Uzumakis Unite!

Following Years

Year 1
     Karin and Sasuke made their way to Konoha. Sasuke was carrying more gear than he needed for two weeks. Unlike Karin, he was staying in Konoha. They met with Nagato on the way. Sasuke was just as shocked at the river parting as Karin first was. She had managed to convince Sasuke to return to Konoha. Since he hadn't really committed any serious crimes he was allowed to become an official Konoha ninja again. All he did was help Karin and Juugo, who were no longer affiliated with Orochimaru, with research and experiments.
     Karin had helped Sasuke get his paperwork processed before they left. It had been finalized by the time they got to Konoha. Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura were waiting at the gates. Nagato and Karin walked shoulder to shoulder while Sasuke ducked down behind them. They stopped just inside the gates and got Sakura's and Naruto's attention. They turned around as Karin and Nagato stepped aside revealing an incredibly nervous Sasuke. Sakura ran up to him and slapped him across the face and Naruto did the same. Then, they both tackled him in a hug.
"Three years! THREE YEARS! God, I missed you." Sakura pulled him up and into another hug.
"I just...you...the..." Naruto started crying.
"Naruto, stop crying." Sasuke said as a tear rolled down his cheek.
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     Karin headed for Konoha. This time she didn't meet up with Nagato since he could only travel once a year. She had to swim across the river since Nagato wasn't there. She arrived at the gates and was greeted by Hinata. Hinata explained that team seven was on mission and would be returning later in the day. They went to Naruto's apartment and waited. Hinata pulled out a stash of Pocky that she kept secret from Naruto. They munched on Pocky and talked until team seven returned.
     Naruto opened the door and walked in followed by Sakura and Sasuke. Sakura sat on the couch next to Karin, Sasuke sat on the floor by Sakura, and Naruto sat in the armchair. Sasuke and Sakura were holding hands in a very subtle way. Karin looked back and forth between Sakura and her hand. Sakura noticed Karin and nodded, confirming Karin's suspicion. Karin tapped Hinata and nodded towards Sakura and Sasuke. Hinata shook her head in disbelief to which Karin grinned and nodded. Hinata giggled which got Sakura's attention. She pointed to Naruto and held her finger to lips. The boys remained oblivious to the entire silent conversation.
Year 3
     Karin and Nagato both received an invitation to Hinata and Naruto's wedding in March. A little note was scribbled at the bottom of each. Karin's said "Ask Suigetsu and Juugo if they would like to come." in Hinata's neat handwriting. Nagato's said "please bring konan" in Naruto's very messy handwriting. Of course Konan wanted to go and so did Juugo. Suigetsu didn't want to go because he thought weddings were boring, but wanted to go when Karin mentioned cake. Everyone headed for Konoha. The two groups met up and traveled the the rest of the way together. When they reached the river, Suigetsu turned into water and moved across and Konan flew across, and Nagato parted the water so he, Juugo, and Karin could get across.
     Konan and Juugo cried during the wedding, Suigetsu could really only think about cake, Karin couldn't stop smiling, Sakura and Nagato were on the verge of tears, and Sasuke smiled most of the time. They were all so happy for Naruto and Hinata. After the wedding, Suigetsu was given the cake he was promised and everyone else stood around talking happily. Off to the side, Sakura noticed Kakashi and Iruka chatting. More accurately, Kakashi was patting Iruka's back and reassuring him while he cried. Sakura approached them and started talking to them. Kakashi wished Sakura a happy twentieth birthday while Iruka mumbled about how much they've grown and cried harder.
     Sakura had to hunt down Sasuke and drag him back to the others. She held his hand in death grip to make sure he didn't sneak off again. He tended to sneak out of social situations, but was usually stopped by Sakura's death grip on his arm. They caught up and filled each other in on everything. Suigetsu and Naruto got along well and Hinata, Juugo, and Konan got along well. Karin and Sakura had helped Hinata with her wedding dress and Konan had made the flowers in Hinata's hair from colored paper. Nagato noticed Naruto's right arm was wrapped in bandages and he never actually saw Sasuke use his left arm. He decided to leave the topic alone and focused on the wedding.
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     Eight months after Naruto and Hinata's wedding, Team Taka and Nagato and Konan received invitations to Sakura and Sasuke's wedding. They all traveled to their meet up point and made their way to Konoha. When they got there, Hinata immediately grabbed Konan and Karin by their wrists and led them to Sakura's house. The boys went off to hang out at Naruto's house while the girls held a discussion at Sakura's house. Hinata and Konan tried to convince Sakura to actually wear her shiromuku for her wedding. Sakura argued against it because she thought it was uncomfortable. Karin sat to the side and enjoyed the show.
     On the wedding day, Sakura still didn't want to wear her shiromuku. Karin restrained her while Konan wrestled her into the dress. Sakura decided to go completely limp to avoid having to put on the rest of the outfit. Hinata held her in an upright position while put her obi on her. After that, Sakura reluctantly put on her haori and let Konan and Karin fix her hair and do her make up. Meanwhile, Suigetsu and Naruto forced Sasuke into his montsuki. He didn't like social situations or formal clothing, so they had to fight him for an hour. Nagato and Juugo laughed from the sidelines while being glared at by Sasuke. Juugo set up a several safety pins between Sasuke's nagagi and haori to make sure the haori didn't slide off what remained of his left arm. Nagato attempted to make Sasuke's hair lay flatter and neater only for it to fluff back up.
     During the wedding, hate for the outfits and social situations were completely forgotten and they were as happy as could be. But after the ceremony, Sasuke and Sakura rushed to their houses and changed into comfier but still formal clothes. They spent the rest of the day enjoying the weather. They passed Iruka, who was crying yet again, on the way to Sakura's house. By late afternoon, they had all had quite a bit of alcohol except for Hinata. Nagato asked about Sasuke's and Naruto's arms. Sakura explained that they decided to duke it out to resolve the three years of Sasuke's absence. She could hardly keep a straight face when she explained that they literally blew each other's arms off. Naruto unwrapped half of his bandages to show his regenerated arm while Sasuke frowned at the memory.
Year 4
     Karin stayed in Konoha towards the end of Sakura's pregnancy to make sure she was cared for while Sasuke was out on missions. One day, she decided to join Sasuke on one of his missions. Karin advised against it since she was so far along. Sakura still insisted and neither Sasuke or Karin wanted to argue with an angry and pregnant Sakura. Karin tagged along to make sure there was a medic on hand. They headed off towards River Country at a steady pace. About midway, Sakura's pace slowed significantly. Karin hung back to check on her. Not to long after, Sakura went into labor.
Thirteen hours later, Sakura was holding her healthy baby girl. She and Sasuke decided to name her Sarada. Karin accompanied Sakura back to the village with Sarada. Sasuke went ahead and finished the mission. The guards were shocked when Sakura returned with a newborn. They immediately went to the hospital. While Sakura was in the hospital Karin went and alerted Hinata and Naruto. Sasuke was back in a day and a half. The mission should've taken him three days, but he wanted to get back as soon as possible. Before Sasuke walked into the hospital room, Karin stopped him.
"If you don't play an active role in her life, you might just end up a double amputee." Karin whispered.
"Of course." Sasuke gulped knowing that Karin would stand by her word.
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Karin also stayed in Konoha throughout Hinata's pregnancy. Naruto was usually busy with missions with Sasuke and Sakura was busy with Sarada, so Karin stayed with Hinata. Hinata was glad that she had someone to talk to while she was off duty. She would occasionally spend time with Sakura and Sarada. Karin helped Sakura with some of the work at the clinic to ease the stress on Sakura. Hinata went into labor while lounging at her home with Karin.
Sakura took Hinata to the hospital while Karin looked after Sarada. After fifteen hours, Hinata gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Boruto. Karin put on a baby sling and put Sarada in. She set out to find Naruto to tell him the news. She found him at the gates with Sasuke. She stopped him before they left for their mission. He picked up his bag and rushed to the hospital, leaving Sasuke to complete the mission on his own. He ran into the hospital room, successfully startling Sakura but didn't even faze Hinata. Karin walked in later still carrying Sarada. She leaned against Sakura while they both smiled at the scene in front of them. Naruto sitting next to Hinata, holding Boruto and crying while Hinata held his hand.
Year 7
Karin and Nagato mostly spent their two weeks in Konoha with Boruto and Sarada. Karin spent most of her time with Hinata, Naruto, and Boruto. She would always give Boruto small sweets which made him enjoy her company even more. She also made sure she spent time with Sakura, Sasuke, and Sarada. She was usually the go-to babysitter for the kids. It always amused her that Boruto loved playing with her hair. He liked that part of her hair was shaved because it was a texture he liked. It reminded him of Naruto's short hair.
Nagato spent the majority of his time with Sarada. He loved to spend time with both kids, but freaked out when left alone with them. He didn't know what to do and would freak every time. He spent more time with Sarada because she was calmer. Boruto was too active, but Sarada preferred to sit and listen to him read a book or color a picture. Due to his medical condition, he had to be very careful with kids because they were usually very active and unpredictable. Boruto was too much of a threat to spend long periods of time with, but he didn't have to worry as much with Sarada.
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Karin was in Konoha for her second visit of the year. Boruto and Sarada were waiting for her at the gates with their dads. Boruto ran up to her and started jumping while Sarada hugged her leg. She put him up on her shoulders and held Sarada's hand. She walked with Naruto and Sasuke to Naruto's house. Hinata cooked dinner for them. Sakura wasn't able to make because she had to work late at her clinic. Boruto happily munched on his food, but Sarada hadn't even touched hers. She refused to eat, confusing Sasuke. She seemed out of sorts the rest of the night. Boruto wanted Sarada to stay for a sleepover to which Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata all agreed. Hinata set up a mat for Sarada in Boruto's room.
The next morning, Hinata fixed breakfast for the five of them. She went to wake the two kids up for breakfast. Karin was enjoying a cup of coffee when she heard Hinata frantically shouting for her. She ran down the hallway to Boruto's room. She pushed the door open and dropped her mug. Hinata was crouched over Sarada who was laying oddly still. Karin sat down next to her and attempted to wake her up. She still wouldn't wake up, so Karin put her hand against her forehead. She had a high fever and was unresponsive. Karin picked her up and ran to the hospital. They gave Sarada an IV and several medications. Sakura arrived within a few minutes and began pacing around. After lowering her temperature, Sarada was discharged from the hospital. Her eye sight was damaged significantly and she could hardly see. Karin gave her a pair of glasses she kept as a spare.
Year 9
Karin made a special trip out to Konoha to stay with Hinata throughout her second pregnancy. She mostly looked after Boruto so Hinata had peace and quiet. Karin made sure to record Boruto's reaction to learning that he was going to have a little sister. After that, he was eager to help Hinata with random tasks and wanted to help take care of her and his little sister. Karin's heart melted at the scene she saw in the living room. She walked through and noticed Hinata, seven months pregnant, asleep on the couch with Boruto who was asleep with his head on her stomach and holding her hand. Two months later, Hinata was in the hospital with her baby girl.
     Karin waited with Boruto throughout the delivery. He was very impatient because he wanted to meet his little sister. After several hours, Karin opened the door and let Boruto in. He immediately climbed up on the bed and layer with Hinata. He was eager to hold his little sister and talked about how he was going to take such good care of her. An hour later, Naruto walked in to see Hinata holding their little girl, who she named Himawari, and Boruto asleep next to her. After both Hinata and Boruto were asleep, Karin turned to Naruto.
"I know you're Hokage, but you're also a dad. You will find time for Himawari and Boruto." She stated.
"Yes, I will." Naruto confirmed knowing Karin could be just as scary as Sakura.