Bring the Hammer Down

27

Five years passed like they were nothing. Things in Konoha settled down again and life became normal for all the inhabitants of the village. It was an age of prosperity for all. It was a time of peace.

Especially for two special people...

Naruto and TenTen had spent their years loving one another and loving life. Never knowing when Itachi would come had made them greet each morning as if it would be their last. They lived their lives to the fullest and tried to spread their joy to others.

The Angels of Konoha, as they came to be known, never left the village after that day. They spent their time playing with children and teaching them things. They were beloved by all but the most stubborn of Konoha citizens.

Every morning they would wake and go through their paces. Training. Training for that eventual day when he would come back. TenTen would put Naruto through a hellish regime, trying anything she could to keep him on his toes. Keppaku would drain him down to almost nothing and then he would have to keep fighting, always avoiding her deadly sharpness.

They practiced fighting while avoiding looking at an opponent's eyes and hands. Since Itachi had snared Naruto one time in the past when he had looked at his finger. So, he concentrated on looking at the feet and only the feet. It was hard at first, but eventually he got the hang of it. Itachi would not get him on that account, unless he had come up with new tricks.

And Naruto was sure he had.

His own bag of tricks had grown a bit. His efficiency with his hammer was as high as it ever would be. His chain was an extension on its own, not requiring any thought anymore. It moved of its own volition, his subconscious thought providing its movement. Those skills did not need sharpening.

His skills in the ninja arts, however, did.

He and TenTen spent many hours with Jiraiya and Kakashi and Gai and any sensei who would teach them. They learned many things. Jutsu, correct posture for taijutsu, genjutsu for TenTen, how to dispel them for Naruto, and medical jutsu as well.

Five years of learning. Five years of living unharrassed.

The highlight of the two's day, once all the training and studying was done, was playing in the park with the children. The saddest day they had had was after the first year of trying to have a child they learned that TenTen was unable...and so was Naruto. Dreams of a family died then and there and they had filled that void with the village children. They never adopted, since they never knew if they would live through tomorrow, but they were a fixture at the orphanage.

Currently they sat on a bench at the park, surrounded by a horde of children of all shapes and sizes, eye and hair colors, skin tone and gender. The two angels smiled at the happy tykes and ruffled their wings, gaining giggles from their small menagerie.

"Tell us a story! Tell us a story!"

Naruto chuckled and leaned against the back of the bench, his right arm going around behind TenTen, brushing against her wing. She shuddered and suppressed a sigh. It had been a while since they'd had any alone time and any little, gentle touch was like a lightning bolt up her spine. Naruto noticed it, but pretended not to as he addressed the children.

"All right then. Which one of us do you want to tell a story?"

"TenTen-san!"

He brushed his hand against her wing again, watching with a smirk as she shuddered and glared at him, before she smiled at the children.

"How would you all like to hear a story about my old teammate Lee and Gai-sensei?"

A cheer went up from the kids at the mention of the two eccentric shinobi. They might have never seen the two green-clad ninja, but their exploits were well known around the park and orphanage. Good thing the children had never seen the two in person.