The Harsh Truth

Chapter 13

Shades covering his eyes, Naruto smiled slightly, as he was finally discharged from the hospital. Actually, he wasn't being discharged: he simply discharged himself. They couldn't keep him in there if he was fine, and he had to regain his bearings, see what changed in three months of time…to his surprise, little to nothing actually changed. He was lucky they had brought some of his casual clothes, and his wallet, for when he would be, technically, discharged…but why wait till after lunch hour, and be forced to eat hospital lunch, when you can use your own legs to move to someplace better?

Ichiraku's ramen was still there, albeit there wasn't Ayame, and Teuchi was sporting a slight frown at seeing him enter, which soon turned to a sigh and a tap to sit at his usual spot by the counter…near the ramen's pot.

"So…discharged?" Teuchi's question came out lightly, as he already began preparing the ramen. There actually wasn't a need to ask what ramen the boy wanted: every time he came back from a mission wounded, which happened not frequently, but still did, he'd have beef ramen…with extra beef.

"Yes…" Naruto was actually awkwardly waiting for something, a sort of yell from the man he viewed as a surrogate uncle, or some sort of teasing for having broken Ayame's heart, or things like that…silence and acceptance wasn't in the possible outcomes of this meeting.

"You know, if it had been anyone else, I would have been surprised," Teuchi pointed out, "then I would have been angry for a while, probably ordering with my trusty metal ladle the guy to take responsibility…but I know you wouldn't have gone into this lightly, and if it happened…well, it happened," the old man sighed slightly, "And you will take responsibility…right?" the question was asked with a smile, but the previously mentioned metal ladle was there, ready to be used.

"H-Hai Teuchi-san," at Naruto's reply, the man nodded, before depositing a beef ramen in front of Naruto.

"On the house, congratulations are in order then: you're going to become a father."

There: it took the words of the ramen stall vendor to finally make Naruto sink in the fact that he, Naruto Senju, was going to become a father. It just was…he was going to become a father! There was going to be someone else who'd have his surname, sure, but it wasn't just that. He'd have someone who'd look up to him, who'd come to him, who'd cry and laugh and would need help and…

So Naruto finally panicked, as his eyes grew the size of watermelons realizing the sheer weight of what parenthood truly was. Luckily his heart could take it.

"You…still hadn't thought about it?" Teuchi's question remained in the air for a while, before a loud chuckle turned into a roar of laughter from the man.

"I was in the hospital for three months, in coma! And I have a lot in my mind right now!" Naruto weakly defended himself.

"Well, at least you're taking it with stride," Teuchi replied, "When I discovered I would become one, I outright fainted."

"I already slept a lot…I'm not going to faint…Kami, I'm going to be a father," Naruto muttered the last words more to himself than to anyone else.

"I'm going to have a little me or little Anko run around, and…and they'd call me Otou-san, and they'd become awesome ninjas or kunoichis and then…" as Naruto began babbling words after words, Teuchi kept the smile plastered on his face, as he could clearly see how much the boy was excited about it: he hadn't even touched the bowl!

"I'm sure he'd be a great shinobi or Kunoichi, but did you already speak about it with Mitarashi-san?" at the question, Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Well…no," as the boy sheepishly scratched the back of his head, Teuchi sighed.