0. Calm Before The Storm

"We're pregnant!"

Uchiha Mikoto blinked at her redheaded friend, who was grinning even as two small brunets looked sharply up at them, but Mikoto gestured for them to go back to playing in the sand, absently noting that the children were going to need a wash afterwards. "Are you sure? I know you've wanted a second child but after..." Unbidden, her eyes drifted to the boy playing with her son.

Uzumaki Kushina caught where her eyes landed, and she sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm sure. The pregnancy with Kira-tan had some...unforseen complications," she grimaced, wincing in remembrance, "but things will be different this time. We know what to watch out for now!"

"How's Minato-kun taking it?" Mikoto questioned. She hadn't seen her old teammate for almost a week, but it seemed he'd been doing more than his Hokage duties.

Kushina beamed once more. "He's just as thrilled." she clasped her hands together. "And he's being such a trooper; he promised he would only scream and curse me a little bit when the baby comes."

And...right there Mikoto knew that two separate conversations were happening. "Are...are you telling me Minato-kun is the pregnant one?" Now the worry came back again in greater force, and gentle ribbing was cast aside in favor of trying to sus out why Kushina would do this once again. "You used the Seahorse Seal again, didn't you? Even after what happened to Sachi-"

"It'll be different this time." Kushina repeated hastily, her eyes roving over to Kira. The six-year-old didn't seem to have heard his mother's name being mentioned, as he was too busy showing Itachi the right way to make a rock garden, but the younger boy just seemed to be drawing shuriken in the sand instead. Satisfied though that neither child was listening, Kushina still lowered her tone to be on the safe side.

"We made sure the problems that happened during Sachiko's pregnancy won't happen again. At least, I hope not." Kushina said quietly. She wouldn't regret Kira being born, but her darling child had come with a price attached that had been collected only a year later. And then there was the other thing...

Mikoto saw a scowl cross Kushina's lips as she glared at nothing. She decided to bring the conversation back to something more pleasant than dwell on the potentially devastating side-effects of the Seahorse Seal-which was a stupid name and not terribly accurate but no one had a better descriptor for it. "So how does it feel being a father for a second time?"

Kushina stared at her blankly, but then a self-satisfied look appeared on her face. "It feels good, because I am the father." A hardness entered her eyes. "Of them both."

Oh boy, Mikoto couldn't help but feel sorry for the bastard that yet again implied Kira wasn't Kushina's. She'd beaten people up when they were young because they insulted her hair for crying out loud, did no one really think saying her son wasn't hers wouldn't be met with the same violent retaliation?

Damn him! An echo rang out from the force of a fist hitting a cavern wall, anger radiating from the figure hunched over. His face was obscured by an orange mask with a black flame pattern, but the only eye hole revealed an eye narrowed in frustration. He just had to be so-so noble and kind, didn't he?

This wrench could undo everything, just because Minato wanted to spare Kushina any complications- like her seal weakening and being vulnerable enough to rip the Kyuubi out of her-and give her a second child.

Damn him and damn her selfishness! He cursed for the second time, cursed Minato for being an idiot, cursed Kushina for having yet another person bear her child than do it herself, but mostly cursed the fact this plan was quickly unravelling...

...although...

This didn't necessarily mean the plan was ruined, just that things got a bit more interesting to work around.