person to share her dreams and hopes with.
It was a strange concept.

"Naruto-sensei." A young voice interrupted her train of thought.

Three children approached.
Temari guessed them to be around twelve, maybe thirteen as they already sported the leaf headbands of their village.

Naruto greeted them all warmly.

"Look Sensei," The lone girl pointed to her headband. "We all graduated today."

Temari could see the excitement on all three faces as they waited for Naruto's response.

"Yes, I was at the exams today, you all did very well." Naruto praised.

The youngsters beamed as Temari tried to remember if Naruto had ever mentioned to her that he was a teacher.

"Temari." Naruto's deep voice caught her attention.
"I would like you to meet three members of this years graduating class. Taruno, Hiki." He indicated the boy on the left with hunter green hair and gold colored eyes.
" Taruno, Meeka." The girl sported a lighter color of green in her hair then her family member as well as emerald eyes. "And Hasita, Oshi." The second boy had white and black streaked hair and purple eyes.
Each of the youngsters bowed politely as their names were spoken.

"And this is Temari-san of the Sand." Naruto informed his underlings.

Meeka's eyes grew round as Temari inclined her head in greeting.

"Are you the sister of the Kazkage?" The girl blurted.

The sand kunoichi nodded, a little curious as to the girl's reaction.

The female genin clapped her hands together and sighed dramatically. "He's so cute."

The boy Hiki elbowed her in the side causing her to yelp in surprise while Naruto burst out laughing.

Temari wasn't quite sure what the now grumbling girl had been talking about.
She looked to the chuckling Naruto for an explanation.

"She means Gaara." He supplied with a wink.

Temari was floored!
This little girl thought Gaara was cute?!!

If she thought about it sure, he had matured very well and if it wasn't for the black lining his eyes she supposed he would be quite striking.
Not that she had ever stopped to consider how her brothers ranked in the looks department.
Gaara was to anti- social to give it much thought while Kankuro hadn't been seen without his face paints in so many years she wasn't sure she remembered what he looked like without them.

Finally she decided to put those thoughts aside for a later time as Naruto steered her around the three new graduates.

"I'll be at the training grounds at six sharp, If you want help be on time." He told them as they passed.

"Yes Sensei!" Three voices chimed in unison.

It wasn't until then that Temari realized that she had missed an entire conversation.

"I didn't know you were a teacher." She commented to Naruto in an effort to cover up her laps.

"I'm not, but there are some genin and students who occasionally have asked for some help." He replied.

"That's very nice of you." She murmured.

"Depends on who you talk too." He stated darkly.

She knew what that meant.
Just like Gaara, Naruto was a demon vessel.
And no matter what he did, there would always be those people who would not accept him.

"You don't need to worry about Meeka." Naruto told her, his voice back to its usual light tone.
Temari realized he was changing the subject and didn't object.

"That girl has a new crush every week." He reassuringly patted her hand that rested on his forearm.

Temari had to admit she was relived.
She had no idea if the girl would be brave enough to voice her opinion to Gaara's face, but better safe then sorry.
There was just no telling how her cold sibling would react to something like that, to her knowledge no one had ever told him anything like that in his life.

It was with a hint of sadness that she realized how closed off her whole family was.
Kankuro was probably the only one who actually went out the occasional evenings on purpose.

Naruto's now cheerful voice cut into her speculation of her families short comings.

"To date I believe Meeka has declared Kiba to be the most masculine man she has ever laid eyes on and Kakashi the most handsome."

Temari's eyebrows went up. "I thought your former teacher always wore a mask."

Naruto's eyes twinkled. "He does."

She found herself laughing now she had an idea of how the girls mind worked.
An overly active imagination at it's best.

"Now where was I?" Naruto mused. "O right. Kankuro has been pegged as the one with the most potential."

Temari laughed harder, her Hentai brother?

"And, she asked Sasuke to marry her." Naruto finished with a chuckle. "And those are just the ones that I know about."

Temari giggled behind her hand. She would have loved to see what the Uchiha's reaction had been.

"So what about you Naruto?" She asked nudging him with her elbow. "Are you saying she hasn't crushed on you yet?" She teased, batting her lashes up at him.

"Actually she proposed to me after Sasuke turned her down."

"Oh really?" She drew the question out teasingly.

"According to her it would be an advantageous match for her as I'm the next in line to be Hokage."

Temari had to admit she was a little stunned.
All that going around in the head of a twelve year old it was amazing?

"So what did you tell her?" She was very curious to know how he had handled the situation.

"I told her that I would rather be her teacher and help her become a strong ninja so that she didn't have to worry about finding a husband until she was ready for one."

The kunoichi had to admit it was a good way to answer without hurting the girl's feelings. But was curious as to why he had chosen it.
As if reading her mind Naruto explained.

"Meeka saw her mother murdered by a robber, her father had died of an illness not long before. She came to live with an aunt and uncle a little over a year and a half ago."

He sighed. "Despite the fact that she passed three years of training at the academy in only a little over a year she still thinks she needs a man to protect her." He finished soberly.

"And you don't think she does?" Temari had no idea where that question had come from.

"Do you?" Naruto asked in return.

Before she could even begin to think of a reply he steered her into a store and the chance was lost.

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