Chapter 147: Return

Pursing my lips, I looked down at Riku as she slept on the bed between us, her breathing deep and even as she cuddled against her sister Akari.

"Is it just me or did the summer fly by?"

Hearing my whisper, Kurenai glanced over at me and pursed her lips as well, those crimson eyes of her moving down towards our daughters as she muttered "I guess it did... though, I imagine that was thanks to these two little ones..."

Following her gaze, I nodded before laying down beside them, frowning slightly as I sighed "Tomorrow is our return to the Academy... it still feels unreal that so much time has passed already, and that so much has happened..."

Kurenai smirked at me as she lounged on her side, whispering "Oh, you mean how you went from a single, normal Kunoichi to a wife of three and mother of one? How you upgraded from that small apartment to this giant compound? Or how you're now a Jonin instead of a Chunin?"

Glaring at her, I flicked her brow as I replied "All of it, idiot. It was always my dream to achieve each of those things, and now... now I have."

My raven haired wife smiled softly at me as she nodded, though I simply sighed as her eyes turned lusty in a mere moment, her hands roaming my body.

Getting up, I pulled her off into the bathroom, joining Anko and Cameia for a few desperately needed rounds before returning to bed, preparing to sleep.

After all, tomorrow would be our return to the Academy, and from here on out things got more hands on with teaching.

This was the year that we incorporated chakra into our lesson plans, and we would also move to training with real weapons.

Things that needed to be treated with the utmost seriousness lest someone harm themselves or others, or worse...

Someone dies.

It's only happened three times during the villages history, but I still need to make sure everyone in my classes understand that kunai, senbon, shuriken and swords are not toys and need to be treated with care and respect.

I don't plan on adding my name to the list of Sensei who had a student die on their watch.

Anyways, besides needing to remind everyone of the forms and styles they learned in the previous year, I need to begin getting them used to fighting in general, which means more real, in depth spars.

And now that they'll all be a bit bigger, a lot stronger, and much more technically sound, I have to admit that I am both excited to see what they are all like and afraid to watch a bunch of kids beat on one another.

Especially now that I have a child of my own; my feelings towards my class have shifted ever so slightly, and I find the thought of watching them be harmed rather revolting.

However, I am still a Kunoichi through and through; I'll stamp down on my emotions because I need to, so that my students can all get the training they need to make their futures safer.

With that on my mind, I drifted off to sleep, my nerves still going wild as I wondered what this new year would have in store for me.

Not only that, but from here on out I would be leaving Riku to Mikoto and Karin, and I didn't know what to think of that.

The two Uzumaki women were almost like sister and niece by this point, but it still felt weird to leave my baby to someone else; I knew that I could trust them, and I did, but...

I still knew that I was the best person to be there for Riku, just like Kurenai was the best person to be there for Akari.

As it was, Anko and Cameia would remain with Mikoto and Karin for this first week, to help them with mainly Akari but also Riku.

So, after a hearty breakfast and lingering goodbyes, Kurenai and I reluctantly left the compound and made our way towards the Academy, each of us quiet as we walked.

Neither of us felt entirely at ease leaving our children behind, but this was a stable source of income to provide for our family that we couldn't give up, and we also understood that we would likely have a hard time getting another position as teachers if we continued to leave and try and come back.

Besides, Anko and Mikoto had showed that they were good with Akari and Riku respectively, and I had to have faith in them, otherwise I'd go crazy today...

So, when I reached the Academy with Kurenai by my side, I took a deep breath and stepped past the gates, ready for my second year of teaching these students that I had grown to cherish.