Sterile white walls echoed the easily recognizable sound of a coin been flipped.
It was strange. Many others in his situation would be pacing around in circles, or going through enough cigarettes to cause spontaneous lung tumors. But here he was, alone, in the waiting room, flipping a fifty yen coin. Sitting no less!
He wondered how long these things usually lasted. It wasn't as if he ever had experience of anything even closely relating to it. In fact, he never even though that he of all people would be in this situation… because, well, considering his history and all.
But lo and behold! Here he was, sitting in a really crappy chair all alone awaiting for the birth of his first born. He really wanted to be next to his wife to help her through this. But all the hormones in her had made her nearly call the Konoha military police. Humph, as if she could do that, he was the one with that power. Not her.
Then he remembered what had happened two months ago, an old flame had given him a friendly kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. Naturally his wife thought different, and in a grand display of self-justified maternal fury, discharged the most elite of the elite ANBU on his ass. He still felt the bruises from that day! He still needed to pay those four back for that little act.
Honestly, his wife like the coin in between his fingers. One person, but with two different faces. There were days he felt that he had a fifty-fifty chance of spending the day with the woman he married or spending it with a tailed beast incarnate.
Fifty, he was started to hate that number. It reminded him that he didn't know his coming child's gender. His wife wanted it to be a surprise, who was he to deny her desires? Never mind the fact that is has been eating him from the inside since he first found out he was going to be a father.
Fifty percent chance that his wife would be in a good mood.
Fifty percent chance that he would see his first born by the end of the day, depending if his mother had forgiven him already.
Fifty percent chance that the child would come out to be the gender he wanted it to be.
Fifty…
He looked at the coin in his fingers…and looked at the hallway where he heard his wife's screams.
A moment passed before he shrugged.
"Fuck it."
The coin was flicked in to the air with a quick snap. It spun slowly in the air in a lazy-like manner and stood still in mid-air before falling back down.
Grabbing a nearby empty Styrofoam cup, he slammed the cup on top the coin that had finally crashed landed on the knee-high table in front of him. It was still in mid-spin so he didn't know what side it had ended up on. He then heard the coin stop spinning. So it has been decided.
…
He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. Did he really want to look at it? Sure it could give him the answer he wanted but it was a little late to place a bet on it. The thing had nine months to grow into a boy or girl. It could tell him exactly what he wanted, but it could also rise his hopes for something completely different.
But then again, since when did he ever leave anything half-finished? With that in mind he reached for the cup.
"Hokage-sama!"
The village leader turned to the new distraction. It was one of the nurses. She was sweating and breathing tiredly as if she was the one who just delivered the baby. But then again, she was dealing with his wife so he understood. All too well really.
Giving an encouraging nod the newly official father of one newborn, the exhausted woman gave a beaming smile and squealed like a schoolgirl.
"Congratulations Rokudaime-sama. You are now the proud father of a healthy baby girl."
The new father stood still for a moment. Before letting his eyes glaze over, the information was taking its sweet time to process in his head.
Smile still in place, the nurse began to feel very uncomfortable. Was this her leader's reaction to his newly born daughter? Was he disappointed in his wife for giving him a girl instead of a boy? Was he really so narrow-minded?
The nurse felt anger brew under skin as the Hokage's silence continued to fill the room. She was about to risk her entire life's hard work and reprimand the village's most strongest ninja when she heard him laugh…and cry?
He was crying, with a smile on his face.
The Rokudaime hugged the stunned nurse and even gave her a peck on the cheek before screaming down the hall in pure joy. The entire hospital heard his screams. He was father! A father of his own little girl!
It took a whole minute before the nurse felt professional again. It wasn't everyday that one was kissed by one of their country's most powerful political figures.
"Now who left this here?"
The nurse had noticed the Styrofoam sitting on the table all by itself. When she picked it up she came face to face with a fifty yen coin.
Giving a quick look around the nurse pocketed the coin and threw the cup away. After all, it was just a coin, it's not all that important.
Right?