A/N: This is, as many will guess from the title, a direct sequal to my first, epic-length (and mostly worth a read) Naruto fic, Late Blossoms. It is two or so (might have to edit that to fix continuity if I catch any problems) years after the first has ended. Naruto is currently in his third year as Rokudaime, Tsunade is still alive, but in poor health again, and both Sakura and Hinata's teams are all Chunin. The happy family now has four children- two of Hinata's, two of Sakura's. Currently, both of Hinata's children use the Hyuuga name, as they were born with the Byakugan.

This story is Hanabi-centric. She is now 18, and becomes a Jonin in Chapter 2. (No spoilers here!) It focuses mainly on her journey as a sensei, although there are major bits of romance, angst, fluff, and a bit of lemon in the works, too. Unlike with the original story, while there is some danger, there isn't a major war on the horizon- to this day I regret bringing that into the other story. It was supposed to be a backdrop, not the main event for the second half of the tale. Ah well, live and learn. That being said, all events in Late Blossoms are canon for this story, as is everything in the manga that is not expressly changed in either story. (For instance, Jiraiya's death is as it happened in the manga. However, the circumstances surrounding the defeat of Akatsuki are slightly different than I expect the Manga will go. The details of that are left unmentioned in the first story, so this may clear it up- or not. It's not essential to the plot from what I can see now. Orochimaru and Sasuke won't be making an appearance again, they are really really dead this time, but there will be some familiar villains all the same. Sort of.

Also, for what it's worth, I will not be putting the One Hour story on hold, though if my pattern holds true, updates for it will be few and far between for a while- till this one is about done. My apologies, I just got really distracted from my other fics by Late Blossoms, and I expect the same will happen here- Hanabi has always been my favorite of the non-main characters, so...

As always, I don't own Naruto, it's characters, or settings- I just borrow them for my own twisted amusement.

Chap. 1 Absolutely not! Not ever!

In the waiting room outside the Hokage's Office in Konohagakure, five people flinched again. For one of them, that could be expected. The non-shinobi secretary who handled the young village leader's schedule and related duties could hardly be expected to be used to the yelling and fighting coming from the room behind her.

For the pink and indigo haired women who seemed to be standing guard outside the door, the matter was more personal- they didn't like hearing their husband yell. But both knew, knew, that he was right in this, and wouldn't back down.

The lone male, an Inuzuka that the two older shinobi knew well, but the youngest in the room only knew through her sister, seemed amused by the whole thing, though his gigantic dog and he both flinched from the sheer volume of the noise every time someone in the office spoke.

The last, though, was more of a surprise. The younger sister of the indigo-haired woman, one Hyuuga Hanabi, had never actually heard her brother-in-law yelling outside of an actual fight. He's usually so calm and happy... at least since he married onee-chan.

"But Naruto-"
The response to the yelling, whining statement was immediate and forceful, again. "I said NO, Sarutobi Konohamaru! I will not allow you and Moegi to take Genin teams this time. Not with both of you so unstable right now that you think it's okay to start a shouting match with the Hokage!"

The two women at the door shared a look of pain and sadness with each other, before remembering that Hanabi was there as well, and including her in the gesture.

After all, Udon had been, not really friends, but an acquaintance of Hanabi's through her one-time boyfriend, Konohamaru.

"Boss," the young woman inside the office pleaded, "please let us take teams! I... I just need a distraction! Anything! And Kono... Kono..."

Suddenly calm-sounding for the first time in what seemed like an hour, a slightly raspy, but still young voice could be heard, "Kono, Moe, you know I hate it that he's gone too, right? It's just... too soon. You guys aren't ready yet, you haven't had enough time to adjust to him being gone. You want to throw yourselves into your work, but... it never really helps. You'll just end up making mistakes, and you'll get your kids hurt- or killed. I can't let you do it."

The female, Moegi, made a sound like she was drawing in a breath to protest again, but was cut off by the other male in the office, "Moe, it's- he's right. I wouldn't do that to our kids, when... when... so it's not right for us to do it to others. There's a class next year. We'll take that one."

The shinobi in the office, if not the secretary, could hear the faint murmur of thanks from their Hokage, and the slight creak of his chair as he left it to walk around the large desk. "I love you guys, I really do. You're both so much stronger than I was at your age, and I know you'll be great sensei. Just give yourselves a little time to adjust to this, and you can get a team next year."

The woman sniffled, and mumbled a single word.

"Promise," the older man said solemnly.

A few minutes later, the two younger ninja left the office quietly, both near tears but still in control. Just as they reached the far door, not having said a word to those they passed, the tall man who lead their village for the last two and a half years filled the doorway of his office. "Sakura, Hinata... can I have a moment? Sorry, Hanabi, Kiba, to make you wait... I just..."

The younger kunoichi said nothing, only nodded, but Kiba showed remarkable- for him- understanding when he said softly, "Take your time, Naruto. I know you were always close to those three idiots."

When the two older kunoichi returned to their posts outside the door, both looked sad, but still smiled. "Shoumai-chan, Naruto is ready for you and Kiba."

Nodding to her older sister, Hanabi rose fluidly beside the other man, whose gigantic white canine followed them quietly through the door.

In many ways, the tall blonde man had stayed the same as he was when he was fifteen, but in many more ways, he had changed drastically. Now closely resembling his father, the Yondaime Hokage, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto kept his hair shorter than his father had, but it was still in a ponytail to control it's unruliness. The top, of course, still stuck out every which way. His face had become narrower, more defined, but still held a soft edge to his jaw that he'd inherited from his mother. And of course, his eyes.

Hanabi would never admit it to her older sister, but when she was a little girl she'd been captivated by his blue eyes badly enough to develop a crush on him herself. Fortunately, that had changed over the years, and was long gone before her sister developed the courage to ask Naruto out, much less marry the man- and their other wife.

Kiba, though, was essentially unchanged. He had always been hard and angular in his features since leaving puberty, and while he'd gotten a bit taller and filled out more, he had to be at least six inches shorter than their leader. Akamaru, the canine companion he'd had raised alongside him from birth, now equalled him in height- the largest dog their family had ever seen.

"You called for us, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, Hanabi-chan," he said after watching them for a moment more, "We have a bit of an issue. As I'm sure you've heard, I had originally been planning on giving this year's graduating teams of Genin to Konohamaru's team. But now that's out of the question, given Udon's death and their current emotional state. So I need backups. I need you two."

Beside her, Hanabi heard Kiba breathe a great sigh of relief, "Whew! I thought I was in trouble or something. Just a Genin team? I can handle that, no problem. How hard can it be? Kurenai-sensei did fine. So did you."

The blonde leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms, smiling, "I figured you'd be okay with it, Kiba. Let's see if you still are after you meet the twerps."

The two hammered out a few details, mostly Naruto explaining the process and some paperwork, how his pay would change from mostly doing B- and A-Class missions to D's, but adding in the consistant pay for mentoring a team. It took almost twenty minutes before the Inuzuka was satisfied, and his dog followed him out, wagging his tail furiously.

"Hanabi-chan?"

The young woman could barely hear him over the rushing in her head, a pounding that would not seem to abate. With great effort, she forced her pupils to rise so that she could look her young Hokage in the face, because that was all she could see at the time through the tunnel of darkness she seemed to be falling into.

"Hanabi-chan!"

* * *

"She's coming to," a soft, feminine voice said, just before Hanabi opened her eyes again. Abover her she could see the ceiling of the Hokage's Office, and the pink halo of hair surrounding Sakura's head as she looked with concern into the younger woman's eyes. "You okay?"

Hanabi grunted, then slowly tried to rise, rubbing the back of her head in a gesture strangely remeniscent of Naruto, but winced when she brushed her fingers across a small bump. "Ano... yeah, I think I'll be all right. Just... got a little light-headed. I haven't- been sleeping well, lately. And my birthday party the other day kind of wiped me out."

Looking around, she could see her older sister getting up from the floor behind her, did she cradle my head on her lap again? She knows I hate that, Hanabi moved to stand at attention before the desk again, forcing herself to meet Naruto's eyes.

"Hokage-sama," she began, her voice betraying an unmistakable quaver, "I am afraid I do not understand. A... Genin team? You want me to be a sensei to new Genin?"

He nodded once.

"But... I'm not yet a Jonin."

"I know," he said, now smiling, "but you will be in four days. The Academy doesn't have their Genin exam until a week after that."

Again, Hanabi swayed on her feet. This time, though, Hinata and Sakura were there, the taller medic shooting their husband a reproachful look as they guided her numbly to the large couch on the left wall. "but... don't you have to be an experienced Jonin to take a team?"

It was Sakura herself who answered that one, "No... Naruto and I were given teams right after we were promoted, too."

Hanabi said nothing, not trusting herself to remain conscious. Never fainted in my life, but this... I...

The blonde man gave her a few minutes to calm down a bit, focusing on her breathing, before he continued, "I know it's sudden, and you're very young. But I have every confidence you will pass the Jonin exam you signed up for- last year if you remember- with flying colors. I think I've come to know you pretty well, Hanabi-chan, and I think you'll be a great sensei. Maybe the best."

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," she said after a long while, forcing herself to stand from the couch, it's improper to relax during a mission discussion, "I'm afraid I must decline. I do not feel I can satisfy the requirements of a sensei, even if I do pass the Jonin exam."

Naruto sighed.

"I guess it's plan B, then. Hinata, you think you're up for it? We can have Kurenai-chan stay with the kids, I guess..." the depressed, worried note in his voice would have shamed almost any ninja of Konoha into immediate action to stop it, but Hanabi was a trained kunoichi, and a master of the Byakugan to rival her sister and older cousin despite her younger age.

He's faking it, that's never going to happen- not with four children to raise.

"Ano... I suppose I can give it a shot, Naru-chan," Hinata began nervously, Oh, sister is a great actor... "But I haven't been an active Kunoichi for a few years. I am a little worried..."

The discussion continued to work on Hanabi's resolve for an hour or more. The secretary had knocked on the door quietly twice to remind the Hokage of other appointments, but she was pointedly ignored other than for Naruto to say, "Reschedule," then return to the conversation he and Hinata were having around her.

This, of course, only amused the younger kunoichi.

Still, very rude of them to pretend I'm not here.

Sakura's stomach growled a little while later, so she got up quietly to place an order with Ichiraku's for delivery, then returned. Hanabi was still sitting quietly when she did, and the medic's spouses were still continuing their discussion, now getting a little desperate as they started to repeat topics. Sakura smiled. I knew Plan B wouldn't work.

"Hokage-sama," Hanabi said after a little while longer, "I appreciate this, and I'm honored that you think I'm ready, but- I do not share your faith in my maturity. In a year, perhaps two, I will be more comfortable taking this duty. Until then... no."

Hinata's face fell, but Naruto, for the first time in over an hour, turned to look at Hanabi, feigning surprise that she was still there. "Hanabi-chan, I'm sorry- what were you saying?"

Near-white eyes rolled, and a corner of the young woman's thin mouth twitched before she replied, "I know full well what you were doing. I knew from the beginning, and I know you know that I knew that you knew. So- drop the act, please? I'm just- not ready."

The brunette was more than a little jealous of the silent communication that passed between the three other ninja in glances and subtle shifts of posture and body-language that even she couldn't decipher. All she could detect was resolve and a little sadness.

"I really didn't want to have to do this, Hanabi, but you've left me no choice. Hinata, please call your father and Neji."

Hanabi's tanned face paled at once.

Neji-nii-san? O- O- Ototo-sama? Coming he- here?

It took only ten minutes or so for the Hokage to explain the entire situation to Hiashi and Neji. The younger Jonin only said a few words to Naruto, "I am sorry about my cousin's lack of faith in your decisions, Hokage-sama. On her behalf, I apologize," then gave a deep bow to the man he looked down on so many years ago.

Her father said even less. He, like his nephew, bowed deeply to the blonde, then turned to Hanabi and said in a low, carrying voice, "I am disappointed in you, my daughter," and then left the room, Neji following behind him.

Ototo-san... is disappointed in me? But... I've never let him down before. I... I'm one of the strongest Hyuuga in history. How come he isn't... am I still not good enough? Am I that weak? And nii-san...

As the silent tears ran down the younger woman's face, the three older shinobi watched in silence.

The ramen had been delivered and eaten, aside from what Sakura had ordered for Hanabi, an hour or more ago before she could bring herself to speak, again. "Hokage-sama, I... I am too weak. I am not ready. I have to say no."

Naruto sighed again and slumped back into his chair. Behind him, now, his wives each put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. "Plan D, then. Hinata, I'm very sorry to ask you to do this... can you get the Chakra binders, please? After that, you can step out- probably be best to head home. You shouldn't have to see your sister arrested."

Sniffling, Hinata walked past her sister and left the room, returning to see the same strange tableau as she'd left a minute later with two leather-padded manacles with seals covering what seemed like every inch of both the outside and inside.

Hanabi was too stunned to react. Chakra-binders? Am I... being arrested?

"A- arr- arrested, Hokage-sama?"

He nodded gravely, "That's what happens when a shinobi refuses a mission vital to the success of a village, Hanabi-chan. It's treason. I don't have any choice."

As Hinata slipped up behind her and grabbed one arm, the younger sister yanked it back away from the older, and began screaming, "How come I'm being arrested for protecting this village? How come you don't see how horrible a sensei I'd be? I have a horrible temper, I'm barely trained, maybe I won't even pass the Jonin test! I've only been a Chunin for three years!"

Naruto said calmly, folding his arms on his desk, "Because you would have been a superior sensei in every way. I can see it, your father and cousin can see it, your sister can see it, Sakura-chan can too. Everyone who knows you can. But it's too late for that, I guess."

"No! You're all wrong!" she cried, still twisting away from Hinata, who made only half-hearted attempts to take the other's arm again, "I'm not ready! I'm still just a kid! Kono and Moegi would be much better, even with Udon's death, and-"

"It was Konohamaru who gave me the suggestion to have you do it, Hanabi-chan," Naruto said quietly, and the ranting stopped at once.

"K- Konohamaru did?"

The blonde nodded, "He did. The day before they left on that mission, in fact. We were at Ichiraku's, and the subject came up. He told me he'd love to, so I asked him if he knew any others. Your name was the second he mentioned, right after Moegi's. He mentioned you before Udon, even."

And there's the crack in her armor... even years later she still has it for him, bad. Poor girl... it's pretty damned cruel using this against her.

"I... I..."

Naruto raised one finger, and Hinata backed off at once, relief all over her features. "You only have two choices, Hanabi. You can accept this mission, and do your damndest to turn these kids into fine shinobi in their own right, just like you are, or... you can be tried for treason, and live with the shame of disappointing everyone you love, who all know you'll be great."

The three more experienced ninja could see the gears in the younger's head turn a few notches, each causing her to flinch almost imperceptibly, before she murmured, "O... okay."

"Excellent," the blonde said, suddenly all smiles and cheerfullness, "Your Jonin exam takes place at the ANBU fortress behind the Hokage Monument in four days. You'll pass with ease, I've already seen your skills more than once. A week after that, you'll report at six in the morning to the Academy auditorium- weather's supposed to be bad, so assignments are going to be inside this year. You'll be getting sensei pay in addition to your mission pay, plus team leader bonuses. Those are a bit larger for a Jonin than a Chunin, of course. Any other questions?"

Numbly, she shook her head.

"All right then. Go on home. I'll see you in four days- train hard for the first two, relax the third."

Her movements were stiff, almost awkward, as she turned on a heel and left the room.

"Well," Naruto said, grinning up at Sakura and Hinata, "That was easier than I thought it'd be. Let's go get some more ramen!"

A/N: Just over 4 full pages- decent length, but not what I normally post. No big, I guess. Yes, the characters will often seem OOC for canon. Keep in mind that at this time, Naruto and Hinata are 23, and Sakura turned 24 in February. (If I remember her b-day right- I know it's early in the year- the 5th?) That kind of age difference can mean a lot in terms of... well, everything. Also, having four kids can change people, too. But you'll still see more than a few recognizable things. Like Naruto's last line. He's still there, just more mature than you've likely seen him before. Being a daddy and all... and yes, you'll see the kids soon as well. Probably chapter three, maybe four. After all... every Genin team needs D-rank missions, right? Babysitting- GO!

A final note- I have posted a minor poll on my profile, please vote. It's nothing major, but I really would appreciate the input. In short, it's whether people would prefer I focus on this story, or One Hour. The previous poll, between One Hour and my Bleach stories, was overhwelmingly (6/0) in favor of the Naruto.

Until next time, kiddies- Enjoy!