Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Accidents Can Happen to You Too ❯ Suspicious Smiles, Mischievous Meatballs ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"I figured he'd be ecstatic to becoming a father." Tenten smirked as Shikamaru doused his teammate with a bucket of water, waking the blond jounin who focused on Sakura with a rather sheepish look on his face.

"W-What happened?" he mumbled, trying not to be appear blatantly guilty.
"You fainted when I told you I'm pregnant too," Sakura replied. For some reason he appeared blatantly guilty over something.
"That's great news Sakura-chan!" he mustered, though she could hear the tension in his voice, as did Shikamaru.
"I knew you'd be happy for me, for us."
"Oh, I am!" he grinned his foxy grin, which Sakura knew was only for covering something these days.
'Maybe he knew something about Ino. He didn't seem all that shocked when he opened the door...'
"Naruto, would you happen to know who the father of Ino's baby is?" she asked in her sweetest yet dangerous voice.
"Umm...I wouldn't know any better than she does," Naruto replied, who was beginning to sweat nervously at this point.
'Great save...'
'Shut up you!'
"And did she tell you?" She pressed; at this point Shikamaru was staring him down also.
"We almost never talk unless its about you." Naruto was determined to not lie to his sweetheart. He had promised her once she'd always get complete honesty, and he was determined not to break her heart if he didn't expressly have to.
"Sakura, I believe it's getting quite late, Tenten and I will head home now, bye Naruto,"said Shikamaru, sensing the conversation wasn't meant for them. Tenten nodded in agreement, as they both took one last wary glance at Naruto and vanished.

"Aww, I still can't vanish that well yet." complained Naruto, attempting to change the conversation.
"Well, that just means you're going to practice harder dear," humored Sakura, as they got to unpacking Ino's belongings, "When was the last time she was over here?"
"After the anbu party. It was too late at the time to get her home, and she was real drunk so I let her sleep it off here,"
"That's real nice of you, Naruto-kun," She seemed to buy it, as she kissed him deeply.
'Whew.'
'Too easy. Be wary.' Kyuubi warned.
'Killjoy.'

She was still determined to find her answer, but it would have to wait for morning to ask her former rival instead. Ooh, a mystery. She loved mysteries.


Shikamaru hated mysteries. They annoyed him for being troublesome more often than not. Who the hell got his closest friend pregnant and wont take of her? He'd have to be tactful when he spoke to Ino next; he didn't want to offend her, which was the quickest way to trouble with that girl. She meant more to him than he cared to admit, even if he was careful to keep his distance since taking up with the Kazekage's sister. Temari meant everything to him, scary smiles and all, and he knew that the cost of her love was dealing with that jealous streak of hers, so to keep peace between the two women, he had come to see Ino as a little sister: annoying to keep around, but to be looked out for no matter what. Ever since they lost Chouji, she depended on him more as her confidant and moral, even if she'd conceal it under that loud and brash bravado of hers, but why not tell him about this?

Naruto knew. Somehow he did, his reaction once finding out spoke volumes. Could he be...?


He had to be! He just had to be. It had his style written all over it, and who would go pale over finding out some girl's pregnant if not by him?

Tenten now had her ammunition to get back at Naruto.

Ever since she could remember, she'd wanted to make something of herself and emulate her idol the great Tsunade, and for the last decade, that aspiration had blossomed into a yearning to be her successor as Hokage. Therefore, Naruto had been her rival in secret, much like Lee except not so open about it. At least until he was named successor. She couldn't really fault the woman's choice, Naruto's abilities had long since outstripped her own, and in all their sparring, she had never been able to beat him once despite her exhaustive training all these years. She no longer resented him, truth be told, but she could still drive him nuts in exchange, something she had learned how to do quite well from her dear Lee.And now Naruto was going to be a father twice over now. That would be very demanding of his time, so she resolved to make things difficult for him even more, maybe even publicly embarrass him if she could get evidence. If he could still make things work despite it all, she vowed she'd help out however she could once he became Hokage; she still owed him, after all, for melting her iceberg of a best friend that day long ago. Until then, Fox had better watch out for Meatball...


Miles away in a bunker deep under the Hidden Sound Village...
"Orochimaru-sama, I have good news." The white haired medical ninja announced to his master, a dark haired young child reading a scroll at his feet.
"Make it good, Kabuto, or get out of my sight." growled the snake sennin. Losing both Uchihas to his own suicide technique still angered him to no end over nearly losing the Sharingan forever.
"Naruto-kun has impregnated his fiance, as well as the Yamanaka's clan's eldest daughter."
"So...the Kyuubi brat, Tsunade's little apprentice, and a mindwalker...Ku ku ku, that would be a splendid subject for my new project! Continue to spy on Naruto-kun, and inform me the moment the Yamanaka girl is unprotected."
"Hai, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto bowed and left the room.
"This is becoming interesting again, isn't it Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru remarked to the little boy of barely six.
"What is, tousan?"


"Chouji, no! The red pill will kill you this time. Tsunade-sama warned you can't use it again!" Ino pleaded.
"Just go, Ino-chan. I've got to do this. It's not about proving myself anymore, just get out of here and be safe. I love you. Get her out of here, Shikamaru."
"C'mon, Ino. He'll be on top of us any minute." agreed Shikamaru, trying to drag his wounded partner away, while she continued shrieking.
"No! I love you too Chouji! Don't leave me again!"
"I'll hold him off, just get going. I'm sorry..."


"No!" Ino woke up in a cold sweat and bolted upright. The sun was shining brightly in her face, a sharp contrast to the cold she felt inside whenever faced with that horrible memory. This time she noted however, she wasn't in her room, as she looked about at the unfamiliar setting. It was a small room, sparsely decorated. From her comfy bed she could see in the open closets her clothes neatly arranged, her sword hanging from a laquored sword rack on a nearby table with an identical anbu standard issue straight blade right above.
'Where am I?'
The previous night's memories flooded back to her, as she clutched her head and groaned.
'This must be Naruto's and Sakura's place. I must be crazy to have come here, but I had nothing else.' she told herself as someone knocked.

"Come in." she replied, as Sakura walked in carrying breakfast on a tray.
"Nothing like breakfast in bed to recharge a weary mother-to-be, Ino-pig," she explained with forced cheer, "Naruto made it, he seems to be acting rather guilty."
"How'd you know?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice at Sakura's pointed comment.
"You still had the pregnancy test in your pocket. Congratulations! So who's the father, and why isn't he over here too taking care of you?" She asked, putting the tray on the nightstand. The budding doctor in her couldn't stand to see a patient upset, especially her Ino.
"It's Na-Nobody you know, Forehead! Kinda depressing to not remember him, I was drunk at the time, but that didn't matter to my folks. They turned me out in the middle of the night, and I couldn't go anywhere else without being judged, and You and Naruto were the only ones I could turn to. I'm sorry for being a hassle."
"You're no hassle, Ino. We're not rivals anymore, remember? We're practically sisters now. You know you're always welcome here! And despite the fact that you two argue like cats and dogs, Naruto cares about you too, in his own way. I've never seen him so on edge as last night, you'd think it was his! Why, he even marched over to your parent's place this morning to get them to take you back. Ah, speak of the devil!" she chirped, as the front door banged open and Konoha's number 1 hyperactive ninja bounded into the room.
"I'm sorry, Ino, but your parents are the biggest bigots I've ever had to argue with," Naruto whined.
"Moron! I never asked you to do that! Now you probably screwed any chance I have to go back home!" shrieked Ino, getting her ire back.
"Sorry, Ino, but I'm only trying to help." Naruto countered despite the obvious danger. Angry Ino's brutality is well known among the jounin, as Shikamaru and Asuma speak of it often with shivers of dread.
"Naruto, you baka! Don't go upsetting Ino again, especially after last night!" Sakura interjected before the two blonds resorted to fighting.
"But Sakura-chan, it was your idea!"
"Argh! Men, you understand nothing!" Sakura shrieked as she clocked poor Naruto and stormed out of the room.
"I'll be late again, I'm pushing my kids for the Chuunin Selection Exam, so don't wait up." She ordered before leaving.

"She's pregnant too?" Ino questioned the moment the door slammed.
"I only found out last night, though it was before you and I...uh...anyways, does she know it was me?"
"You're still alive, aren't you? How did things go with my parents?"
"Your dad's not too bad once I explained we took you in, but your mom still hates me with a passion." he recounted, as he sat on the edge of her bed," You'd think after over twenty years people would've forgiven me just a little."
"She was so mad, Naruto. I can't understand why they hate you so much. You do though...don't you?"
"Ino...I've gone through a lot of crap in my life because of things I had no part in, things beyond my control, yet will always be held accountable for. I guess I've gotta tell you too since it affects what kind of person your baby will turn out to be, but for now, only Sakura-chan knows about it.
"There's a reason my birthday falls on the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack. The night I was born, Kyuubi wasn't killed by Yondaime, it was sealed into me, for the good of everyone. I was meant to be a hero to everyone, a guardian. That's the reason for all the freakish stamina and chakra I have, and why I heal so quickly or why I can go into that berserker rage when I lose control of my emotions. It's also why I was rejected by most of the adults for being thought of as the Kyuubi itself,as well asmost of the genins before the first chuunin exam who picked it up from their parents," he said, the anger picking up in his voice.
To say Ino was shocked was an understatement. This made sense somehow; her mom probably still carried a grudge for lost family, but Ino herself hadn't been born until a month later, so she personally hadn't lost anyone to hate him for. She gave him crap for other things, but this was not going to be one of them, "You've put up with that crap your whole life? And you haven't gone missing nin or have your revenge against us all. Why?"
"I could've ended up like Gaara used to be, becoming a relentless killer. Instead I found parent figures like Iruka-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade-baachan, as well as precious people, like Sakura-chan and the other former rookies, even you too," he added with a sheepish grin before continuing. "That kept me sane all this time, and I've accepted I'll still have to deal with the crap from everyone else until I become Hokage, but I'm not going to accept you and your child taking crap for it too," he finished, a touch of anger welling up within him at the thought of more injustice on his account.
That dire strength of conviction, that absolute faith in oneself despite everything else all these years was something she sorely envied but could only imitate, like right now, as she made the choice which would affect both of their lives forever. She had turned it over and over again in her mind since being thrown out, and seeing his face so determined inspired her when she needed it most. It was time she stopped hating him for being what she wanted in others yet could never have, as she realized she needed his support if this child was to have a fighting chance.
"Our baby, Naruto." she corrected at last, "I'm keeping it, and you never walked away from anything in your life, right? Neither will I, so we're both gonna be held accountable for raising this kid." she intoned, then without warning the dam inside her burst as she launched herself at Naruto and buried her face in his chest, holding on for dear life to avoid being drowned by her own pent up fears and self-doubt as they washed over her. She had ignored them as best she could since she found out, but she knew limitations far too well. Her hormones weren't helping either
"I'm scared, Naruto, really scared!" she sobbed. "On the outside I'm this queen bitch kunoichi who can beat the crap out of anyone who looks at me the wrong way or insults my students, but deep down I'm scared shitless. I don't know anything about being a mother, Naruto, and I cant turn to anyone else. Please, please help me." she pleaded, trying her best not to lose control completely.
'This must be mood swings kicking in. I thought she still hates my guts. And she never says please! Shouldn't this be Sakura-chan's arena?' he mused as he gingerly put his arms around the quivering woman, positively shaking once her mask of bold fearlessness was let down.
'You have seen her at her most vulnerable, and now she needs you and trusts you to protect and support her and her child. Do not let her down.' whispered something he figured was his conscience, though it sounded oddly like Sakura-chan.
"You got it." 'Sakura-chan's gonna kill me for this, but its the right thing to do.'
"Whatever happens to me Naruto, promise me that you and Sakura will care for this child as your own, if I ever cant be there for it? Even if you're a whisker-faced moron, I know you're good with kids, and you'd make a good father."
'That's more faith than she usually puts in anyone. Oh well, I got her into this, might as well see it to the end.'
"That's a promise of a lifetime, Ino-chan, even though I know you'll be a kickass of a good mother." he whispered with resolution.
'Damn straight I'm gonna be the father I always wanted to have.' He couldn't deny he was scared as well, but he had come to learn that the scariest risks reaped the greatest rewards in the end, and he still can't say no to someone who needed him. Sakura would probably kick his ass later for committing both of them. Could he really support both women through all the things he heard pregnancy was supposed to entail?
'Ino-chan...No one's called me that since Chouji. I's oddly comforting...Thank you, Naruto.' she thought to herself as she completely lost her self-control, and sobbed into Naruto's chest and distracting him before he could answer to himself.
After she had run out of tears, she managed to regain her composure, as she pulled out of the hug.
"Why did you tell me all this? What does it have to do with our kid?"
"Because both children, yours and Sakura's, will probably inherit some, if not all,of my abilities. According to Kyuubi, they'll look normal, except for having my whisker marks."
"Kyuubi talks to you? What's it like?"
"A furry asshole who can sometimes be useful when I need advice."
"I heard that..."
Naruto chuckled to himself as Ino took it all in. Her baby was going to be special. She used to despise being near useless fighting on her own when she was younger, and even now, she still blamed herself for not being strong enough to protect her loved ones, but this child would never have to live with that. She smiled inwardly at the thought.
"Now I'm probably needed somewhere, and you probably want your privacy to think about things, so I'll be off. Don't worry about classes, Hinata-chan said she'd take yours whenever you need some time off."
"I'm going back to class bright and early tomorrow. And bring back some chocolate ice cream and pickles on your way back!" she barked, a small smile creeping on her face.
"Yes, ma'am," he replied as he vanished.
"I can still vanish better..." she smirked as she got out of bed to find something to do.


"She's really staying with you?" Tenten raised an eyebrow as Naruto finished explaining his 'situation' while stand outside of Tsunade's office. Shikamaru was delivering the debrief from their latest mission to the Hokage. Sound nins had been operating within Konoha again, this time smuggling equipment and documents from the hospital, for an as yet unknown purpose. Normally the police would handle theft or smuggling, but enemy nins, especially Orochimaru's lackeys, were handled by Anbu, and kicking Sound asses was always something Naruto looked forward to.
"Yeah, and what of it? This job pays well, Sakura-chan's an elite jounin, Ino's still teaching, so we can make it work." Naruto countered.
"Why take her in though? Out of guilt because her baby's yours too?"
Naruto froze.
"I knew it! I only had a suspicion, but its written all over your face!"
"You're not gonna tell anyone, are you?"
"Well...I know Pineapple would love to hear how you knocked up his best friend, but we cant have our next Hokage being a victim of Shadow Neck Bind, now can we?" She whispered with a conspiratorial smile."And what would your dear fiance think, if she doesn't know already?"
"Please don't tell them Tenten!" Naruto pleaded.
"Fine. Just give me your word that when you succeed Tsunade-sama, I get promoted to Anbu Commander. That'll do for starters..."
"For starters?"
"You got the job I wanted, its the least you owe me."
"Ok, you got it."
'Women...' He thought to himself as Shikamaru emerged from the Hokage's chambers.
"What?" Both his subordinates looked rather guilty.
"Nothing," they replied in unison. He looked to Naruto, "How's Ino, is she really staying with you?"
"Yep, and don't you worry, we'll make sure she's happy and well cared for."
"I'll bet..."


That night, as they gathered around the dinner table,
"I just wanna say thank you both for taking us in this like this you two. I promise you I wont be here any longer than necessary."
"Ino-chan, once your parents come to their senses, they'll regret throwing their girl away." Naruto replied with a grin.
"They disowned me, Naruto, I can't ever go back."
"I know that, but they'll still regret it when they see what a great grandchild they tossed out. I should know."
"Yeah, Ino," Sakura chimed in," All the family you're gonna need is right here." She crossed her fingers at that.
'Ino-chan? And why aren't they arguing anymore,' She thought to herself.
"Hey, that's my ramen! I thought you hated it!" Naruto squealed looked at Ino's bowl.
"Pregnant women have weird appetites, didn't you know?" Ino replied innocently, which precipitated full out squabbling.
'There it is, whew. It almost felt wrong.'


"She's staying, Sakura-chan."Naruto declared that night in bed.
"I know that, her parents are still unreasonable, you told me yourself, so let's wait until one of the hotels has a good vacancy-."
"I mean permanently." Sometimes his obstinacy can be a turn-on, she thought to herself, but even she had her doubts.
"Are you sure about this, Naruto-kun? You know Ino's not the easiest person to live with. Goodness knows I love her to death, but she drives me nuts too sometimes, and she when she gets moody it can last for days."
"She's scared out of her mind, Sakura. She needs us."
'No chan? He must be serious.'
"That's just mood swings, honey." she tried to explain it away, but he was set and nothing could dissuade him when he got like that.
"I saw it in her eyes, and she told me herself she has no idea about how to care for a child, but she insists on having it, and I'm going to support her, if no one else will. She deserves that much. I know what its like to be totally alone, and I'm not gonna put her and her baby through that if I can do anything about it."
"You went and made one of your damn 'promise of a lifetime' doozies that I have to pay for as well, didn't you?" she scolded, to which he nodded sheepishly.
'It's that bastard fox's doing! Demon's eternal promises be damned, Naruto-kun. Your idiotic foolish honor will be the death of me!'
"Considering I'm going to be your wife after next month, that means I'll have to as well. Dammit Naruto, why must you have to be such a hero all the time."
"Because that's the kind of guy you fell in love with, that's the kind of guy you're gonna marry, and that's the kind of guy who's gonna be Rokudaime someday."
"Oh yeah..." She giggled. He had a knack of making her anger disappear with the right words, while in the back on her mind, a suspicion still nagged.


'Ramen's not supposed to contain flowers! Ayame, I ordered miso!' Naruto shouted, but Ichiraku appeared deserted, except for him and his bowl of what should be noodles, which was instead all flower blossoms. He also noticed that on the napkin each flower was listed, so he might as well match up each one while he waited.
'Let's see. Sakura blossoms... Sakura-chan. Orchids, those remind me of Hinata-chan. The white delicate ones... Cocoa flowers. Definitely Tenten, she better not ruin things bybeing petty. Desert roses, that's gotta be Temari-chan. Violets... Who could those be?
'Ino.' The fox appeared in front of him, wearing a chef's hat and cooking nine different bowls of ramen with each of its tails.
"Kyuubi? How did you get in here, and why are you cooking?"
'I have to fit in this dream somehow, and as amusing as this is, you should wake up, whelp. Someone is very near, and not your betrothed.' The demon lord explained as it dumped all nine bowls of boiling hot ramen on the blond man in an effort to wake him up.


It worked.
Naruto could feel both a soft presence pressing on his back, and an arm draped over him, but something soft was in his arms as well, which was very disconcerting. He sniffed, and he could smell both familiar cherry blossoms, and some other fragrance. Foggy memories of the dream remained to inform him it was the smell of violets.
He cautiously opened his eyes to see the ceiling. He turned to his left, to see familiar pink hair on that side. He hesitated to find out what was on his right, but his curiosity got the better of him. He looked to see, sure enough, Ino was in his arms, a faint smile of contentment on her face. "Kami," he whispered to himself. Golly, she looked beautiful when she was asleep. For a brief instant, his mind jumped for joy at the realization he was sharing the bed with two of the most gorgeous women in town. Then realization set in that he may not live to eat breakfast if either of them woke up. Why was she not in her own bed, did they get drunk again? A quick check confirmed that all three of them were still clothed, so at least a threesome hadn't been involved(A/N: Keeping this T, Aethos, sorry)but how was he going to explain this and live?
Knocking at the door answered for him. He decided that if it wasn't Shika with a mission, he would stay away all day anyway and hope the girls didn't kill him on sight as he returned, and he bounded out of a bed as fast as he could, grabbed his gear off the ground in a whirl of activity, and rushed to the door, yanking it open, and leaped out, indeed barreling over Shikamaru, a mission scroll in his hand.
Sakura woke at the sound of the door slamming to see Ino was in bed with her as well.
"Ino, you still sleepwalk?" She inquired. It had been a habit of hers since they were little, and she was probably unused to the apartment's layout.
"Oops. I guess I do."


I couldn't help it. Gratuitous threesome moment, though only Naruto got to enjoy it this time. Next Chapter: Naruto's mission: Sharingan lives on? Confrontation with Shikamaru, and pre-wedding chaos.
From now on, all updates will come out on Monday, without fail, even if it gets taken down for a bit of editing, and no begging, short of a promise of a date with Ino or Temari will convince me otherwise.
Any grammer errors blame on OpenOffice. My computer died during the writing of chapter 1, so I've got no grammer check until I get MS Office back.

Converting /tmp/phphiGXtL to /dev/stdout