When Naru was seventeen she made one of the biggest decision a person could make.

She made this decision after they won the war. As soon as she recovered from the war and saw that everything was fine, she decided to take a break from being a kunoichi, from everything that had to do with Elemental Nations. She wanted to see the world outside of the Elemental Nations. A world she only heard stories from Jiraiya, who once told her that one of his fondest memories were there. He always spoke of how the countries there were similar to the Elemental Nations but at the same time very different from their home. She just wanted a break from fighting.

So she left with a backpack filled with clothes and her emergency ramen stash. The journey was only meant for her. She didn't ask anyone to join her but somehow Sasuke heard about her journey and decided to come along with her. When she asked him why, he claimed he was doing the same thing anyway but Naru had her suspicions about it. Still she didn't protest about him joining her in her journey. She wasn't the only one who needed a break from all of this.

The two of them needed a break from their responsibilities, from the memories that haunted them in the village.

As soon as they stepped out of the veil hidden between the Elemental Nations and the other countries, Naru had screeched at the sight of tall skyscrapers and gulped at the sight of the machines, which she had later learnt was cars. Sasuke had glared at her, told her she needed to stop acting like a girl at the sight of something unfamiliar. The hypocrite. The bastard looked pale as a ghost at the sight of the car and scowled whenever some kids their age asked them if they were doing some cosplay.

Till this day, Naru still didn't understand what cosplay was.

They spent a month in Tokyo, one beautiful month filled with no stares from people, except the occasional flutter of eyelashes at Sasuke's direction or a glare at her direction from some high school girls that stalked Sasuke at their favourite cafe. They had gone to festivals, where Naru brought more stuff than she needed and bought a beautiful kimono for a cheap price. It was orange too, which was a bonus! And it certainly didn't make her look less feminine despite what her bastard of a teammate claimed.

It was on their second last day in Tokyo, where Naru grabbed a map of the world and demanded for Sasuke to picked their next location. The bastard raised his eyebrow before picking a country that looked too much like a boot, which they later read was Italy. They had scratched their necks as they tried to find out how to get there before overhearing a couple about how they were going to be late for their flight to Italy.

With a little bit of gambling and stealing, they were able to get enough money for a plane ticket to Rome. There were problems of getting into the airplane with no passport but it was easily fixed with genjutsu. She wasn't proud they had to do these things but damn it, she wanted to see the world and staying in Japan wouldn't let her do that.

It was in Rome, Naru truly got a culture shock. The first thing she noticed about the country, there were no ramen for her to eat! Her wonderful, sweet, salty ramen had no stands for her to eat in! Sasuke smirked and told her maybe it was time she learnt not to eat ramen every single day. Her response to that? She punched him in the shoulder and silently mourned for the loss of her favourite food before deciding she hated the country.

That all changed when she met a man in a coffee shop. At first, there had been nothing striking about him except for the hat he wore and his curly sideburns that just defied logic like Kakashi-sensei's hair. The only thing that earned her attention was how his eyes were in some ways similar to Sasuke except more colder and harsher, telling her despite his charming smile he was dangerous man. So it surprised her how he asked if he could share her table with her. After blinking her eyes, she smiled and nodded.

The two of them talked about everything and nothing at the same time. He asked her where she was from; she lied and told him Japan. She asked him if his hair naturally defied gravity or if it took hours for him to make it like that. it turned out it was naturally like that. He never asked her about her job, only asking her harmless questions and giving her suggestive ideas. Normally, she would scowl and snapped at him but she wanted to have fun and flirted back at him. Her flirting only stopped when Sasuke came with a huge scowl on his face, telling her they needed to go. She protested and told him he could go while she stayed here. They argued for a good length of time and before Naru even realized it, the charming man had left.

She saw him again the next day and the day after that and before Naru even realized it, she was having a casual relationship with the man, who she later learnt on their third meeting was called Reborn. It was simply casual despite what Sasuke thought whenever he caught her eating dinner with the man. Reborn didn't do emotions, told her it wouldn't do well if she overthought their relationship. She grinned and told him she knew from the beginning before going on to tell him she was only here for two months, which wasn't a long time for them to date seriously and how she had someone else in her heart. He smirked and told her he hoped to see her again, kissing the palm of her hand.

Naru had flushed bright red at this, giving him a goofy smile while Sasuke glared at the man.

That was how her first relationship ended and then before Naru knew it, they were in England where she found learning the language was slightly easier than learning Italian. The country wasn't like the others but Naru found her and Sasuke staying there for a good six months there, where she worked in a café and Sasuke as a translator. She didn't want to remember how she and Sasuke ended up in those jobs.

After England, they went to China, where Sasuke had somehow ended up working for the Triads, which was similar to the Yakuza in Japan and Elemental Nations. It took them nearly a year for them to find a way to get Sasuke out of it but it was only when Naru had beaten up their leader, used Kurama's chakra and killed nearly their whole gang that they got out. She didn't know why they didn't think of it earlier but it was after that event, they decided to go back to Japan.

It was her turn to pick where to go but this time specifically in Japan.

With her eyes closed and a kunai at hand, she threw it at the map. When she heard the sound of the kunai slamming against the wood, Naru opened her eyes and looked down at the map before glancing at Sasuke. The kunai had stabbed a small town called Namimori. A town she didn't know where it was but hoped and prayed was better than this city in China.

It was there where the whole story started.

The town was wonderful compared to Rome and Beijing, filled with so much more ramen stands and had less air pollution that Naru felt like she could properly breathed in this town. She decided right then and there, this place would be her last destination before going back home. When they entered the motel, Naru had nearly fainted when she saw it was October 3rd. She was nearly nineteen now. It had been nearly two years since she and Sasuke left Konoha yet to Naru, it felt like it had only been a week since they left.

Time really had flied.

She grinned.

She couldn't wait to tell Hinata and the others about her journey over there.

It was on her third day in Namimori that her whole life changed. It was on her third day there, she found herself having to be responsible for once. It was on that day she found herself gaining a new role. Till now, despite everything that passed she still wondered what possessed her to do what she did but Naru didn't regret what she did. She didn't regret anything except for the fact she knew one day what she did might haunt her and Sasuke for the rest of their lives.

It all started after her argument with Sasuke. She didn't remember what they were arguing about but it must have been something stupid since all their arguments always seemed stupid. All she remembered about the argument was that she punched Sasuke in the face, chewing on her bottom lip as she held back the urge to beat him up for what he said to her. She remembered calling him bastard, telling him she was going to be in the park where she could hopefully calm down. He had simply scowled, rubbed his cheek and watched her leave.

The bastard was an idiot was Naru's only thought as she walked towards the park's playground. He always insulted her, complained about her behaviour and always found just new ways to get under her skin. She wondered why she even bothered to stick by him when he treated her like this. The bastard almost always tried to ruin any dates she had, the only exception being the ones she had with Reborn and that was only because Reborn had given a 'man' to 'man' talk about something. A talk till this day Sasuke wouldn't even tell her what it was about.

She didn't know why Sasuke always had to be so secretive about things or why he always got annoyed when some cute boy asked her out. It wasn't like the two of them were dating or anything. Hell, the guys that asked her out weren't even her type. She liked strong guys who were charming but secretive…guys like Reborn.

Still, it didn't give him the right to complain.

"It isn't even my fault!" she kicked a stone towards the pond. "It isn't like I asked boys out! Besides so what if they asked me out? It isn't like I get guys asking me out in Konoha! Unlike the bastard who got girls chasing him there, no guy there ever asked me out! You don't see me trying to stop any girl who tries to ask him out!"

She stopped her ranting when she caught sight of a toddler with spikey brown-hair and wide brown eyes. Normally, a kid wouldn't grab her attention but there was something about this little boy that just grabbed her attention. She glanced around, stopping when she noticed a brown-haired woman taking a blond-haired toddler, who must be the boy's twin brother (they had the same hairstyle that it was impossible for them not to be twins), to the swings.

Why wasn't the woman taking the other boy with her?

Scowling, Naru stared at the toddler and then to the smiling face of the mother and twin brother. What type of mother left her son alone? Didn't she know how lonely the boy would be? Didn't she think the little boy also wanted to play too? What was so special about that kid that she had to forget about the other? She hated woman who would just forget about their other child in favour of another. It just reminded her of the times she had to listen to stories in the orphanage about how some of the kids had ended up there because their parents forgot about them.

It just made her sick.

She shook her head and walked towards the toddler, glancing in the direction of his mother and brother with hope the mother would stop her. Surely, a mother would pay attention to at least see any signs of danger right? She couldn't be so careless as not to think of her other son. Even the most careless mothers she saw in Konoha, had made sure their kids avoided her.

It seemed like her hopes were in vain.

"Do you want to play in the swings like your brother?" She asked, placing her hand on his hair that was so soft that Naru just wanted to squeeze him tight.

"Swing?" He asked with eyes filled with so much hope that her heart contracted with so much pain. This boy in front of her had a mother, had a family that was supposed to love him. He shouldn't be giving her such eyes! He shouldn't even be shocked at her question! What kind of mother did he have to make him act like this?

She pushed those thoughts away and nodded. "I'll push you if you want!" she grinned widely at the toddler, "I'll push you as high as you want! I will make you go so high that you might even touch the sky!"

"The sky?" The toddler gazed up at the sky and then to her before giving her a smile so wide that it made her heart swell and all she wanted to do was grabbed the boy, hugged him tight and never let him go. He waved his hands up at her and with a small smile, she scooped him up and made her way to the swings, glancing at his laughing mother and twin brother, who demanded his mother to push him higher.

What a spoiled brat.

Shaking her head, she placed the boy in the toddler swing set. She was careful in minding his head, made sure his feet was on the hole before giving him a wide smile. With a small push, Naru listened with delight and watched as the little boy giggled out in joy, waved his hands up in the air as he tried to touch the blue sky. This was how kids were suppose to be like, not gloomy and sad but happy like the little boy in front of her.

"Higher?" he asked, looking up at her with such hopeful eyes that Naru didn't had the heart to deny his request.

With a small nod, she agreed to his request and pushed the boy higher. He squealed and waved his hands harder, making her heart contract at the cute sight. A small part of her wondered if this was what a mother felt while another part of her wished she remembered to bring a camera with her. She just wanted to capture this moment with him, to show him he was cared because from what Naru could see, his mother didn't care for him. Not in the way he deserved.

She stopped pushing him when she noticed his mother grabbed his brother out of the swing and placed him in the stroller. It seemed like she had to end their fun now. She couldn't keep doing it when his mother was about to leave with his brother. Despite what she thought of his mother, Naru knew the boy still needed to be with his mother and brother. Family stick together and no one get left behind that was her motto. No matter what she thought, the boy needed to go back home with his family.

"Stop?" he asked, gazing up at her.

She smiled sadly. "Your mama and brother are leaving which means you have to go," she gulped down a lump, "so I have to give you back to them don't I? Or else they will be worried."

"No! I don't go!"

"Your mama and dad will be sad if they see that you aren't with them," she reasoned with him, grabbing him out of the swing and placing him on top of her head. "Do you want to make them sad?"

"Dad gone! Mama care for Daichi! Mama don't care Tsuna!" he burrowed his head on her hair as he said this. She felt her heart squeezed at his words. This wasn't going the way she thought. She was supposed to take him back to his mother, who she could catch up with if she ran as fast as she could in civilian speed. She wasn't supposed to be feeling sorry for him, she wasn't suppose to be reconsidering her thoughts about taking him back home.

But damn it, this toddler had the saddest eyes she had ever seen and had a mother who fawned over her other son more than this boy on her shoulder. It also didn't help she felt a connection with this little toddler, who must be at least two years old.

With a small smile, she said, "I guess I'm going to take you in Tsu-kun."

She didn't need to look up to know the boy was smiling widely at her words. She also knew that despite just meeting the little boy, she wanted to make sure he had a wide smile on his face. This boy, despite being a stranger, was someone Naru wanted to raise as her own because damn it, no kid deserved to feel lonely or unloved.

She was going to give this boy the best childhood he would ever have!

But first, she needed to convince Sasuke in letting her take the boy along because while she could fight him with no problem, he was going to complain in his own way about her taking a kid with them.

Staring at the brown-eyed toddler in Naru's arms and then to girl herself, Sasuke had to wonder how the girl hadn't gotten into trouble in all their time in these countries. This was the twentieth time Naru came into their room with something, or in this case someone, that didn't belong to them. Not only this, where did she found the boy? She had barely been gone for an hour before coming back here with a little boy in her arms and having that hopeful look that meant she wanted to keep this boy.

Honestly, what was he going to do with the dobe?

"Why do you have a baby in your arms?" He narrowed his eyes when she started to give him a nervous laugh. "And where did you find him?"

"I went to the park and found him being neglected by his mother," he folded his arms and arched his eyebrows at her, "I was going to take him to his mother but he wanted to stay with me and…and he looked so sad and lonely just sitting there and watching his mum play with his twin brother."

"When you're in a situation like that you report it to the police," he said slowly, emphasising on the word report and police to her. "You don't just take in a kid because you feel sorry for him. Do you even know how to raise a kid dobe? It isn't like those babysitting jobs we had as genin!"

"The police wouldn't do anything, they never do anything," Naru said bitterly, reminding him of the times when they were younger and how he naively believed his father would have helped Naru with her problems. "Besides, if I took him to the police then they might send him to an orphanage Sasuke! Orphanages aren't nice; they are a placed filled with loneliness and pain! I don't want him to deal with it! Besides look at him Sasuke, can you deny him anything?"

He opened his mouth to tell her yes he can because he didn't have her need to help everyone that needed help but closed it when the boy stared at him. He felt his resolve wavering as the boy gave him hopeful eyes, reminding him of a sad lion cub. No! He was not going to fall into that trap! He was going to convince Naru to give that boy back to his mother because she wasn't even responsible enough to take care of herself, little alone a toddler!

His resolve started to crumble when Naru started to coo at the little boy, who giggled and clapped his hand together as he stared up at the blonde with adoration. For a brief moment, his mind drew an image of Naru carrying a blue-eyed black-haired child in her arms, giving the baby the same type of smile she was giving the boy in her arms. It was just as soon as the image appeared; it disappeared reminding him it was just his imagination and that he could never think of the dobe in that way.

The dobe was his friend and rival, he shouldn't even be thinking of her as a potential love interest. Until the age of twelve, he thought of the girl as another one of the guys. It was only when he saw her again in Orochimaru's hideout, he saw she was actually a girl. He was just reminded of the fact again when she started having a relationship with that annoying, curly-sideburn bastard in Italy.

He almost lost her that time.

"Hn. People are going to ask questions when you come back with him," he pointed out to her, keeping his face blank when she gave him a wide smile as she placed the toddler on her bed. "People are going to talk about you, talk about him and what you did in the two years we have been here."

"I know but I don't care what they say," she said firmly, gazing down at the boy that stared at them with wide-eyes. "I don't care about what they think of me. I had fun in the two years I have been gone, I had a relationship," Sasuke inwardly scowled at this, "I had a relationship in which I can claim that kid is his. It isn't like I'm going to see him again. Besides, I can't leave a kid knowing that the life he has is filled with loneliness. He's like us Sasuke, no one really cares about him!" she gulped. "Besides, this might be my only chance of being a mum!"

With that determined look in her eyes, Sasuke knew nothing he says to her would change her mind about raising the boy. He knew if he even told her she couldn't juggle it with her shinobi duties that she would tell him she would prove him wrong. She would just try to show him she could raise the boy with no problem when he himself could see the problems Naru was going to have with raising a kid. It would make her dream of becoming Hokage harder to achieve since kids needed a lot of attention, attention that the Hokage couldn't give easily.

Besides, not even Naru could juggle being Hokage and a parent.

"So what are you going to tell people about him?"

"He's my kid from my relationship with Reborn," she answered. "Tsuna was born at least two years ago and I met and had a relationship with the guy two years ago, so the timeframe is perfect. I also have a perfect story to use since I don't need to twist the way we met."

"And if he asks about what his dad looks like?"

"I will tell him that his father hated being in pictures," Naru tilted her head, "Which is true because it was so hard for me to get Reborn to agree to take a picture with me."

Sasuke sighed. "I'm going to regret letting you raise him."

And with those words Sawada Tsunayoshi no longer existed, being declared by the police three years later as dead while Uzumaki Tsunayoshi was soon introduced to his adopted mother's friends and family.

In the three years to come, Tsuna would be spoiled by his mother and various aunts and uncles, who made sure the boy was always happy. He would be raised to be a powerful shinobi, being trained not only by his mother but also by his various uncles. He would be forced to learn to be strong in this lifetime, where in another lifetime he wouldn't be forced to grow stronger until he was fourteen.

But for now, Tsunayoshi Sawada now known as Tsunayoshi Uzumaki was content in watching his new mother and uncle argued about what to feed him.

Please review