Naruto 1. Was thinking of you last night

(Me no own Naruto. He belongs to Kishimoto.)

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I'm not sure this will get to you. I'm not even sure if I'm sending this towards the right place but.. I like to think that I knew you well enough, to know the difference between a dream and a message. I bet, if someone else, other than you finds this that, they're going to think I'm crazy. Still not sure if they'll be right or not, after you disappeared. Team seven took it hard. Lady Tsunade refuses to hold your funeral, seeing as she thinks you're still alive.

I believe her.

The other night, I caught her in a bar. She wasn't drunk, or anything like that, just... Relaxed. She looks tired a lot nowadays, but I think it's all the paperwork left over from the war. I was happy to see her so relaxed, and I ended up having a long conversation with her. I can't remember the last time I felt so oddly at ease. She's a great woman.

It's been a long time since she's taken a sip of alcohol, she stopped after the war. It's been three years actually. Three years since you dropped off of the face of the earth, taking the bijuus with you. I wonder what you saw, and what you felt in that blinding light. It reminded me of the first time I saw a camera flash; just as quick too. People stopped looking for you after awhile, like a lost photograph...

Sasuke and Sakura are going to have their first child soon. I thought I'd let you know. It's a boy, and you should seem them, they practically glow when Sakura isn't telling Sasuke how much she despises the smell of his tomatos. She's stubborn, and refuses to take her maternity leave. Sasuke worries about her a lot.. Him and Ino have that in common.

Speaking of your teammates, Sai and Kakashi have started playing shogi. They play it a lot, and Shikamaru watches sometimes. Konoha is doing okay. So I thought, I'd ask you how you were doing... I'm okay. I asked Sakura how she was so strong before.

She said she looked up at the sky, and remembered that Sasuke was under it too.

It made me feel a little better.

With love,  
Hinata.

P.S Neji is mad at you.

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Have to let those plot bunnies out sometime. Or else they might kill you if they get the chance...

This fic will contain both regular fic, and then letters. More letters at the beginning though..

Enjoy.


	2. Odd Day

Me no own Naruto. He be owned by Kishimoto.

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It was a quiet evening at the Rikudo household, and Naruto was unsure on about how that came to be. Seeing as most of the time all he heard was the constant screaming of two boys. He supposed it had been their little spat earlier. Maddy was always the selfish one, refusing to let Hashi play with any of his stuff. While at the same time considered Hashi's public property. Not to mention Tobi was just a dick about everything. This resulted in plenty of problems, and their spat today had been one of them.

Then there was Izu, who was worse than Tobi and refused to call Naruto anything but 'Mom', much to Naruto's demise. Not to mention he'd somehow roped the others into calling him that too... The last two were Ita and Tachi. Naruto had no clue how his best friend's older brother had gotten thrown into the mix, but he was there. Ita and Tachi were the quietest, most likely to listen children. Even when they'd been toddlers, they'd listened more than Hashi and Maddy did now. Of course, none of them had any memories. Nothing.

They just knew some blond kid was their Mom. It was hard taking care of four toddlers and two kids just a little older than toddlers when you're twenty and live alone. He never pictured himself as one to be taking care of kids at an early age. The only things that kept him sane were his shadow clones and the occasional help of the bijuu.

But it had been even harder when he was seventeen, taking care of four babies equal to newborns and two toddlers. Especially when he had no place to live and no money whatsoever.

When he was still in his ripped clothing that had splotches of blood. Wet, sticky patches of blood. How did anyone even explain that?

Naruto had had to. He remembers doing so. The memory itself is foggy, which isn't surprising since he was dizzy with blood loss when it all happened. The jinchuuriki is thankful he ended up outside of an inn.

**0o0o0o Flashback ~**

A ... Not so good Inn, seeing as the place itself was pretty run down. It looked pretty empty too. The building itself was leaning to the side. There were no lights on inside from what Naruto could tell. Luckily once he began coming back to his senses he noticed a few presences inside.

Pushing himself up, he felt a few drops of rain hit his neck. He groaned, his nerves already in ashes. Just great.

A sharp cry made him look to his right, and realization hit him. Two little babies wrapped in his jacket. Naruto looked at them for a moment, dazed as information surged through his head. He swallowed at the lump in his throat and forced his body up. He felt like dead weight. The blond looked to his other side and found that there were two more being held by a toddler and small child. One had long black hair, and the other had spikey hair, half of it being white. Their little bodies were covered by white kimonos, and to Naruto's relief, they were breathing a long with the babies nestled between them.

Finally sitting back on his bum, he grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and pulled the two crying founders of Konoha towards him. He had no clue on how to take care of them... For a moment, he considered giving them to someone better qualified to take care of children. Naruto, after all, was just some seventeen year old who was also savior of the ninja world. Not that he was sure that counted when it came to children. He couldn't though. That'd been the deal he'd made.

Naruto scooped the two up and held them in his arms, pressing them against his chest. He sat for a few moments longer before crawling towards the two toddlers. Mud caked on his hands, he gently shook the older child's shoulder. He looked to be around five or so. The child with half a head of white hair finally began to wake up. He stared up at Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto gave him a weak smile, and ruffled his hair after he wiped the mud off on the side of his pants.

"Hey, do you think you can get up?" He asked, his voice soft. The child nodded, pushing himself up. Naruto handed him one of the babies he'd been holding. He sat down who he was pretty sure was Madara, next to the baby with white hair. He howled in defiance. Naruto sighed, hoping he had enough chakra left for at least one clone. After a few signs, he managed to get one. Just that left his head spinning. Naruto forced himself up and scooped Madara and Tobi into his arms. His clone grabbed the toddler and other baby. He swallowed harshly, his head spinning. This was going to be fun.

He could barely walk straight, and his clone wasn't doing so great either. The Inn wasn't too far away, but to Naruto, it felt like it'd taken hours to get to the entrance.

The stone path that lead to the door was covered in weeds, and the door itself was chipping at the edges. Naruto felt too sick to question it though. He just wanted to get inside.

The blond stood there for a good twenty minutes before someone opened the door. A young girl, around the age of twelve opened it. Still in her night gown, she looked up at him through sleepy brown eyes. She yawned. "Do you have any idea what time it is-" She froze when she got a good look at him.

He could only imagine what he looked like. A bleeding seventeen year old in ripped clothing carrying two small infants, with a shadow clone behind him carrying two more. Another little kid with a fourth baby in his arms. It'd be a great story to tell when she was older. A moment later, she began screaming 'Jiji' at the top of her lungs.

Twenty minutes later and an aching conversation with a stubborn old man, Naruto got himself a room at the cost of housework.

The twelve year old, or, as he now knew her as 'Yuko', lead him to his room. Apparently it was four am, and unbeknownst to the inhibitors of the inn, the fourth great ninja war had just ended about an hour ago.

Floorboards creaked underneath their weight as they continued down the hallway. Yuko's candle the only light for the two. From what Naruto could tell, the outside of the inn wasn't the only thing that needed a new layer of paint. He felt a sigh escape his lips as he followed Yuko around a corner. The girl glanced back at him, brown eyes full of curiosity. "So, how'd ya' end up all the way in the corner of Tea country with six lil' babes like that? Eh?"

"It's a long, complicated story I don't really care to share right now..."

"Really? You show up at our inn out of nowhere and we give you a free room to stay in and ya' won't tell me how ya' got here? What kinda bull-crocky is that?"

"Bull-crocky." Naruto barely managed to get the words out. What he'd do to have Sakura healing him right now...

The girl huffed, making an abrupt stop. Room number 23. "There's a bed in there to wrap them babies up on. There's also a mat for you in the closet, a long with a few blankets."

"But won't they roll off?"

"What roll off?"

"The babies."

"Not if you wrap em' up tight enough."

Naruto looked at her incredulously.

"What's with that stupid face? What, you know how to take care of babes? Well, excuse you, but I took care of my three lil' siblings after momma died in birth. Jiji didn't want nothin' to do with three lil' whine'n crocadillies and I stepped up. They're all mighty fine youngsters now. Even Papa said I did a good job."

Yuko glared up at the teenager and snatched the babies from his arms before he could protest. She walked over to the closest and took a blanket from one of the shelves. She laid the two babies on the bed while she spread out the blanket. Once she smoothed it out, she placed the infants in the middle and gestured Naruto over.

"Now get a good look on how I do this, cause' I ain't doing it again.

She proceeded to wrap them up like fruit in a pastry. Naruto just stared.

"That isn't going to hurt them or-"

"I'll bring some milk up for em' a lil' bit. Still got some formula in the cabinets..."

Yuko proceeded out of his room, shutting the door behind her in a stern manner, but not with enough force to slam it.

Naruto gestured his clone to do the same as the girl had done, giving the five year old the toddler, and taking a brown haired baby in return. Naruto stumbled over to the closet and managed to get the mat out. He put it down on the floor, his vision blurring. The last thing he remembers is the five year old curling up beside him, a toddler in his arms.

Naruto awoke to the sound of babies crying. Their high-pitched squeals unwelcoming to his roaring headache. His eyes creaked open, only to be met with blurriness. A few minutes of blinking later, he managed to focus on something. Yuko sit propped against the bed, a baby in her arms and a bottle of milk lay spilt on the floor beside. Quiet snores left her lips. He smiled a little, trying to move so he could check on everything, but found himself unable to. His limbs felt like lead, and his body ached with fever. He noticed a semi-wet cloth on his head and blinked. Someone had been taking care of him?

To his luck, Yuko began to stir. Her blond curls fell to the side as she stretched, a yawn passing between her lips. She blinked a few times before her eyes were directed to Naruto.

"Finally awake, eh? Ya've been sleeping for two days now, and I've been taking care of your brats. You got some fever there... I hope you like housework when ya' get up."

Naruto stared at her, trying to think straight. He'd been asleep for two days? The blond made an attempt to sit up again, and he'd actually managed to get halfway there when- He lost consciousness. Again.

Three days later, Naruto woke up again. He felt.. Sore. But not sickly, like before. In fact, he felt like a few million ryo. The blond sat up and stretched his muscles a bit; it was probably one of the best feelings in the world. Beside him, the five year old began to stir.

Yuko appeared in the doorway, a few bottles in her arms. She let out a sigh of relief. "Finally! The Blondie has awoken, after a week of my laboring away to take care of your sorry ass and kiddies, you will now have to get your lazy bum up and take care of them yourself. Plus housework."

He smiled at her. "Gladly... I don't suppose you have any clothes I can borrow, do you? I'm like, ya'know... Sorta in... Not so fresh clothing..."

She nodded, handing him the bottles. They were a little warm to the touch. Naruto sat them down on the floor beside him, pulling the blanket off of his legs and sitting in a cross-legged position.

"I'll go check the attic. Feed the little ones, kay? And uh- The oldest one, you know, the one with weird hair, I brought him some rice up earlier-so... Yeah." Yuko didn't bother to close the door as she disappeared around the corner.

Now alone, Naruto decided to look around a bit. As he stood up, he noticed the bed had been turned into a makeshift crib by tying the sheets to the bed frame and tucking them under the mattress. He peered down at the infants.

There was Tobirama and Hashirama curled up on the left end, and Madara wasn't too far away from Hashirama; then there was Izuna curled up against his brother, and finally Itachi all alone at the right end. Naruto poked his cheek, smiling goofily. He'd never admit it, but he really liked children. The toddler with silky black hair glanced up at him, and smiled back. The blond just about fell over. Itama giggled, holding on to what was left of his ripped mesh shirt. Naruto ruffled his hair awkwardly. He got the feeling this was going to be a long day.

Having already woken Itachi up, Naruto turned and picked a bottle up from the floor. He let Itama hold the bottle while he positioned Itachi in his arms. After doing so, Itama handed him the bottle, watching the blond eagerly. The silky-haired toddler noticed his fumbling and just snatched the bottle, looking somewhat irritated. Naruto gave him an apologetic look, only to be ignored. Deciding to just let the little brat have his milk, Naruto put him back on to the bed. Since when was Itachi such a brat? Wait, Naruto couldn't call him that, could he? It was supposed to be a new start for them, after all.

"Guess I'll call you Tachi...- And-" He turned to Itama. "You, Ita- Then- Tobi, Hashi, Maddy, and then Izu. There."

"Those are some weird names. But don't worry, I don't judge." Yuko said, popping up behind him. She held out some grey clothing toward him. Naruto gathered himself and took them from her, with a quiet thank you. Since when do twelve year olds pop up behind people like that?

"I'll feed the rest of em', since you apparently suck at it." She looked down at Tachi, who was nearly finished with his bottle. Yuko then turned to Naruto, frowning at his greasy hair. "There's a bath house downstairs. I recommend you go to it. You smell and look like blood and sweat. Ew."

Naruto gave her a sheepish smile before exiting. He stopped, a question hitting him. "Why are you taking care of me?" He asked, his eyes baring into her back. "Cause' you got a helluva lot' work to do when you're dressed. Sides', you got them angel eyes of yours. I don't think you're the type to run off without paying somebody..."

He grinned a little. "You're a good judge of character... I'll try not to take too long." Before he could fully leave, Yuko shoved Ita at him. "Bathe this little runt too. Smells just as good as you." She said, already turning back to the infants. "Got it..." Naruto replied, glancing down at Ita before continuing towards the stairs. The little kid latched on to his mesh shirt again as they headed down the steps.

The bath house was sort of nice, but it was still run down. Only two of the showers worked and the bath would have to be cleaned before it was used again. He sighed as he stripped himself of his net shirt. He noticed Itama was just watchng him. "Oi, I gotta undress you too, don't I?" He mumbled to himself as he began removing the child's shirt. It was a faded yellow color, and Naruto guessed Yuko must've given it to him. He put their clothing on a bench a few feet away. Oddly enough, Itama was already sitting under the hot water when Naruto turned back to him. The caked on mud from the other night fell into the drain as he just stood there.

Grabbing a bottle of shampoo from a rack nearby, Naruto pulled Ita away from the stream of water and poured a glob of flowery smelling goo on to his head. Ita gave him a funny look. "Relax, ne. I'm not gonna leave it in." Naruto lathered it into his hair as Ita just stood there, staring at him with a goofy look on his face. "It must feel nice, after being covered in mud for a week." Ita nodded. "So you do understand me..." Naruto had been wondering, since Ita didn't seem to talk much.

Naruto put his head under the water for a moment before Ita grabbed the shampoo bottle and started pouring some on Naruto's blond hair. The blond smiled as Ita began rubbing it into his hair. When Ita was sure he'd gotten every bit of Naruto's hair covered in shampoo (poor Naruto had been sitting there for fifteen minutes as the kid lathered away) both of them sat down under the stream of water. Ita leaned against Naruto and closed his eyes as the suds ran down his face. The kid certainly knew how squeeze people's hearts. Geez. He wondered if Ita was part puppy or something.

Either way, the child was already worming itself into Naruto's heart. They were going to be spending a long time together anyway.

After they both got dressed, Naruto headed back to his room, where Yuko stood with a notepad and pencil, having made a terribly long list of chores that needed doing. The blond simply nodded and read over the list. "Do you have everything I'll need to do all this stuff? I can't exactly fix floorboards with a dish cloth..."

Yuko rolled her eyes. "Relax. I got everything we- no, you need, in the supply closet downstairs."

Naruto nodded. "Well since this is a pretty long list, I think I'll enlist some help." The blond bit down on his thumb and did a few hand seals before slamming his palm down on the floor.

Nine clones appeared, each with a different set of eyes.

"Alright! You guys ready help, ne?!"

They all looked at him like he was nuts. "We're bijuu, not maids."

"Yeah well, you guys gotta learn sometime..."

It was definitely going to be a long day.

**o0o0o0o**

This chapter will be continued in the next chapter... I just really wanted to get an update in. Let you guys taste the plot a bit more. I hope you'll forgive my cruddy writing...

Review pleaasseee. I've made it it a rule to review everything I read, so, hopefully you'll decide to too.

Will update bi-weekly, at least. Will also try to update my other fics too.


	3. Thinking of you

Hey.

I got your letter. (well obviously)

I'm sending this from a friend's return address. I don't want them to know. If they did, they would want me to come back home. I want to. Real bad.

But I can't.

I'm sorry. To be honest, I didn't deserve your letter. I grinned so hard when I got it. I'm pretty sure I'll still be smiling long after I've put this in the mail.

I was tempted to not reply. To keep your sweet smell'n letter under my pillow and hope to dream of your pretty face and bottomless strength. I'm an idiot though. Picked up a pencil and well, started writing this letter.

I'm being selfish, but I think, it's okay to be a bit selfish sometimes.

Teme's going to have a kid?! Kami.. Take a picture of it and let me know if his scowl is hereditary.

Sai and Kakashi? Sai hasn't picked up Kakashi's reading habits, has he? I hope not. Doesn't sound very child friendly, you know?

Why is Neji mad at me? He didn't find out about um, well, you know... Did he?

I still don't regret that. We were a bit young, but people die young too.

Sorry about not being around much afterward. I really wanted to talk to you, but things kept moving and before I knew it, Granny had me sent out of the village. I should have picked you up and swirled you around before I left for the island... and well.. When I saw you on the battlefield, you know what happened next.

Wouldn't have gotten up without you. You're always saving me, you know? Even now.

Granny's tough. Should've known she wouldn't take something that looked like a magic trick seriously.

And it didn't hurt so bad, by the way. I did hurl though. It felt like... Like being caught inside of a photograph. Kinda like you described. It felt the way it looked.

With more love than you know,

Fishcake.

P.S I feel better that we're under the same sky too.

* * *

Next chap will be a fic chap. I promise..

Wish me luck on some testing I have this week.


End file.

Naruto, Family, Romance