The sequel has arrived! Two years have passed so Shinobu is now seven years old. This will center mostly on Kakashi and Iruka, but Neji and Gaara will make appearances.
Summary: Iruka meets with Tsunade to ask for a month of leave from his duties as a ninja.
Chapter 1
Iruka stood in the Hokage's office, waiting. He was in a relaxed stance, his shoulders loose, hands clasped behind his back. The majority of his weight was balanced on his right leg, giving his posture a slight slant. He was dressed in the typical uniform of a Konoha ninja: black pants, black shirt, and flack jacket. His hair was pulled up into its signature ponytail at the back of his head. Reaching up, the Chuunin lightly scratched the scar over his nose with a clawed finger. His dark tail, which was longer and thinner than that of most of his kind, was still behind him, the tip resting slightly on the floor.
The door opened and Iruka glanced over his shoulders. Tsunade practically stormed into the office, muttering something under her breath about damn old council men. Smiling, Iruka faced forward as Tsunade approached the desk. Flopping down in the chair, the Hokage studied him for a moment.
"Shizune tells me that you're here to ask for a month of a leave," Tsunade said.
"I am and, if you give it to me, I already have a substitute lined up for my class," Iruka replied.
"Why do you need a month? I gave you and Kakashi both a few days off two months ago," Tsunade snorted.
"This has nothing to do with Kakashi. Dr. Tsuka (1) has asked me to come to Suna for the remainder of Neji's pregnancy," the Ookami of winter said.
"Why? We sent him there because he's the only doctor in the world who knows anything about male Ookami pregnancies," the Hokage reminded him.
"Yes, but Dr. Tsuka has never actually been through the birth itself," Iruka sighed. "And I'm the only one alive who has."
Groaning slightly, Tsunade slumped further down in her chair, her twin pigtails catching on the top of backrest. She thought in silence for a moment before nodding.
"Alright, you have a month's leave. Neji may no longer be a Konoha shinobi, but he's still a friend to us."
Bowing, Iruka quickly left the room. As he walked through the Tower, a few people, representatives and shinobi from other villages mostly, turned to stare at him. Despite their species now being openly accepted in all five villages, they were still a rare sight to see in Iwagakure and Kirigakure. Iruka had grown used to the stares and odd looks, but so had the people of Konoha. They no longer found it odd to see the Ookami walking around in any of this three forms.
Iruka quickly found the mission room and stepped inside. The other Chuunin who worked part-time with him there all greeted the Ookami as he walked by. Finding his desk, Iruka started to clear it of papers, returning scrolls and the like to the resting places on the shelves that filled the room. Just as he was about to finish and say good bye to the others, the door of the mission room slid open again.
"Hey Iru, read to go?" Kakashi asked as he poked his head in.
"For once, you have perfect timing," Iruka laughed, throwing his bag full of student work over one shoulder.
Iruka walked over to his lover and they kissed lightly.
"Get a room!" one of the other Chuunin called after the couple as they left.
Kakashi rested his arm on Iruka's back, one hand protectively wrapped around his far hip. He nuzzled against his lover's hair as they walked, taking a deep breath.
"Do you always have to do that?" Iruka asked.
"Of course. I just love the way you smell so much," the Jounin replied.
Sighing, Iruka rolled his eyes as they stepped out of the Tower.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching Shinobu?" the teacher asked.
"He's been playing with Arata all day. They're fine. Besides, Pakkun is watching them."
"That actually makes me feel slightly better."
"Hey! I'm a great babysitter."
"Yes. You wear the hell out of them, but there has been a fair share of accidents whenever you watch our son. Like last week when you almost burned our house down by practicing lightning jutsu in the living room. At least, Pakkun has some common sense."
"Are you in a prissy mood or is that just me?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's just you," Iruka said.
He smiled and kissed the Jounin on the cheek.
"Tsunade gave me a month to spend with Neji."
"That's good. When will you leave?"
"Tomorrow morning, most likely. You can never be sure about these things so I want to get there as soon as possible."
Hugging his lover close, Kakashi smiled down at him.
"I'm sure it'll all be fine. It's Neji," he laughed.
"That's part of the problem. He ignores pain like it's a fly that keeps landing on his shoulder. Thank god that it gets to a point where he won't be able to ignore it or we'd be walking down the street and the baby would be born right there," Iruka sighed.
"It is really that bad?" Kakashi asked.
Iruka shrugged.
"Most of what's bad is from the body changing to accommodate the birth itself in the couple of hours after labor starts. The rest of it is just the same as any woman's," the teacher explained.
"Have either of them said what the gender is?"
"Nope. Apparently, they want it to be a surprise."
"Speaking of which, when are we going to have another?"
Kakashi's eyes twinkled mischievously, garnering him a slight punch to the arm from Iruka.
"Let's get through Neji's pregnancy first. Having one male Ookami with child in the world is bad enough without suddenly adding his cousin into the mix."
Turning onto their street, the couple saw two boys playing up ahead. Pakkun was sitting at the edge of the Hatake family yard, watching them. One of the boys, whose hair was stark white, quickly looked up and smiled, his brown eyes growing big.
"Welcome home, Papa!" Shinobu shouted.
"Have you two been good today?" Iruka asked as he walked over to the two boys.
"Yes, Umino-sensei," Arata replied.
"Are you staying for dinner, Arata-kun?" Kakashi asked.
The small, dark-haired boy shook his head.
"Mom is going to pick me up soon."
"Well come inside both of you. It's getting dark and I don't want you two out on the street," Iruka said, heading towards the house.
Scampering after him, the two boys ran up the front steps and into the Hatake compound with Iruka and Kakashi close behind. Pakkun followed at his master's heels.
It took Iruka two and a half days to reach Sunagakure. The dry heat of the desert was not something he was used to and slowed the Chuunin down quite a bit, despite the high volume of water he'd brought with him for the journey. When he finally reached the gates of Suna, Iruka felt so happy that he almost broke down in tears. However, he kept himself composed and approached the gate with his head high. The guards, who'd been alerted to his coming, leapt down from their posts to greet him.
"Umino-sensei, welcome to Suna," one of the guards said. "The Kazekage asked us to show you the way to his apartment."
"What about your guard duties?" Iruka asked, motioning to the gates.
"The Kazekage switched around the shifts today. The next two guards will be here soon."
Right on time, two ninja landed softly on top of the gates, having jumped from the roof of a nearby building. Iruka met their eyes and smiled. Neither of the two new guards returned the gesture.
"Follow us, Umino-sensei," the second guard said cheerfully. "I'm Akira, by the way, and he's Gorou."
"It's nice to meet you," Iruka replied.
"Are you really Neji-san's cousin?" Akira asked. "I hardly see a resemblance."
"Neji looks like a typical Hyuuga, not an Umino. We didn't even know we were related until a few years ago," Iruka laughed.
"But doesn't that make you an Ookami as well?" Gorou asked as they wove through the streets.
"I am. My area of nature is winter."
"So you control snow and ice and all of that?" Akira asked, his eyes growing wide.
Iruka nodded and chuckled at the younger man's wonder.
"I've never seen snow. We never get it here," Akira murmured.
"It isn't very common in Konoha either," the teacher said. "Our climate is too humid and warm for snow or ice to last very long, even in winter."
"Ah, here we are, Umino-sensei."
Iruka looked up at the large series of adobe apartments that stood before him. There were much bigger than any he'd seen in Konoha before and almost seemed to be carved of sand and rock. Suddenly, one of the windows opened and Neji leaned out of it, smiling.
"Iruka! Apartment 14, second floor!" he called out to them.
Smiling, Iruka nodded to the guards and headed into the apartment building. He easily jogged up the tiled steps to the second floor, his stride quickening as he walked down the hall. A door opened at the far end and Neji stepped out, grinning.
"How are you?" Iruka asked.
He hugged his cousin lightly, being mindful of the large bump that separated them.
"I'm good. How are you?" Neji asked as he walked back into the apartment.
"Fine. I knew the desert was hot, but I didn't think it was this hot," Iruka laughed uncomfortably, closing the front door behind him.
"It takes some getting used to, but I actually enjoy it now," the former Hyuuga replied.
He slowly sat down on the couch, groaning softly. Laying a hand on his swollen abdomen, Neji took a deep breath, flexing his feet to crack his ankles. Iruka sat down next to him, giving his cousin a knowing look. He laid his pack down on the floor.
"Feet hurt?"
"Like hell. Gaara tries to help by giving me foot massages, but none of it seems to work," Neji sighed. "I can't wait until this baby is born."
"Then you'll trade aching feet for sleepless nights," Iruka said.
"I don't sleep that much right now anyway. For some reason, my kid likes kicking me late at night. It's even starting to disturb Gaara," Neji moaned.
"Maybe that'll be it's power," Iruka mused.
Neji shrugged and laid his head against the back of the couch.
"So are you ready to deal with me for the next month?" he asked.
"Whether the mood, I'll take it all. You have no idea how bad I was when I was pregnant with Shinobu. I was throwing things one minute and giddy the next."
"Yeah, but you had a better excuse than me. You were locked up in some bastard of a lord's fortress. I'm a Hyuuga. I'm supposed to be in control always."
"Maybe it's the Umino finally coming out in you."
"Perhaps."
Suddenly, the door opened and Gaara walked in, smiling softly at Iruka. He was dressed in his Kazekage uniform, the gourd of sand strapped to his back.
"Hello love," he said as he pecked Neji on the forehead.
"What are you doing home? I thought you had a meeting," Neji asked.
"Well, I decided to come home early," the Kazekage replied.
He kissed his lover softly on the lips and rubbed Neji's stomach.
"How are you two?" Gaara asked.
"The baby and I are fine, thank you," Neji replied.
"And you, Iruka?"
"I'm good as well."
"Glad to hear it. We have the spare bedroom set up for you if you want to put your stuff away and get settled."
"Thanks, Gaara, but I want to talk to you both about a couple of things first."
Frowning slightly, Gaara sat down next to his pregnant boyfriend, pulling Neji into his lap. He laid his hand protectively over Neji's abdomen while the other stroked the former Hyuuga's long hair.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Neji asked.
"No, everything's fine. It has to do with after the baby is born," Iruka said, trying to reassure them.
"Alright," Neji said slowly.
"I'm not sure if Minoru has already gone over this with you or not, but you'll both have to be extremely vigilant and careful after your baby is born," Iruka started.
"We've had protective detail on Neji since we found out about the baby," Gaara said.
"That's good, but this is much more of an inside threat than an outer one. I learned this the hard way with Shinobu. Since your baby will be an Ookami, his or her powers will be fully developed by the time he or she is born. It's a defense mechanism that all Ookami are born with. Now, their powers probably won't be strong enough to seriously hurt someone, the possibility for damage to other people is there," Iruka explained.
"So we have to be careful not the scare the baby, basically?" Neji asked.
Iruka nodded.
"When Shinobu was a week old, I accidentally woke him up from a nap and was electrocuted," the teacher laughed.
"But we have no idea what the baby's power will be," Gaara said.
"That's the other thing. Since an Ookami's dominion (2) is a mystery until after birth, you'll have to watch the newborn closely for signs of what their power might be. It can happen at any time. Daiki told me once that Rei's dominion didn't reveal itself until she was six months old. On the other hand, Shinobu's made itself apparent very early."
"Wouldn't the name that is written in the Sei no Hon give us a clue?" Neji asked.
Iruka shrugged.
"It's possible, but, then again, our Ookami names describe our dominion, but not the powers that come with it. Take mine for example. Winter could be a lot of things, but I specifically have power over snow and ice, the water aspects of it. You wouldn't know that by looking in the Sei no Hon," Iruka explained.
"You Ookami are so troublesome," Gaara chuckled, stroking Neji's stomach.
"It's good to keep you on your toes. We don't want the Kazekage loosing his skills, now do we?" Neji replied.
As they nestled against each other, Iruka felt a pang in his chest. He missed his own lover and son desperately despite being apart for less than three days. He sighed inwardly and steeled his heart a bit. There was still a month to go before he would be home again and he wanted to make the most of it. Wallowing in sadness about leaving Kakashi and Shinobu behind would not be helpful in that.
this is Himura Utake's former retainer who'd stolen the Sei no Hon and gave information to Konoha. He was also the one that took care of Iruka when he was captured.
This refers to whatever aspect of Nature they control.