"Thank you for the amazing party, Hiashi-san," Kushina smiled as she picked up a sleeping Naruto. He had fallen asleep about three-fourths into the party, next to a sleeping Hinata. Hinata had fallen asleep first, but the only one who had noticed was Naruto. Then once Naruto fell asleep, Kushina had noticed them both asleep, and she had noted that it was time to go.

"Thank you for attending, Kushina-san," Hiashi bowed, which Kushina returned.

"Now I must go home," she stated, and she started walking towards the gate, but she was suddenly stopped once again.

"No, please stay, Kushy-chan," Hana pleaded, and I sighed. I knew it was either she was going to stay with me, drag me back or I just admit that I wanted to stay. The third option seemed more agreeable to me at the moment since Hana would probably have a nightmare and come storming to my place once again at one o'clock in the bloody morning.

"Fine," I sighed. There was a squeal behind me, and I knew that it was Hana. She always was like that when she got her way. "But it is only for tonight, Hana. I mean it." I turned to see her nodded. "You know I don't like all this girly stuff." She nodded again. "And that means no forcing me into anything, and I mean it!" She nodded again. "Now, where should I stay?"

"In the guest room, the one that you had always stayed at when you were here," Hana replied, knowing that I'd know my way around.

"What about my clothes?"

"I can handle that," Mikoto stated with a smile. "Since I have to go pick some clothes up for my son and I." Kushina smiled at her, and then she went to her room to let Naruto rest.

"Let Naruto sleep in Hinata's room," Hana stated. "I want to have a girl's night, like we used to do back in the day."

"Hana, when have you started saying 'Back in the day'," Kushina inquired.

"Just now," she giggled, and she hopped onto the bed just as Kushina had picked Naruto up and started walking out of the room. She didn't go far before she found Hinata's room, as Hizashi was just exiting the room.

"Good night, Kushina-sama," Hizashi bowed as he made his way past.

"Night, Hizashi-san, and please, no honorifics! I can't stand those," she said as politely as she could. He chuckled at her attempt.

"Alright, Kushina, I will not refer to you as Kushina-sama," he replied with a smile before making his way out. When Kushina entered the room with Naruto in her arms, she found that not only Hinata was in the room, but there was also a sleeping Neji in there as well. Kushina smiled before placing her son down on the mat that was left empty for him. With a kiss on his forehead as a way to say goodnight, she made her way towards her designated room, to which both Hana and Mikoto were in now.

"Come, Kushina-chan," Mikoto smiled at her. "We've got much to talk about." Kushina nodded with a smile on her face, and the trio spent much time talking about what had happened when she was in a coma before they all went to sleep, Kushina in the middle of the other two.

XxXxXxXxX

When Kushina woke up the next morning, she still wasn't alone. She opened her eyes to see that Mikoto and Hana were forming a protective hug around her, just like they would do whenever one of them were hurt. She smiled fondly at the actions of the other two, even if it had been conscious or subconscious, since she hadn't known when they had started putting her in their protective arms. She was glad that she was able to share this moment with the two, even if the girls on her mind was now sleeping.

After a few more minutes, Kushina decided that it was time to get up, and so she wiggled her way out of their arms, making sure not to wake them up. It worked, as the two just collided softly, holding each other in their sleep. She knew that they wouldn't have a problem with it when they woke up.

She decided to walk out of the room as she wanted to check in with the children and see if they may be awake, as she learned that Naruto was an early riser, and she had no doubt that the other two were as well. When she poked her head inside the room, she was surprised to see that only Neji had been awakened, and that they had slept on either side of Hinata, just as Hana and Mikoto did with her. She couldn't stop her smile from stretching a little before she walked out, as to not disturb Neji from what looked to be his thoughts. From there, she wondered to the kitchen, where she met the kitchen staff.

"Good morning," she smiled at them as she opened the refrigerator.

"Good morning, Kushina-sama," the cooks said in unison.

"Please, no honorifics! Just call me Kushina," she whined.

"Yes, Kushina-san," they replied. She groaned in defeat, as she knew that they would not obey her anymore than that. She sighed as she looked through the fridge, wondering what she wanted to eat and wondering what Hana and Mikoto would like as well. It didn't take long for her to get her answer.

"Morning, Kushy-chan," Hana grinned as she and Mikoto entered the room. Kushina had no doubt that Hana had woken up first to find that she was gone and then she proceeded to wake Mikoto up. That is always what happened when one of them left her side when they were asleep. Mikoto was the gentle one about it, but Kushina was known to be grouchy if she did not wake up on her own. The only people to do that task without getting hurt was her teammates, Minato and Naruto. Tsunade as well whenever she wasn't passed out drunk, but half the time, she was.

"What's for breakfast, Kushina," Mikoto asked as she came to join her teammate. Hana was known to not being able to cook well, though she did fine with baking, but that was it. Mikoto and Kushina were the ones to usually cook the meals. Tsunade-sensei couldn't cook at all.

"No," the head chef yelled as she came over to our side. "We are cooking for you! Out!"

"Fine," we grumbled and we made our way to the dining room table. Mikoto and I just shrugged as Hana gave us a questioning look.

"The cooks wanted to make us a meal instead of us making our own," I explained. Hana just shook her head with a smirk. It had happened to us before. Sometimes we'd complain and try and just make us something despite the cooks' objections, and sometimes we'd just do what we are doing now. Whenever Hana was baking though, she always got her way.

"Momma," they all heard and they turned their heads to see Naruto with Neji behind him with an active Bykuugan.

"Good morning, honey-pie," Kushina smiled at him as he ran over to her side immediately. Neji walked over after him, and they all saw a shy Hinata behind her.

"There's my baby," Hana smiled and Hinata ran into her arms and cowered. The trio just smiled at her.

"Neji-kun, would you like a hug," Mikoto asked, feeling left-out since her youngest son was at home at the current moment, and she knew that Itachi was too big to do as Naruto and Hinata were doing now.

"I must decline on that offer, Mikoto-san," Neji said respectfully, and that caused the trio to burst out laughing, as Kushina and Hana were already having a hard time holding it in.

"She was only joking, Neji-kun," Hana smiled at him. Neji nodded as he took a seat, making sure to be farther away from Mikoto, not really knowing if her words were true or not. It just caused the trio to laugh more as Neji had started giving Mikoto a look of suspicion.

Soon, they were being fed, and it didn't take long for Naruto to scarf his down. They were surprised at how fast he could eat without choking, and his answer to their stares was, "What?" They didn't say anything as they continued eating, and it didn't take long for conversations to start around the table, while they were all finishing after Naruto.

"Neji, Hinata, your training is to commence soon, so get to the training ground," Hiashi stated as he came into the room.

"Yes Father/Uncle," Hinata and Neji replied, and they quickly started running towards the training grounds in the compound.

"Alas, I must go back home," Mikoto sighed. "Fugaku will probably already be furious that Itachi's not with him and now I have gone too to 'your side' as he likes to put it. You know he never liked you that much though, so to him I say, oh well." We giggled a little before we gave her a hug goodbye as she left to her home.

XxXxXxXxX

"Goodbye mother," Itachi stated at the doorway. Mikoto stopped to give her son a kiss on the cheek.

"Be careful, my son," she advised him. "There will be many troubles ahead, especially if Kushina's would be assassin decides to try again. You must keep her safe, for me."

"I will, mother," he smiled at her. "That's the reason I picked her as sensei, remember?"

"Yes, I know you did it for me, but I always knew you had a fascination with her skills," Mikoto smirked at her son. "Now, I must go before your father looses a gasket and decides to condemn the whole city with his wrath." Itachi nodded and watched as her mother walked away. "I will come visit soon!" Then she disappeared out of his sight. He started walking away towards where his sensei, her son and Hana were sure to be, and he found them in the bedroom all three of them had shared, the room next to where he had slept as Hizashi had offered him the night before, as he planned to stay with Naruto and Kushina for a while, as he felt the Uchiha compound to be too depressing to him. He wouldn't neglect his family, but he needed the time away for himself.

"Itachi-kun," Kushina grinned at him. "Good morning!"

There was a yell of "Weasel man" before his legs were being latched onto. He looked down to see the only one he would ever allow that name to be uttered from, as it was an embarrassment from anyone else but Naruto. Naruto looked up and smiled before he jumped up into his mother's arms, nestling there with his head on her shoulder. He was just there to be there, as he was neglected from this comfort before.

"What do you plan on doing today, Kushina-sensei," Itachi inquired, just to know where they all might be going.

"Well, I was planning on just staying here for a little while longer," she replied after seeing Hana's pouty face, "and then we'll have to see. We really should go out and get groceries before going home. I'm sure that four years would make most foods expire if left alone." They all chuckled at that. "And I'm sure that it's going to stink when I open that refrigerator and cabnets, so we'll need cleaning supplies. I could do that when you take Naruto out for ramen."

"Ramen," Naruto's head shot up as soon as that one word was uttered, and he started looking for it. Kushina and Hana couldn't help but laugh as they remembered when Minato had his little addiction. It seemed that Naruto had grown to love the same. She had no doubt that Itiraku's is still a popular place for it, so she couldn't wait to see the old man again.

"Alright Kushina-sensei," Itachi nodded, agreeing with her plans. He had no doubt that the Namikaze estate was the safest place in the village, even the Hokage tower wasn't as safe as that house. Minato had been extra prepared to save his family. It'd take highly skilled ninja to infiltrate that house that that's only with a highly slim chance that they would be able to succeed in getting in. Getting out would be a different story as there would be new traps and seals just to make sure that everyone in the whole city would know that something was happening in that estate. The Konoha nin would be there within seconds, making that the most impossible situation for enemies to escape.

"Now, Naruto, why don't you and Auntie Hana go shopping," Hana suggested, wanting to go on a shopping spree for her best friend's son. She had been able to do it for Itachi, but Fugaku had restricted it for Sasuke, as 'he didn't want his son to be touched by the unworthy'. She had to snort from that comment when Mikoto had told her, and Mikoto had found that pretty profound as well. "I mean, as long as it's ok with mommy." Hana looked at Kushina with pouting eyes and face then, and Kushina just rolled her eyes as she let her son down. She hadn't even planned on objecting if Hana had wanted to do something with her son. It was fine with her.

"Can I, mommy," Naruto asked.

"Yes, you can sweetie," Kushina smiled. Naruto just started running out of the room, rushing towards the front door.

"Don't worry, Kushina! If we have any trouble, they will have the Hyuuga clan to face," Hana spouted out before rushing after Naruto, hoping that he hadn't gotten too far ahead of her already.

"Now what would you like to do, Kushina-sensei," Itachi questioned.

"I haven't seen the compound in a while; I think I'd like to view it for just some time," she suggested and Itachi nodded before following her out of the room. They started looking around, just to see where everything was. They looked at the garden for sometime where Kushina named most of the flowers there. Itachi didn't have the knowledge for gardening, and Kushina gave him useful information on what plants could help heal or something like that.

"Come, Itachi, I believe the training grounds are over here," Kushina stated as she started walking towards them. What they found was Hinata and Neji being trained. Hiashi was supervising as Neji and Hinata spared. Kushina and Itachi saw that Hinata was taking most of the hits, and they also knew that Hinata seemed to be awkward with her fighting style, which was the gentle fists taijutsu.

"Hinata, strike with steady arms, not flumsy arms," Hiashi scowled. "AGAIN!" Then Neji and Hinata started at it again and Kushina kept watching, analyzing Hinata as she moved. "Hinata! That's wrong! Strong arms!"

"Hiashi-san," Kushina stated before he could say anymore. They all turned towards her. "Hinata's not the problem; it's the taijutsu."

Hiashi sputtered angrily, "How DARE you make that accusation!"

"Forgive me, Hiashi-san, as I do not mean to offend you, but Hinata is not made for this style, as all her moves are awkward for her."

"What do you mean, Kushina-sensei," Itachi questioned, not quite getting it either. He could see how Hiashi might feel insulted by the comment that she made, as the Hyuuga have been using the gentle fist for thousands of years.

"I need some elemental paper," Kushina decided. Hizashi brought some out to her, as he had been standing off to the side for quite some time. "Hinata-chan, can you come here?" Hinata slowly made her way over to her, her fingers touching shyly as she went. "Alright, I don't know if you can do this yet, but can you put chakra into this for me?" Hinata nodded before gaining a concentrated look on her face. Soon, on the paper, there started to be dots of water coming from the center. "Okay, Hinata-chan, that's enough." Hinata nodded, her forehead sweating from the exertion as most of her chakra points had been closed during the training by Neji.

"Now what is this all about, Kushina-san," Hiashi asked impatiently.

"It's simply; she's a water type," Kushina smiled.

"And what is this exactly supposed to mean?"

"The gentle fist is a taijutsu made for earth types! It's not for any other type. Hinata is not made for the taijutsu you use, just like her mother."

"Mo-momm-y's th-the sa-me," Hinata asked shyly.

"Yes sweety, your mommy had the same problem as you had," Kushina smiled at her. "But mommy didn't get help until she was twelve. You are special in that way." Hinata just cocked her head to the side in a cute way making Kushina want to cuddle with her.

"So what would you suppose you have us do, Kushina-san," Hiashi questioned.

"Have Hana train her," Kushina shrugged.

"But that is not our clan ways."

"Well then make an exception."

"I cannot just make an exception, Kushina-san. This is a tradition in our clan that the father of the child would be able to train their children, no matter what gender."

"Hinata is much like Hana, except for personality, which I remember a shy boy that was around when we were younger," Kushina said with an evil smirk before it disappeared. "Hinata could be a fantastic medic-nin, if she just has the right training."

"Hinata is supposed to be the next heir to the clan! Do you not understand how important that position is," Hiashi fumed. "We cannot have her gallivanting around playing medic!"

"I do not gallivant around playing medic," Hana yelled as she entered the room with tons of shopping bags in her arms with a happy but shy Naruto behind her. He immediately ran to Itachi, noticing that this was a fight that his mother was participating in, and Itachi held him as they watched the bickering commence between the two Hyuugas.

"I was not saying you do, hon—"

"You were implying it!"

"I did no such thing. I'm just saying that as a leader of a clan, they should not be a medic."

"What do you mean, 'should not be a medic'. Tsunade is a great medic, and she's the leader of a clan!"

"She's the only one left—"

"Don't change the subject," Hana scowled. "At least SHE knows how hard it is to be a medic. Do you realize that being a medic is harder than being a regular ninja like yourself?"

"Now hold on a min—"

"I wasn't done talking! Now, being a medic requires not only great control, but it requires RESPONSIBILITY! It requires it because we are SAVING someone's life! It's not some sissy way of life like what you think mister, and you better start acknowledging it today because my daughter is going to be trained by ME! AND YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! Come on, Hina-chan, we have work to do." And with that, Hana left the room with Hinata running after her. Hiashi glared at Kushina for causing him so much trouble as she started picking up the bags that Hana had put down, and all she did was smirk as she left the room with Itachi and Naruto following.

"Hana-chan, where do you plan to train Hinata," Kushina questioned once they had caught up to her. On her way out, she must have stopped because Hinata was now in her arms. Hana was stroking her back soothingly as Hinata had tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. "Oh Hinata-chan!"

"It's alright, Kushy-chan; Hinata will be in shape at no time at all," Hana smiled before answering her question, "And we'll be training at your estate, starting now. Hiashi will see our way soon. He's just too stubborn to admit that we're right and he's wrong." Kushina chuckled as they started making their way towards the estate where indeed Hinata and Hana started training right away.

"Are you sure that was the right thing to do back there, Kushina-sensei," Itachi questioned when he was sure that the two Hyuuga girls were fair enough away so that they wouldn't hear him.

"I'm sure that this will help Hinata in the future," Kushina replied. "The Hyuuga are becoming too stone-hearted, just like the Uchiha, with some exceptions of course. We can't have Hinata failing because of his father's stubbornness. She needs to grow, and this is one of the only ways she'll be able to do it. Besides, mother's are always right."

"Yes, Kushina-sensei," Itachi agreed, knowing if he didn't, that his own mother would hear about it, and that would cause more trouble for him than he would care for. He had learned that from experience.

"Now Naruto, what do you feel like right now," Kushina asked her son that was still in Itachi's arms.

"RAMEN," Naruto yelled with joy, hoping that he'd get his favorite dish immediately.

"Alright, if it's okay with Itachi, you can have it now," Kushina smiled as Naruto tried to jump down, but Itachi held him firm, knowing that he'd lose him if he didn't. Itachi had seen how addicted he was to ramen, and he knew that this would cause a dent in his wallet. He sighed before starting to walk away, while Naruto tried to encourage him to be faster.

Kushina then turned towards the kitchen, which used to be her haven and now was her enemy. "Well, it's not going to be cleaned by itself," she sighed before she started to get to work.

XxXxXxXxX

Kushina sighed in relief after she had finally finished cleaning the kitchen. She was sure that in some of the containers there were things that could be identified as a new species if they took the time to look.

"Kushina," she heard being yelled and she turned to see her sensei Tsunade. She just turned and stomped into the estate, slamming the gate door on the way in. Tsunade sighed in frustration as she had been mere inches before the gate slammed in her face, knowing that it was impossible to enter now since its gates were shut. Minato was too good at security in her point of few. "Kushina! Let's talk about this!"

"What's there to talk about," Kushina asked from the other side of the gate. "You abandoned my last living family member, which just happens to be my SON, when he needed someone to look after him the most."

"Kushina, you must understand! I was depressed! After Dan and Nawaki died, I was going to leave the village, but then you asked me to be your doctor, and I couldn't resist. I knew how important this was to you. And then you were comatose, and I thought that you would never wake up. I tried staying, I really did, but the depression was killing me. I had to leave."

"What about Mikoto and Hana? You couldn't stay for them," Kushina questioned, knowing that her hard demeanor was slowly breaking.

"You all knew that I was closest to you, with us having the same attitude and all," Tsunade stated. "Come on, Kushina, we both know that you can't stay mad at me forever. Could you?"

"No," came a sigh as the door was opened once again and Tsunade walked through. The door almost closed when Kushina noticed that Itachi and Naruto were finally coming back. "So, how was dinner?"

"Great," Naruto grinned as he went into the house.

"I am not doing that again," Itachi grumbled as he slumped his way towards the house, damn the Uchiha attitude. He was depressed. Naruto spent all, ALL, his money on ramen. That kid could eat so much. It was worse than the time he had treated Kushina and Minato to ramen. Twice. And he was only five. Kami help him.

Kushina couldn't help but laugh after Itachi entered the house. Naruto was breaking his Uchiha attitude. She could see it, and she couldn't help but be glad.

"What was that all about," Tsunade questioned, not getting it.

"Naruto had ramen, and it was Itachi's treat," she smirked as she led her sensei into the house.

"I still don't get it!"

"Sensei, next time, you are paying for Naruto's dinner at Itiraku's. Then, you will get it," Kushina smirked.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…" That was all she said as she walked into the house. Just then, Hana and Hinata walked into the house from training.

"Hey girls," Kushina smiled. "How was training?"

"Gr—great," Hinata stuttered.

"She's doing very well. I expect that with time, she could become the youngest medic ever to exist if we build up her chakra. She's going to need quite a lot if she's going to be using my version of the gentle fist and being a medic."

"That's great, Hinata-chan," Naruto smiled as he was in the kitchen while Itachi was in his own room, sulking.

"Well, we better be getting home," Hana smiled as she picked up her daughter. "You sleep, Hina-chan, you deserve it." And with that, they walked out.

"Alright, I better be getting out too," Tsunade stated. "Long time since we've been here, and Shizune and I need to settle down."

"Alright sensei, see you soon," Kushina said as she waved. "And for you, it's time to get to bed."

"But mom! I'm not tired," Naruto complained, even though he yawned, giving it away.

"Ah-huh, and I'm going to be Hokage someday," she stated. "Now boot it." She shook her head with a smile as she watched her son climb up the stairs before following him too.