Chapter Six

"Come on, Haru. Let's get you back to the house." Sasuke says.

"Because of the people trying to steal my eyes?" He asks.

"Don't be scared. We won't let anything happen to you." Hinata promises her son.

"I know. I'm not scared. People always want our eyes. They all think they can be like Kakashi." Haru says and rolls his eyes.

"I told you that he takes after you, Master Sasuke. That is one brave hatchling. Oh and he rolls his eyes in exactly the same manner." Aoda says.

Sasuke was moderately disturbed that a five year old seemed to understand the basic idea that his eyes could be cut out and implanted in someone else. Sadly, this was a common concern for children from clans that possessed Eye Bloodlines. Most kids were scared of the boogeyman or the dark. Hyuga and Uchiha children were scared of strangers who would try to cut their eyes out.

It was a very well founded fear. Many wanted their eyes for themselves to become more powerful and some just wanted to sell them to the highest bidder. Sasuke's lips curl in disgust as he remembers the ghastly image of Danzo's arm. Yes, it was a very well founded fear.

"Yes, you are very brave." Hinata agrees with the giant serpent and leads Haru back to the house.

Haru smiles. Sasuke follows them. He knew that eventually Haru was going to go back to his own timeline. That was going to be painful. But at least he knew that he'd get his son back eventually. Well most likely. Hinata enjoyed his touch at least, even if she blushed like a tomato while doing so. It was a start.

"Hinata, I'm going to do a perimeter check while you tuck him in." Sasuke says.

"Alright." She replies and takes Haru to his room.

Sasuke walks around the perimeter of the house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He casts a Genjutsu over the place. Granted, he was no Itachi. But he could make this house look like the other abandoned houses and choose another to look lived in. It might stall for time if someone attacked the wrong house or at the very least it took them a second to figure out which was the right house.

"Master Sasuke, do you relaly think they would be so bold as to attack you directly in your territory?" Aoda asks.

"They might. They didn't seem too concerned about attacking the Hyuga Estate. And the Hyuga's have hundreds of clan members with very keen eyes." Sasuke replies.

"I shall keep a lookout." The Summon assures him.

"Good. I will as well." Sasuke says and summons ten clones.

He heads into the room. He saw that Hinata was sitting with Haru on the bed, reading from a book. He recognized it was a fairytale book that his mother used to read to him as a child.

"The wedding was beautiful. All of the people in the kingdom were attending the grand event. The Prince and Princess were married and they lived happily ever after." Mikoto finished reading Cinderella to Sasuke.

"Mikoto, why are you reading the boy such nonsense?" Fugaku asked utterly baffled.

"It's tradition. Every child should be read fairytales. It helps their imagination to flourish. Imagination that he will need on the battlefield one day." She added as an afterthought.

"I fail to see how silly stories about princes and princesses are going to help him on the battlefield. Come to bed. Good night Sasuke." Fugaku told him.

"Good night, father." Sasuke said.

"It gives him the most powerful weapon of all." Mikoto told her husband.

"And what weapon is that?" He asked her.

"Hope. Hope that everything will turn out as it should." She smiled at him.

"Hope will not save anyone out in the field. Everyone hopes to live." Fugaku reasoned.

"Yes. But once you give up, your fate is sealed. After all many thought that I was foolish to hope that one day you would love me. Now here we are, married and with two sons. Such a serious, handsome prince I have." She had smiled at him and caressed his cheek.

"And such a beautiful, kind, and foolish princess that I have." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Sasuke." His parents had told him as they walked off together, with Fugaku's hand around his mother's waist.

"Someday, I'll find a princess just like father and the man in the story. But I won't be stupid and forget what she looks like. What an idiot." Sasuke says, looking at the book.

Sasuke was only six, but he knew this "Prince Charming" was stupid. How could he claim to be in love with this woman and then not recognize her face? Seriously, he used her shoe to find her.

Didn't he know that it was possible for two different women to have the same sized feet? He wouldn't be a dumb prince like the man in the story. He'd be a smart prince like his father.

Sasuke chuckles. He hadn't thought about that in years. His father had always been practical. His mother kind. He tilts his head as he realized something. In that respect, his relationship with Hinata was similar to his parents' relationship.

It was strange how time traveled in circles. Speaking of time, he glances at Haru, who was listening to the story with rapt attention. Children were so easily amused, he thought with a smile.

"Two fathers?" Haru asks in confusion.

"Oh that's a clone. Ninjas can sometimes make copies of themselves. You'll learn how to do it in the Academy." Hinata tells him.

"You mean I can make another me?" Haru asks curiously.

"Well eventually you'll be able to. It'll take some practice though." The bluenette tells him.

"So...what can the clones do?" The five year old inquired.

"Oh well anything you can really. Though if they are hit, they usually just disappear." She answers.

"So if I told my clone to do my chores? It could do it?" The boy asks.

"Yes." Hinata replies, laughing softly.

"Clever. Haru, I'm going to have my clone stay with you until we figure out what is going on. You'll be safer that way. There are nine other clones of me in the house. That way if someone tries to sneak in, I'll notice." Sasuke tells him.

"Eleven daddies?" He asks cutely.

"Yes, counting myself. For now anyway." Sasuke states with a nod.

"Okay." Haru says.

"Good night, Haru." Hinata and the original Sasuke say, before heading to their room.

"What were you laughing about?" Hinata asks curiously.

"Oh nothing important. Just...I remember that story. He had to be the dumbest prince on the planet." Sasuke states.

"Why do you say that?" Hinata asks.

"He was in love with her and the only thing he knew about her was her shoe size? There could have been thousands of women who would have fit into those shoes. " Sasuke says.

"I guess that's true." She says giggling.

"You're laughing at me..." Sasuke says.

"I just didn't think you were the type to listen to fairytales. You aren't supposed to take them seriously, just enjoy the happy ending." She says.

"You are exactly like my mother." Sasuke says.

"What was she like?" Hinata asks and then mentally winces at her question.

That definitely wasn't her brightest idea. His family had been killed by his brother when he was barely older than Haru. Sasuke probably didn't want to talk about his mother.

"Beautiful, kind, and foolish is what my father would have said. I take issue with the foolish part now though. She wasn't. She just saw the world differently than he did." He answers.

Hinata blinks. She hadn't expected him to actually answer. It was a real answer to. Normally, she would have expected an honest answer or a deflection. But not one that was clearly so...personal.

"She must have been. If you and Haru look anything like her." She says with a smile.

"I looked more like mother. Itachi looked more like father." Sasuke replies.

"What was he like?" Hinata dared to inquire.

Sasuke seemed in a more open mood than usual. She might as well take advantage of it. Sasuke was a vault. You were only going to get anything out of him if you knew the right combination and she didn't. Sometimes she'd guess a number right here or there though and get a slight peak inside. Then the vault would slam shut.

"Like a mountain. Proud, strong, practical, and hard to impress. When I was Haru's age, I would have done anything to get him to notice me." Sasuke admits.

"Sounds like my father." Hinata says.

"No. Definitely not. Nothing like Hiashi. He wasn't cold. Just...distant." Sasuke states.

"There's a distance between cold and distant to you?" She asks.

"Yes. Distant means...they are busy or don't know how to connect. Cold people hurt you on purpose." He replies.

"You know, I'm probably the envy of most of the women in the village right now." Hinata says, teasingly.

She decided by the sad look in his eyes, that his father was something of a sore subject. It looked like he had wanted more of a connection. So she decided to change the subject. If he could use his mouth on her, she could tease him...right?

''Eleven Sasuke's. I think that's the start of a lot of fantasies." She says with a giggle.

''You have a clone kink?'' Sasuke asks.

"Cl-one kink? What? No. I'm just saying other women probably would find the thought of that many of you appealing." She mumbles and blushes.

''Uh huh. Other women." Sasuke says with a smirk.

''Yes, other women.'" She nods her head in agreement.

"They say it's always the quiet ones." Sasuke says and pulls her into his arms.

"Th-at's not what I meant!'' Hinata squeaks.

"I never really thought about it before, but since you brought it up..." He trails off.

"SASUKE! THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!" She yells at him, utterly embarrassed.

"Alright. Alright. So no clones then." He says with a sly smile and jumps on the bed.

''I didn't say no clones. I ju-st said that I didn't have a kink.'' She mumbles and joins him.

"So if you don't have a clone kink, what do you like?'' He asks.

"Wh-at?'' Hinata asks?

"Well I know that you like being bitten and when I taste you, but not much else. You have to other have things that you like." Sasuke replies.

''I can't believe you just asked me that!" The Hyuga Heiress stammers and blushes a brilliant shade of scarlet.

"If you're too shy to tell me what you like, I guess I'll just have to rely on the Trial and Error approach." The other ninja offers casually, as if he was discussing the weather and not sexual fantasies!

"What about you?'' The bluenette questions him.

''That's not very fair. You won't answer my question, but you want me to answer yours.'' He chuckles.

''I don't really know. I hadn't really thought about it much before.'' She admits.

''Everyone has thought about it. Some more than others. But alright. Nothing that exotic I guess. Large breasts, my lover's voice, and walls." He answers.

''I un-derstand the first one. Most men like that. But not the other two." She admits her confusion.

''You're actually going to make me say this, aren't you?'' Sasuke asks in amusement.

Hinata merely nods her head a few times in rapid succession. Yes, she was going to make Sasuke elaborate. Well this was awkward.

How was he supposed to explain his...preferences without making her faint? Oh well at least she was on the bed, if she did faint. He really didn't think his likes were that unusual, but Hinata was just so shy and innocent.

''I like to hear their voice. Their moans, pants, whispers, and pleas. And I like the idea of taking my lover against a wall.'' He replies honestly.

''Oh.'' Hinata replies, blushing even more.

Sasuke was thankful she hadn't fainted yet. Well he'd told her what he liked. Maybe that would make her more comfortable around him.

''What about you? It's only fair since I told you what I like.'' Sasuke questions her.

"If it makes you that nervous, forget it. I'll find out sooner or later." He tells her lays down on the bed, shutting his eyes.

"You're really cocky." Hinata says.

"I prefer to think of it as realistically confident, but I've been called worse things." Sasuke replies back in amusement, his eyes still shut.

"If your realistically confident, what does that make me?" She asks.

"Adorably, but unrealistically shy." He answers.

Hinata blushes deeply. She didn't know what to say to that. Sasuke Uchiha had just called her adorable. She didn't know that word was even in his vocabulary.

This was all so surreal. If you had told her any of this was going to happen a month ago, she would have told you to put down the sake. You have had too much to drink.

"For example, I don't even need to open my eyes to know you are blushing." Sasuke illustrated his point.

Meanwhile with Haru and Clone Number Seven, the clone decided to attempt to do some digging. He had to be subtle about it though. Haru was clearly a smart kid. But come on, he was five. Number Seven could outsmart him.

"So Haru..." He begins.

"Yeah?" He says and looks at his father innocently with those big bubble eyes.

Clone Sasuke felt a bit guilty. But well he was curious about the future. It wasn't like he was doing anything that was going to hurt Haru.

"Are there are other people living with you besides your mother and I?" Sasuke asks.

He figured this was the best way to ask if Haru had any siblings. Haru was five. If they were going to try for more that was a big enough gap, that they probably already had children before Haru or after him. Then again, he and Itachi had a fairly significant age gap. Sasuke doubted he would have waited that long to have a second child.

Unlike his father, he had a clan to restore. His father had married and had children at a time when the Uchiha Clan was as big as the Hyuga Clan. There wasn't a need to have lots of kids to keep the bloodline going.

"Sorry, I can't tell you that. Please don't be mad." Haru says.

"Damn. I'm not mad. I'm just curious." The Clone tries to reassure the boy.

Alright, Haru was smart enough to see through that for what it was. That or maybe his future self had warned Haru that he'd be asking questions and not to answer them. It sounded like something he might do.

"If you go back in time, it is very important that you not give too much away. You don't want to get things mixed up." An older version of Sasuke said to his son.

"Yes, father." Haru said cheerfully and hopes he doesn't have to go back in time, he liked his time!

Haru was worried. What if something went wrong? What if he got stuck in the past? What if he made a mistake and somehow mother and father didn't fall in love? Then he wouldn't exist!

"Don't worry, Haru. You'll do fine if it happens. You've done it before. You just don't remember." Sasuke reassured him and wrapped his arms around the young boy in a comforting embrace.

"Yeah!" Haru agreed,, more confidently than he felt.

"You can do it, Haru. I have faith in you." He heard a feminine voice say.

It was one of his older siblings. Haru was the fifth child of six. At 16, Mikoto was the eldest. She had been named after he maternal grandmother because of her long black silky hair. Her eyes were the trademark lavender of the Hyuga Clan, though almond shaped like the Uchiha Clan and framed by long lashes.

Haru adored Mikoto. She was like magic! She had the Eyelash Jutsu. Haru didn't really understand it. But if Mikoto batted her eyes at a guy, they generally did whatever she wanted.

"Thanks, big sister!" He said..

"Are you leaving for Suna now?" Sasuke asked his daughter.

"Yeah. I'm going to meet up with my team now. Don't worry father, I'll be fine. I'm a Jonin now." She said with a smile.

"I'll always worry about you, no matter what your rank is. You could become Hokage and I'd still worry about you." He says and pokes her forehead.

"I don't want to become Hokage. Too much paperwork." She said with a giggle.

"Yes, someone should have warned Naruto about that." Sasuke agreed with a chuckle.

Sasuke knew he was being silly. Mikoto was a Jonin and she was almost the same age he'd been during the war. She could handle herself. But she would always be his baby, even if she was now an adult and the eldest of his children.

Besides, if nothing else, he knew that Takeshi would protect her. Takeshi was Gaara's son. His name meant fierce warrior and he lived up to it. Somehow, Sasuke really didn't want to know the details...Gaara and Mei had ended up together. Apparently, the female Kage hadn't been completely passed her childbearing years and Takeshi was the result.

"Yeah. Oh and Tai already left for the hospital. His Sensei recommended him for the Medic Program." She informed Sasuke.

Tai was Sasuke's eldest son and his second born. He had inherited Hinta's blue hair and Sasuke's eyes. He also had Hinata's skin tone and Sasuke's nose and ears. He styled his hair in a similar fashion to Itachi's. He was 14 and had just been promoted to Jonin last month.

"Yay for big brother!" Haru cried out merrily.

In total, Hinata and Sasuke had six children. They had stopped at six because they were already outnumbered three to one. That and their youngest was quite the handful. Arashi meant storm and the boy had been well named.

Arashi had a very powerful lightning/weather affinity. He was also very bubbly, but when his two year old son threw a tantrum...well there was a reason why they had nicknamed him Sparky.

"He did? That's odd. He didn't mention it." Sasuke says.

"I think he wanted to check it out first. He hasn't decided to enroll yet. There aren't that many men in the medic program. So he'd feel...out of place." Mikoto said.

"You mean he doesn't want to try to learn to study medicine while his female classmates try to molest him." Sasuke stated dryly.

"Mhm. He's so shy. It's cute." She said with a laugh.

"You are fortunate that Takeshi is now the Kazekage and that scares off the other boys. Otherwise, I'd have to deal with them. I wouldn't be anywhere near as gentle." Sasuke said.

"FATHER!" Mikoto yelled and blushed scarlet like her mother.

"Sasuke, you are embarrassing her." Hinata said and kissed his cheek.

"I saw her Sharingan activate around him. I'm not Naruto. I knew notice things like that." He said to his wife.

"I'm going to go now! Cya." Mikoto said and raced off.

"Sister sure is fast, when she's embarrassed." Haru said.

"Yes, she is. It's good training." Sasuke said with a nod.

"Sasuke, you are impossible." Hinata says with a giggle.

"Father, can I go to Keiko's birthday party this weekend?" Sachi asks.

Sachi was his second daughter and the third born. She had long black hair with two midnight blue bangs that framed the side of her face. Her eyes were like smoky gray like Itachi's had been. Sachi had inherited Hinata's facial features.

She was eleven and about to graduate from the Academy next year. Sachi's specialty was Genjutsu. This...meant a constantly vexed Sasuke as she loved to cause mischief by nature. It was never mean spirited. But she was far more creative than Naruto had been in his pranks. Her name meant bliss, which was appropriate, she was always smiling.

Finally, there was Akemi. She was their fourth child and youngest daughter at eight. She had blue hair with black tips. Her skin matched Sasuke's and her eyes looked exactly like Hinata.'s. Her name meant beautiful dawn because she had been born on a morning with a gorgeous Sunrise. Akemi was a Weapons Mistress in the making. She could throw a kunai better than Sasuke could. By fair she was the most...assertive of his daughters.

"I wanna go to the party too!" She said.

"I'll take you if you can beat me at kunai throwing." Sachi told her.

"You're on!" She said and the two sisters walked off to the clan training grounds.

"I'm not mad. I just had to try." The clone says and smiles down at his future son fondly.

"I know. You told me that you probably would try." Haru admits.

"Oh. Yeah, I should have seen that coming. Why don't you try to get some sleep?" Sasuke asks and Haru nods, laying down on the bed.

In the morning, Sasuke decides to make breakfast. He'd woken up before Hinata and Haru. Hinata wakes up to the smell of bacon.

"Figured I'd make breakfast, since I was up first. I'm going to go talk to Kakashi. Maybe he knows something about the attack. I'll keep the clones and Aoda here. Haru is still asleep. I don't want to wake him." Sasuke says.

"Alright." Hinata says, nodding her head in agreement.

She was still trying to get used to the sight of Sasuke in a kitchen. It just seemed domestic. It was hard to associate that sight with what she knew he was capable of.

"I'll be back soon. I might check on the loser. I'm kinda surprised the idiot hasn't barged in here yet." Sasuke mutters.

"Okay." Hinata says and shakes her head in amusement at Sasuke's nicknames for Naruto.

Those two had the strangest friendship she had ever seen. Insults and punches were how they showed affection. She knew that guys tended to play rougher with their friends than women physically, but they pushed it to extremes. She knew there was no longer any real malice involved though. She filed it under the Boys Will Be Boys category now.

Sasuke flits off. Hinata smiles and has a bit of bacon. She wondered when Haru would wake up.

A few minutes later, Sasuke arrives in Kakashi's office. He didn't bother knocking. Kakashi would know his chakra signature. The silver haired ninja should know by now that Sasuke would only show up at his office if it was important.

"Sasuke." Kakashi greets him and Sasuke realizes Hiashi was in his office.

"Hiashi, thank you for notifying me of the attack. I will do everything that I can to get to the bottom of this. You have my word." The Copy Cat Ninja assures him.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. My family is most uneasy about this." Hiashi admits and heads off, purposely ignoring Sasuke.

Hiashi did not need to get into a confrontation with Sasuke when the Hokage was in the same room. He was well aware that Kakashi was the boy's former teacher. He'd be biased in his favor. Hiashi knew this.

"I take it you don't know anything since Hiashi just told you." Sasuke observes.

"Unfortunately, that's accurate. I wish I did. But I don't." He admits with a sigh.

"Hinata and I think someone was after Haru. They didn't take anything. No one was hurt. Attacking the Hyuga Estate like that is suicidal. This wasn't an amateur. They got away in a house full of Hyuga eyes. No one saw anything." Sasuke states.

"Don't worry. We'll keep your son safe. I dispatched an ANBU team. If there is a trail to follow, they will find it." He assures him.

"Good." Sasuke says.

"Perhaps you should go train with Naruto. It might take your mind off things." Kakashi suggests.

"Yeah. Good idea. Smacking around the loser, always makes me feel better." Sasuke says and he goes off to find the blonde.

"Hey, loser. You want to train?" Sasuke asks.

"Always bastard. I heard about the attack on Hinata's family. Is everyone okay?" He asks and heads off with him to the training grounds.

"Everyone is fine. We think they were after Haru. It doesn't make any sense otherwise. Why would anyone risk attacking them in their stronghold? Nothing was taken. No one was hurt." Sasuke says.

"Yeah. That is pretty creepy. How is Haru taking it? Does he know?" The blue eyed ninja inquires.

"He knows. Haru's taking it well. Unfortunately, clan children grow up knowing that they are always at high risk for being kidnapped for their eyes. Haru has the potential to activate two bloodlines. That makes him even more valuable than most." Sasuke says.

"Don't worry, bastard. We won't let anything happen to your kid." Naruto promises him.

"Yeah. I know. We'll find out who did this." Sasuke says with a growl.

"So how are things with you and Hinata? I mean...are you two...getting along?" He asks awkwardly.

"For the most part great. Much better than I would have ever thought really. She's really good with Haru. It's weird. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I ever would have noticed her. She's so...quiet." Sasuke muses.

"Yeah she's pretty quiet. Well I'm glad you guys are getting along. But are you getting along well enough for Haru to you know...not go poof?" He asks.

"She's shy. But the physical chemistry is definitely there." Sasuke answers vaguely and dodges the first punch.

"Oh come on, bastard. I know that you are being vague on purpose! I'm your best friend. I wanna know everything!" He forms a Rasengan.

"Alright. I might have...initiated some touching." Sasuke answers and forms a Chidori.

"Uh huh and what's some touching Sasukese for? That could be anything. What's some touching? Handholding, kissing, or more?" He asks.

"I guess...you could say it was an adult version of a kiss." Sasuke says and slams his Chidori at Naruto.

Naruto cries out in pain and gets even by slamming his attack into Sasuke's shoulder. That's what he loved about training with Sasuke. He didn't have to hold back.

"What the fuck does that even mean?" Naruto asks.

"You are way too innocent. We aren't having this conversation." Sasuke states.

"What'd you use tongue or something? Like you made out?" The blonde asks.

"Oh there was definitely tongue involved." Sasuke admits with a smirk.

"No way. You didn't... REALLY? She let you do THAT?!" Naruto asks, finally getting it.

"Well I initiated. But it's not any different than if someone sucked us off. Once you start, they aren't going to argue. Feels too good for that." He says with a shrug.

"So is she a good kisser?" Naruto asks.

"She's an amazing kisser." Sasuke says.

"I still can't believe that you did THAT and are kissing Hinata. It's so weird." Naruto says.

"Don't be jealous, just because I know what the fuck I'm doing and you don't." Sasuke says with a smirk and they continue their training.

"Hey! I totally know what I'm doing." Naruto protests.

"Oh please, you are completely oblivious. You wouldn't even know what to do with a woman if you got one alone." Sasuke taunts him.

"Oh yeah?! I'll prove you wrong." The blonde says.

"Oh this will be good." Sasuke says.

"Yeah! I will. I just need to find someone to prove it with!" Naruto says.

"Let me know if you do. Because I could use the laughs." Sasuke replies.

"You are such a bastard!" The blonde scoffs.

"Maybe. But I'm the bastard who doesn't sleep alone at night. I'm gonna head back home now. It was fun kicking your ass." Sasuke says and he heads off, leaving a very agitated blonde behind.