Chapter Three: The Extra Work (Beginnings)
For the entire first month, Kakashi had no missions: he spent all his time with Anko at home.
Anko became extremely irritable, prone to frequent mood swings. She complained a lot, yelled loudly, and sometimes threw things (not at him). She frequently threatened murder and bloodshed - again, not of him, or their unborn child, but definitely of plenty innocent others.
Kakashi might have been worried if he thought she meant any of it. But that was essentially just how Anko blew off steam. She was a temperamental ninja and a former student of Orochimaru.
To be fair, she had a lot to be irritable about, including breast pain and swelling, constant sluggish fatigue, and constant trips to the bathroom either to vomit or to pee. All possible scents had essentially had to be removed from their home.
Pakkun and the dogs did their level best to help her, as did Kakashi. A part of Anko got frustrated because she wanted him to yell back at her just so she could have something tangible to get good and angry about. A deeper part of her was grateful to him for these days always talking calmly and reasonably and putting up a cool neutral face.
He was always gentle. Privately, she appreciated that. It made her feel like they were in this together. Kakashi learned to read Anko's little silent apologies and took them for what they were.
But they did have things to do. Most important on their list in that first month was to find the right Healer to help them go through pregnancy and deliver their baby. Kushina enthusiastically sent them lots of material about midwives and natural, unmedicated childbirths, but though Anko never said anything to Kushina, she found all that to be "a gigantic crock of bull."
"Pregnancy is already natural," she grumbled to Kakashi, looking over the material one day at the breakfast table. "I want pain relief. I want the cold hand of high-tech science at my labor."
"I want someone highly qualified there in case something happens," Kakashi added worriedly, a slight control freak to the end.
So they did their research and privately found someone better suited to them, not exactly telling anyone about it - they were already getting plenty of unsolicited advice from friends as it was.
They found a highly educated obstetric Healer, a specialist in the field, who worked a solo practice from a high-tech hospital. Check, check, and check. Anko wanted consistency in advice and the chance to get really comfortable with one person, hence a solo practitioner.
They called the office first with a series of questions, and found a person who checked off all their qualifications: he was male (Anko requested this), and he took a more serious bent of mind to the practice of Healing (Kakashi requested this). His office was pro-breastfeeding, pro-pain relief and pro-every other modern medical and technological convenience, anti-water birth, and anti-CAM (CAM was basically alternative therapies, what Anko called "hippie dippie weatherman shit").
His particular hospital, one in the several interconnected branches of Konoha hospitals, had squat bars for pushing, comfortable sofas in the birthing rooms for dads to room-in (a Kakashi request), places close by outside the birthing rooms for friends to gather, an NICU, all modern technological medical conveniences, breastfeeding-friendly and baby-friendly policies, and a policy of allowing eating and drinking during labor (another Anko request).
So they scheduled their first appointment and found him in person, Hideki-san, to be a solemn, soft-spoken young man, small and slim with a head of straight dark hair. They sat down in one of his medical rooms in the part of the hospital he worked at - Anko on the hospital bed, Kakashi in a waiting chair - and he began.
The first thing he did was confirm the pregnancy. He did this by having Anko lie back on the hospital bed, and by bringing a hand with glowing gold healing chakra slowly over her abdomen, carefully and methodically sensing everything out. He cocked his head, like he was listening, then nodded and released the glowing gold chakra.
"You can sit up," he said, and Anko sat up, strangely anxious.
"Well?" she demanded.
He took her aggressiveness in stride. "You are definitely pregnant," he said, "and I can count the official due date as February 18th. But…"
He peered around at them anxiously.
"Is something wrong?!" Anko demanded as Kakashi straightened.
"There are two developing fetuses in there, which means you are carrying fraternal twins," Hideki-san admitted quietly. He was not entirely sure how this would go over, it was clear.
"Twins…" said Anko slowly with big, puzzled eyes… and then finally it hit her. "Holy shit, we're having two kids!" she said, looking over incredulously at Kakashi.
"Yes. I heard," said Kakashi weakly, looking stunned.
Then Anko jumped up, ran over, and hugged him laughing, jumping up and down. Kakashi smiled warmly almost despite himself and hugged her back. He was nervous as hell, but it was harder to be nervous when Anko was around.
"Fraternal." Anko whirled around, abruptly changing subject. Both men blinked, surprised. "That means they'll look different, right?"
"It does. Unlike with identical twins, it means two different eggs were fertilized at the same time," said Hideki-san quietly, nodding once. "A rarity."
"Yeah, well, we're just awesome like that," said Anko bluntly. She sat down and looked him square in the eye. "So what's next?"
"Agreed," said Kakashi, becoming cooler, more himself again. "Surely that isn't it, is it?" He turned to the doctor.
"It is not," Hideki-san agreed with a small, amused smile.
Anko also had to give a complete medical history, go through a complete physical exam, and then put up with endless tests and genetic screenings using lots of glowing chakra instruments that all essentially came back to "nothing's really wrong." It was quite exasperating for her, actually, she wasn't naturally a terribly patient person.
But she put up with it all fairly neutrally. It was the ninja in her.
And after all that came a lot of talking.
Anko and Kakashi sat in twin waiting chairs and discussed the reasons they had chosen Hideki's office, and Hideki gave them some professional medical advice.
"You are slightly technically overweight - heavy," he told Anko, with impressive matter of factness considering how dangerous she could be, "but it is not severe and obviously as a ninja you are healthy. So if we keep you eating carefully while pregnant, I do not think it is anything to worry about. You have also said you've been medicated for depression in the past but are not currently on any medications. So again, no problem.
"These are simply two things we should keep an eye on at this point. Excessive weight gain and a severe mood swing into depression are possibilities, though I would say not strong ones. If depression happens, in the name of as you say the cold hand of modern medical science, medication would be required but would have to be handled very carefully."
"Right," said Anko seriously, nodding.
"What's the danger with excessive weight gain?" Kakashi asked curiously.
"Well, premature labor, among other things, is a possibility," Hideki-san admitted. "But as I said: no need to worry at this point.
"As for your lifestyle: You can continue to work out as normal. It's actually encouraged. You can also continue drinking tea, as long as it's in careful moderation. Ah, you seem surprised," said Hideki-san, smiling.
"I thought I'd have to give up tea," said Anko, blinking with big eyes.
"No more than two hundred milligrams of caffeine a day," said Hideki sternly. "And black tea is recommended, not herbal. Herbal has too many factors that have not yet been studied. No herbal tea at all."
"Okay," said Anko, frowning, curious.
"Here in this packet is recommended pregnancy eating procedures," said Hideki, handing it over. "You should also be taking a prenatal vitamin."
"Can I still have spicy food? I like the spice," said Anko uncertainly.
"Well indigestion is not good, but if you don't get severe indigestion from spice, spicy food is just fine," said Hideki. "Now. You will have to quit smoking - and without the use of substitutes like patches, if possible."
"Great," Anko grumbled as Kakashi gave her a meaningful sort of look.
"I recommend relaxation and meditation techniques, since you don't seem to like more CAM oriented activities," said Hideki. "No incense, I think. You throw up enough as it is.
"Oh. And e-cigarettes and hookahs aren't good either. So don't use those as substitutes. You'll just have to quit. Otherwise, your two babies will develop in a heavily smoke filled environment. And being around lots of smoke isn't even good for adults."
"Now… I have questions. Ones I wanted to wait for you instead of asking your office," Anko admitted.
"Okay," said Hideki, nodding once again.
"What about… sex?" Anko asked tentatively. "Because we get into some… pretty heavy… kink."
Hideki did not react outwardly to this. He took it in for a long moment, realizing this was a delicate matter.
"Sex itself is fine," he said at last. "But not even a roller coaster is good for a developing baby. Too much jolting and chance for physical pain. Does that answer your question?" he said carefully.
"Yes," said Anko immediately, Kakashi nodding in relief.
They knew what that meant: sex itself was fine, but any physical type of kink was off the table.
"Okay," said Anko, "so… right now I'm about as hairy as a gorilla." Kakashi snorted, giving her an amused sideways look, and even Hideki was trying hard not to smile. "What?" she exploded in exasperation. "It's true! So what about… you know, waxes? Hair removal?"
"Waxes are fine, but be careful of hurting your skin. Pregnancy skin is sensitive to pain," said Hideki, frowning in slight concern.
"And… facials and massages? I like those, too. I'm not much of an onsen girl -"
"Which is good," said Hideki, "because even something like a hot tub is not good for a developing baby. Too much soaking in extreme heat for too long a timeframe."
"Right. But I like my facials and massages."
"Those are fine," said Hideki, nodding. "I can give you a list of ingredients to watch out for when checking facial boxes. The ingredients are not in all facials, so you'll just have to be a little more selective about which facials you pick.
"And massage is fine, but make sure to go to a licensed professional and be careful of positioning."
"It's a lot to remember," Anko admitted.
"It is," said Hideki with amusing matter of factness. "Ironically, a typical pregnancy symptom is forgetfulness. If this was all created by someone, I think pregnancy is a perfect example of their sense of humor."
Next they had to tell everyone, all their friends, that they were having twins. They sent out announcements. They immediately got lots of concerned letters and notes in return, asking endless annoying questions as to whether they were sure they wanted to go through with all this after all.
Finally, they sent out a blanket fax announcing that they were entirely sure they were still having the two kids, thank you very much, and Anko - who was in an even worse mood since having to watch what she ate and give up smoking - methodically set fire to every single negative piece of mail one afternoon in a tiny bonfire at the kitchen table.
Kakashi, however, did pay a private visit to Minato one afternoon.
Minato was at home at the time. They sat together on Minato's front steps, and Minato just sat there silently and patiently for a long time, ready to listen.
"... Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" Kakashi said as if to himself.
"Are you reconsidering?" Minato asked neutrally. He was one of the only ones who hadn't asked them if they were sure.
"No!" said Kakashi immediately. "I'm not reconsidering! I'm just… processing. There's a difference.
"For Anko… it's different," he said softly. "It's already real for her. She's putting her feet up a lot and watching what she eats and pampering herself and counting out milligrams of tea and meditating whenever she wants a cigarette. She's letting Ibiki come over with shipments of healthy food and stand there glaring deadpan while he helps her with her facials. Despite all the yelling, she's actually handling it pretty well. And she's comfortable with doing the impossible. But for me…
"Everything's going to be different," he said, for once struggling to articulate what he was feeling. "What if… what if I'm not good at this? The whole… father thing? Everything makes so much sense when I'm with Anko and I guess with the kids inside her, but when I'm away… I don't know, this whole thing starts to seem crazier."
Minato was thoughtful. "I'd go with your gut instinct," he said at last. "Yeah, it's pretty crazy, but if it makes sense to you… go with it.
"And is everything going to be different? Yes. But look at it this way: not all the differences will be bad. You'll have two more people to love, protect, and care for in your life. Two more precious people - three, if you count Anko as a new addition. Three precious people who need you.
"That's pretty amazing, right?"
Kakashi genuinely looked like he'd never thought of it this way before. "Yeah," he said softly in realization. "Pretty amazing."
"Worth the extra work, in other words," said Minato, smiling.
"... Yes," said Kakashi quietly. "Thank you, Sensei."
