Wow, so I do have an excuse for the time it took to get this up.
My boyfriend was in town from sunday to friday afternoon (it's already past midnight here), and all my time was devoted to him, even the small time I did get online.
Absolutely no writing was done durring that time, and I wasn't really sure if I wanted some of the scenes included here.
Be prepared, Kakashi and Iruka have an argument about Ayame. Sasuke is finding slightly smarter ways of infiltrating, and Tsuyomi is learning more about protecting his family.
Why are the triplets not nagging their father this time? Wait and see!
"Oji-san?"
Neji looked down to his little cousin, wondering what the question would be this time. Lately, the boy had more questions concerning homework than anything, but this was summer break. Still, he figured it was either that or about food.
"Hai, Tsuyomi-chan?" Neji replied.
"Why has that man been watching my imoto and ototora so much?"
Neji followed Tsuyomi's line of sight, and saw one of the elders standing a little ways down the path. He seemed to be making a point of watching the three Uchiha children where everyone could see. What exactly that point was, however, was unclear. Did it mean harm to them soon, or that he was watching over them the same as Neji and Tenten were currently doing?
Yakei raised his eyes the moment he felt the Hyuuga's eyes on him, smiling quietly as he then approached Neji carefully. "Hyuuga-san."
"Yakei-sama," Neji greeted stiffly. "Can I help you this afternoon?"
"Just make sure those kids are well protected...as if it were your own S-rank for indefinite time," Yakei replied, pulling a small purse from an inner pocket of his left sleeve. "I will pay for this endeavor on behalf of most of the council..."
"Sakura is already paying us to baby-sit," Neji didn't bother to raise a hand to push the purse away. "Protecting them from others is a part of that anyway,"
"I was hoping that you might realise how serious the situation actually is..."
"Oh we know," Neji shot back. "We know, and we care. Besides, Tsuyomi-chan has taken it upon himself to keep an eye on them, too. He spotted you first."
Yakei reached down to ruffle the seven-year-old's hair, but the boy stepped back just quickly enough to avoid the hand. In a flash, Yakei found that the boy was up on Neji's shoulders ruffling Yakei's own hair instead.
"How do you like it, old man?" Tsuyomi asked, a smirk on his face. "I bet you don't like it at all."
Yakei frowned up at the child as he stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair to get it back into place. "No. I see your point, Tsuyomi-chan."
"Don't you have a meeting in a few minutes to be at?" Neji asked pointedly. Whether or not there was such a meeting, he had no way of knowing, but he wanted this to stop before Tsuyomi got any more suspicious.
Yakei seemed to get the drift, but he ignored it. "It's been pushed back in favor of meeting Yashu-san."
"My Kaa-san?" Tsuyomi's interest peaked again.
Yakei nodded. "I have a few things to discuss with her."
Neither Neji or Tsuyomi liked his tone, but Yakei didn't respond. Instead he departed from their immediate presence and went to another part of the park.
"Oji-san, I have to follow him!" Tsuyomi demanded from his position on Neji's shoulders.
"Stay here, Tsuyomi-chan," Neji set his hands on the boy's legs to keep him from running off after the elderly councilman. "This is where you're needed."
Sure enough, Akaiko was on the ground screaming a millisecond later, but it turned out to have just been a fight over a cookie between her brothers that she joined. Being the strongest of the three to this day, she pulled too hard for either of them and they had teamed up against her, pulling her to the ground roughly and ruining their treat at the same time.
"Who started it?" Tenten asked a moment later.
Akaiko pointed to Obito, who pointed to Itachi, who pointed to Obito.
"Boys!" Tenten smacked a hand to her face, failing to cover her grimace. "I gave both of you three cookies and told you each to give one to your sister. Then you'd all have two. Why couldn't you just share correctly?"
Obito was grinning with cookie bits still stuffing his cheeks like a squirrel. He had effectively eaten all three handed to him, started on two more, and was caught with the third one going to his mouth by Itachi when Akaiko had noticed the food.
"All the cookies now go to your Nii-san after lunch," Tenten told them sternly, removing her hand to look the three over critically. "You are family. A team! You should always look after one another not try to hurt each other. Do you understand?"
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Lunch finished, Ayame caught back up to Iruka and Sakura, and still Kakashi wasn't around. Iruka created a bushin then and sent it off in search of the excessively late jounin while he and Ayame walked Sakura to the park where she had promised to meet up with Tenten, Neji, and the kids later on in the afternoon.
It was on the way there that the two women again bumped into Iruka...and he had found Kakashi. Sakura pushed Ayame back out of sight, but kept them within ear-shot. She wanted to know if Kakashi gave Iruka some stupid excuse for not showing, or if there was a genuine answer for things this time. Ayame was careful to keep as quiet as possible, not sure exactly why Sakura was behaving the way she did and unwilling to push the issue.
"I'm not here about us, Kakashi," Iruka said lowly, clearly frustrated with the man before him. "I'm here about Sakura-chan. You didn't come for her when you said you would. It's been three hours total. How could you leave her alone like that?"
"She wasn't alone, Iruka-san," Kakashi replied bitterly. "Obviously, she had you and Ayame to keep her company or you wouldn't have known I was missing."
The sufex Kakashi now insisted at putting with Iruka's name made the brunet flinch every time he heard it. Kakashi did it on purpose, just another way to prod his old lover again for the betrayal of leaving him for a woman he now planned to marry...was having a child with... Damn, but two years wasn't enough to ease the hurt any from Kakashi's standpoint. When he saw Ayame and Iruka going into the hospital while he himself was on the way to Sakura, Kakashi had to turn around ant leave. Ayame hadn't really done anything wrong. Few knew of her fiancee's former love interest, and he doubted she knew until well after Iruka had asked her to mary him six months prior to this very day.
"Kakashi--" Iruka started again, but the mask-wearing man cut him off.
"Why were you there anyway? You and your woman both looked completely healthy walking in there earlier."
So then it was out. Iruka knew it was his and Ayame's presence that kept Kakashi back now.
"Ayame had her first pre-natal check-up today," Iruka stepped back wisely, his hands fighting the urge to rise up in protection of the blow he just knew was coming.
Kakashi's hands balled up into fists at his sides, his visible eye shutting tight as his jaw clenched even tighter. His voice was that of tightly controlled rage when he spoke again, "Congratulations then. You'd better take care of them both better than you took care of me."
Sakura watched helplessly as Iruka dared to look away for one guilty second. Still, instead of lashing out, Kakashi only fled the whole scene. He moved as fast as possible without running like some frightened animal or using any jutsu to just poof away like usual. He wanted Iruka to know how hurt he was...and Sakura briefly wondered what he would have been like had the poison that killed Uchiha Madara still been in his system. If he was this bad now...? And what did he mean about taking care of Ayame better than Kakashi?
"Kakashi, you know I would do it again if you needed it," Iruka spoke quietly to Kakashi's back. "I would still come to you."
"And betray her?" Kakashi asked, still facing away, hands still fisted. "You're better than that, Iruka. You did dump me first before going to her. I like her. Don't betray her just for me...just because I need you back. You have a baby to take care of now. That's more important than me and my feelings."
"Kakashi, it's not that I don't care--"
"Save it!" Kakashi rounded on him again, this time allowing a little bit of anger to show through his voice. "Just shut up unless you're going to tell me where to find Sakura."
"She's standing over there by that wall with Ayame," Iruka replied cooly, letting Kakashi know just how big of a fool he really was. First off, he hadn't noticed where Sakura was this whole time. Secondly, he didn't notice that she was standing right beside the woman Kakashi was jealous of in the first place...and he'd said all that right infront of them. "Hiding from you."
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ああああああああああああああああああ
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Kakashi lay on the bed without even taking his shoes off. It was his turn to stay with Sakura, but he didn't much feel like staying downstairs with them tonight. Nope. Not this time. Not after what she heard him say and saw him do with Iruka the day before. Instead, he just walked up the stairs and into the door of a small, apartment-like space, through the small living area and straight into the bedroom, sat down on the trunk at the foot of the bed, and fell backwards to stare up at the ceiling, head not quite in the middle of the bed.
He thanked whatever god was listening to his prayers yesterday that made Sakura merciful enough not to report him to Tsunade for leaving her like that. Instead he just got his guilt trip of the year and a dressing down from the pregnant mini-Tsunade. And then she hugged him.
Well, she hugged him as best as she could considering the kids between them...reminding him yet again what it was Iruka wanted that he couldn't give...that Ayame could. And so he confined himself here, leaving Pakkun downstairs to get his fur pulled out by the brats' sticky hands. Let Pakkun deal with the so-called "joys" of children. Damn children...
He had to remind himself that the ones below him really didn't deserve his hatred. No living child, born or still in the womb, deserved his ire. And people like Sakura and Ayame shouldn't get his envy just because they could give their loved-ones such gifts. It wasn't their fault he was a man in every sense of the word...except one. He just couldn't have them himself thanks to fate and injuries to option number one getting crushed years ago. And it wasn't like he was a woman who could bear Iruka's kids the way Ayame could. Things just didn't work that way.
Soft knocking at the hall door near the stairwell rousted him from dour thoughts long enough to stand back up and answer it.
Tsuyomi stood with a tray of food in his hands, and Pakkun by his side. "Kaa-san sent this 'cause she knows you want to be alone tonight."
"Aa," Kakashi opened the door wider so that the boy could bring it in and set it on the low table near the corner couch. "Thank you."
"You're lucky Naruto's new mate is here tonight to help cook," Pakkun grunted after a bite of the food Tsuyomi sat down on the floor for him. "Sakura can barely stand any longer. You should be down there with her."
"Pakkun-san, Kaa-san told you he was mad at someone!" Tsuyomi swatted the pug on the nose as if to punish a normal dog.
"He does that quite well, ne, Tsuyomi-chan?" Kakashi grunted. "But he's right. I'm just sulking."
"Sakura-kaa-san said you got into a fight with sensei yesterday," Tsuyomi sat down on the automen near the rocking chair in the corner, making himself at home in the little apartment-like space. "Can you tell me? Or is it too adult for me to understand?"
Kakashi regarded the boy for a moment, then sat down on the end of the sofa nearest the child and inspected his food. Miso soup and potato dumplings with a side of brownies for dessert and a tall glass of cherry soda to wash it down with. Odd choice, but it would do. It seemed Yashu had done more of it than Sakura, or she would have known not to give him cherry soda. He only liked that with boiled and salted edamame. Still, he would take it. He would take anything right now to get his mind back on track by taking care of his stomach first.
"Actually, I think you can understand it to a certain extent by now," he commented, handing over one of the two brownies to the boy.
"I ate already," Tsuyomi grinned, "but Kaa-san doesn't have to know about this, does she?"
"Of course not," Kakashi smiled back at the boy.
"So," Tsuyomi took a bite of the brownie, "what happened between you and sensei?"
"Well, what do you know of love?"
Tsuyomi looked at him strangely, swallowed his bite, and replied. "I know I love my brothers and sisters and my dad and both my moms and my uncle and--"
"Okay," Kakashi held up a hand. "Now, what do you know of the kind of love your dad has for your moms?"
"Well... He loves Sakura-kaa-san like he loves me, I think. Yashu-kaa-san is different, though. He kisses her on the mouth a lot, and he holds her differently. She's like his ramen or something he loves her so much!"
"That's right. Now, did you know that your sensei loves a woman that way, too?"
Tsuyomi nodded and spoke around another bite of sweets, "He said he was going to be a dad, that Ayame-san from the ramen place is pregnant like Sakura-kaa-san is."
"He used to look at me the way he looks at her." Kakashi deadpanned. "He and I used to love each other like he loves her now, and it really hurts me. Do you understand?"
"No..."
Kakashi took a deep breath. How to explain it in simpler terms? "Let's say your dad and your mamma Yashu got into a fight because she's not having a baby like they keep trying for. What if it got so bad that they couldn't stand to be around one another because every time they see each-other, they just get into another fight about having babies that just won't happen? Then they break up and don't live together anymore, and your dad finds some other woman just a few months later. And two years after that they're having a baby that Yashu couldn't have and are going to get married and be a family without Yashu. How do you think she would feel?"
"Very mad and hurt...betrayed by Tou-san," Tsuyomi replied. "It's not her fault she can't have babies like Sakura-kaa-san can!"
"Now don't get worked up, Tsuyomi, I didn't mean that was what was happening with them," Kakashi reminded. "It was just a hypothesis, but...that's pretty much what happened with Iruka and I. I can't have children the way other men can because I got hurt when I wasn't much older than you, and since I'm not a woman I can't have kids like Sakura can, either, right? So Iruka was really frustrated and upset about it because we weren't allowed to adopt either, and he left me for Ayame-san. Now they're having a baby and getting married, two things he couldn't do with me. Do you understand now?"
"I don't understand why you couldn't adopt a kid, though," Tsuyomi replied. "I mean...isn't that why some people can't have kids? Fate wants them to take in the kids who lost their parents, doesn't it?"
"Maybe so, but you have to be approved to take care of those kids. Two men living together aren't allowed everything that a man and a woman living together are in our world. It's looked down on when two men or two women love each other the way your Tou-san loves your Yashu-kaa-san, and so they aren't considered fit to be parents unless they have one of their own with a woman who's alright with letting them care for it."
Tsuyomi was thoughtful again. "So then...why doesn't Ayame-san just let you and Iruka-sensei take care of her baby? It was made with sensei, right? So you should be allowed to be its Tou-san just like I have two Kaa-sans."
"You're a whole different case, chibi," Kakashi answered. "Sakura saved you from death and Yashu married your father. You were lucky to have three kinds of moms, two of which can still be here for you. Things just don't work that way with men, though. I know you don't really understand the politics of sexuality yet, but you will one day when you start dating girls. You'll know why so many ninja just stay single and avoid the whole thing."
"I'm not gonna be alone all my life!" Tsuyomi replied, so very determined. "I will be like my Tou-san and have love and become Hokage and have lots of kids like Sakura-kaa-san and marry someone that looks at me like Yashu-kaa-san looks at my Tou-san and I'll make it so people like you and sensei can adopt kids, too!"
Kakashi chuckled and leaned back into the pillows of the sofa. "Really? All of those things are very hard to do...except having a lot of kids, but that's a different story. You sure you can do even one of them?"
"If my Tou-san could do it when all those people hated him, so can I," Tsuyomi's eyes flared brightly, the milky color almost drowning out the blue tint completely for a split second. "Just because my Sofu and all of the Hyuuga except Neji-oji-san think I'm trash doesn't mean I can't do it. I will do it!"
"Who said you were trash?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the boy sitting before him. Most of the village loved him as far as Kakashi knew. Maybe the kids at school set him apart from the rest and didn't play with him because of his parentage being a bit on the high-end? Did they just expect him to be better right off the bat because he had famous parents and a kekke genkai? It was highly possible considering what had happened to Sasuke.
"All the Hyuuga think so," Tsuyomi looked at his feet as he swung them back and forth over the carpet. "And there's only a couple people at school who will talk to me besides the teachers, but one of them really hates me. He always makes fun of me because I'm bad at math and stuff like that."
"I bet it's because he's bad at practical stuff that you're good at," Kakashi answered, wanting to both answer truthfully and give the boy a boost of self-esteem. "Am I right? He's not much better on paper and much worse on real stuff that you're good with?"
"That's what Tetsu said," Tsuyomi frowned. "I don't know, though, 'cause she's really good on the written tests and average on the practical stuff like Kyomaru is, but even Kyomaru can make up for it since he's like me and can use juuken..."
"Hmm..." Kakashi leaned forward and tipped Tsuyomi's chin up so that they looked at one another eye-to-eye now. "Let me let you in on a little secret, Tsuyomi-chan. When it came down to the chunin exam for Naruto and Sakura, Sakura passed her written test with minimal effort. Naruto, though, shocked us all, because, when Ibiki went to pick up the test papers after the written portion was done there was your father's paper with only his name written on it. He got through the first part of his first time taking the test with a blank sheet. So, you see, as long as you can make it in the real world, it won't matter if you have trivial weaknesses as long as you can make up for them in other areas. He did it through loyalty and then tricking Sakura into not raising her hand and leaving at the end. Yes, she almost quit, but Naruto didn't let her."
"But to do something like that, I still have to pass the written tests now when I'm not even a genin. Sensei bases whether or not we get to test out at the end of the year by the written stuff just as much as the practical stuff. I'm screwed."
"Then get someone who will help you study or can show you what is being asked on paper with a practical situation," Kakashi answered easily. "Like this...What would you do if you were alone and had to take down a short-range specialist, but you had only one long-range weapon and couldn't use any jutsu?"
"I'd be wondering where the other people that I came with were," Tsuyomi answered.
"They're knocked out, maybe even dead."
"I'd get to them and wake them up."
"Your enemy is between you and your team."
"I'd find a way around him."
"Stop avoiding the conflict, Tsuyomi. There ware always more barriers I can add. Just answer the question as if you were really there."
"Um..." he thought for a moment.
"Too late," Kakashi stated before the boy even finished looking at the ceiling. "He would have killed you by now."
"But that's not fair! If this were a written test, I'd have more time to answer that question!"
"Life and fights are seldom fair, if ever," Kakashi raised a finger at him. "However, you're thinking about everything but the question I actually asked you. I never asked how to reach your team or how to get around him. I asked you to take him out."
Tsuyomi looked a bit put off. It reminded him of a test Iruka had once given his class that started off telling them to read all the questions and instructions to the end before beginning. At the end it just said to ignore everything else and just put your name on it and turn it in. The rest of the questions and such were meaningless because of the original and final instructions. He had a hard time with that one, too, simply because he didn't follow the very first instruction.
"Follow your orders, and do your job. If you were given this situation practically, you most-likely would better understand the importance of going through your opponent rather than around him, but because it's on paper the danger isn't there and you're not forced to think quite so critically. You see? Now...how do you get around a long-range fighter you've been battling at mid-range for a long time and are tired? Your goal of a precious scroll is through the doors behind him, and you have no back-up. He knows you're a close-range type at heart, but won't let you back off because he's seen you use a long-range, too. Now what?"
"I'd make a distraction to get him to look up so that I can sock it to him," Tsuyomi answered easily.
"And how do you know that it might work?"
"Because it worked on Neji-oji-san last week when he got between me and my bedroom at bedtime," Tsuyomi smiled.
Kakashi grinned in response. "Both questions were essentially the same, but because you identified the opponent with your Oji due to the close-range bit, you knew what to do. See? Just think about it as if you're there and the written stuff gets easier."
"Wow! Thanks, Kakashi-jii-san!" Tsuyomi tackled the man with a hug to the neck before bounding down the stairs and yelling to the others that he would be getting better grades from now on. Kakashi didn't even have the time to protest being called an old man.
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ああああああああああああああああああ
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It was the day before B-day, and Sakura found herself with a house full of helpers and guards alike. It had started with just Yashu and Kakashi three days prior. Lee came by the next morning, and Ino that evening. The day before saw Tenzou, Tenten, Neji, Kyomaru (Neji and Tenten's son), Naruto, Sai, Kiba, Akamaru, Hana (Kiba's sister), and even Tsunade coming over. All would stay until at least the day of the twins' actual birth, even if it didn't happen right on schedule if they had their way, but all three mothers present decided otherwise.
Tenten took Kyomaru home and then returned to drag Lee, and Sai out the door with her. Tsunade kicked Kiba and Akamaru out when they got into showing off for the kids, but insisted Hana stay since they would need an extra guard for the grounds. Naruto and Neji were asked to join her in that area while Tsunade, Kakashi, and Tenzou took care of things within the house itself.
First and foremost was keeping Sakura off her feet, and the only one not suitably frightened by Sakura's temper tantrums was Tsunade, so that job was left to her. Yashu and Tenzou stayed with Tsuyomi, Akaiko, Itachi, and Obito to keep them busy and away from Sakura's general area unless she asked for them. Kakashi went about maintaining the security of the house itself through traps on all areas the kids stayed out of but infiltration was still a possibility for attackers. Mostly, these were on the second floor where Tsuyomi was the only one of the children allowed seeing as he was already seven-years-old and capable of watching his step better than the three-year-old triplets.
Once the children were in bed, a watch consisting of Naruto and Neji settled for outside, and Kakashi's part finished inside, things calmed down and the adults besides Yashu and Sakura went over strategic defense systems of the entire house and surrounding area. Kakashi remembered to mention the swamp this time, even though it hadn't been raining too heavily lately.
"And what if he decides to show up again?" Tenzou asked pointedly. "It didn't take long for him to find out the first time. Who's to say he isn't watching right now? What should our course-of-action be then?"
Kakashi and Tsunade understood why Tenzou wasn't being open about the fact that any other day Sasuke would be told to sit and wait at home...maybe the children would be born there instead of at the hospital this time? That was why Yashu had been trained as a mid-wife, after all. Still, Hana and Neji wouldn't take well to the idea of allowing Sasuke in the area, and Yashu would have a fit, too, most likely. Naruto would get in the other man's way wanting to catch up or something, which would only end up in a half-hearted fight between them.
Half-hearted fights between them would get rough-enough to draw quite a lot of attention. More attention meant more danger to Sasuke and his children.
"Who?" Hana asked, confused.
"Their father," Kakashi spoke pointedly, only to receive dirty looks from mother and son across from him. "What? She'd figure it out really quickly the moment he did turn up anyway and we all just let him walk right in, right?"
Tsunade and Tenzou mirrored each-other with a sigh, shake of the head, and look back over the hastily drawn blue-prints of the house.
"Wow, you'd think you two are related or something," Hana teased, not knowing she actually hit the mark dead-on. "So...Isn't Uchiha Sasuke their father? That's what Kiba-chan told me."
"He is," Tsunade answered. "And he's been here a few times already. He also seemed to know when Sakura went into labor the first time and was close enough to show up before they were all out into the world. We're worried he might know again and try another ill-advised stunt of turning into another friendly like the last time when he turned into Sai."
Hana had a very uncharacteristic smirk on her right then. "Yeah, that's something I might do myself, but I'd at least be smart enough to wear something animals like Akamaru and such would be confused by."
"He didn't have to worry about that in the hospital, it's just that--"
"Sai showed up and found me in there looking like him," Hana responded, "holding Itachi and arguing that it really was a good name for him since it was my grandfather's name, too."
Both men and the blond woman gave Hana a look that clearly read "Oh, you are not serious, are you?"
"Stole her jacket and shoes," Sasuke handed the items over, now himself before them. "There. As long as Neji and Naruto stay outside, we've only got to make sure that brunet woman over there keeps her mouth shut."
"When will you four stop the huddle and just relax?" said brunet woman called over to them. "You've got Sakura worried there's a problem or something."
"Yashu will tell Naruto," Kakashi reminded.
"I'll tell him myself if she doesn't get to it first," Tenzou added.
"And I'll kick your pretty ass myself if I find out Inuzaka Hana was harmed in any way by you," Tsunade grumbled.
"She's out with Genma at the moment," Sasuke answered casually. "I made sure she was gone before taking her clothes."
Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Lovely. I now have a cross-dressing former student intent on knocking up one of my other old students at every turn and my third one just happy to have it all happen as long as he gets a hug out of the deal every now and then... Tenzou, Tsunade-sama, any time I decide to teach another group just kill me on the spot, will you?"
"Don't worry," Tsunade rolled her eyes, "I will make sure Naruto won't allow the academy to assign you another group ever again. Problem solved."
Yashu stood up with a grumble and stomped over to the four huddled at the other end of the room, "Didn't you hear anything I just said? Don't stress Sakura any more than she already is! Just because it's close enough to the due date now doesn't mean it's good for her or the kids. A rushed labor would only--YOU!"
All in the room winced at Yashu's shrill cry as she pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. "When? How? Why?"
"Hours ago. Easy academy trick. To be here sooner than last time," Sasuke answered her unfinished questions with ease.
"Stop it, Uchiha, you're gonna scare us next," Tsunade looked at him sideways. "From what I hear, you've never said so many words together in public at once before."
"Not like you were gonna answer her or anything," he shrugged, and backed off the floor plans between them all before brushing by the still sputtering brunet to sit beside his lover on the sofa.
Sakura barely noticed the presence beside her, instead focusing on just keeping her cool while the others huddled up and left her out of the loop for the first time in years. When a hand started running fingers through her hair, she figured it was either Yashu again, or Tsunade had come over signaling the end of the huddle. She'd never been that close to Hana, so that woman showing the current amount of affection was out of the question. Tenzou was closer to her kids than to her, as was expected considering the fact that he was usually kept busy anymore except when able to get on her baby sitting roster. Kakashi might have shown that kind of affection if they didn't have an audience to prove he had a soft side to him for something other than porn and puppies. So, Yashu or Tsunade, she guessed.
"I'm alright," Sakura muttered to the person behind her. "Just let me rest right now, kay?"
"Of course, koibito," Sasuke whispered into her scalp, startling her far worse than he had Yashu.
"What the--?" Sakura jerked away as quickly as possible, eyes wide as she nearly fell off the sofa edge.
Five sets of hands were grabbing for her instantly, and she found herself supported by Yashu and Sasuke more than anyone else as the first wave of unease passed through her abdomen. "Chikuso! Now look what you've gone and done to me!"
"Sakura?" Yashu questioned hesitantly.
Sakura rolled her eyes, annoyed. "It's starting. Now."
"I told you not to upset her!"
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"I wanna see Kaa-san," Akaiko pouted at Tsuyomi the self-imposed door guard for the triplets.
"No, Akaiko-chan," Tsuyomi made hushing motions, speaking softly. "We can't go out there. They'll be mad at us. We're supposed to be sleeping, remember?"
"But you could hide us, Nii-san," Obito spoke up.
"Yeah," Itachi added, "you go to school. You know that, right?"
Tsuyomi's brow twitched. Of course he knew he went to school. He hated that fact. It was too strict and didn't allow him much free time at all when the sun was up highest in the sky and the water would feel really good on his feet in the stream...
"You're all too loud," Tsuyomi lied. "I can't hide loud-mouths like you."
The four of them heard a commotion in the living area, even though there was a den between the triplets' bedroom and the place where their mother sat. Seconds later and they heard all the adults moving into the bedroom, and it sounded like two of them were guiding Sakura in there.
"Shh! Let's just listen and see what we can figure out!" Tsuyomi told them, cracking the door just slightly as all four of them huddled around it.
"Kakashi, cover the second floor as planned," Tsunade's commanding voice floated to the children's ears clearly. "Tenzou, I guess you'll be watching things up there with him instead of watching the kids thanks to our identity switch earlier..."
The kids' minds ran wild with questions as to what the old woman meant by that. Then, they got their answer when she spoke again.
"Sasuke, I'm going to count on you to help Sakura through this and follow Yashu's every order," Tsunade spoke, irritated in the change of plan. "It looks like I'm taking Hana's spot in keeping the children out of the way since you fucked things up for the plan. I don't have to tell you what kind of vengeance Sakura will bring your way if you fail her and Yashu, do I?......Good. Now, come with me out of here so that I can give you the basics......No, she won't get to that part for a while yet--"
"Scratch that, she's there already!" Yashu called out, slightly panicked.
"Damn you, Sakura!" Tsunade spoke up again. "Be a little louder for once, will you? Kakashi, Tenzou, take up positions in the hall and the next room. Sasuke, get your ass over there to catch your children. Yashu stay on her. I'm going to get the others to change locations."
Loud footsteps and two slamming of doors later, the kids could hear their mother grumbling and moaning with sharp, hard pains as Tsunade argued with Naruto in the living area and ordered Neji to keep an eye on him before she returned to the master bedroom. None of the silent four dared make a noise seeing as Tenzou was standing right next to the door. If he suspected a thing, especially if Tsuyomi went and actually moved the door again, they'd be in very big trouble.
All their attention on the sounds coming from across the hall, Tsuyomi barely had time to notice the hand reaching for his neck from behind. In a single spin, the blond boy blocked the hand with his right arm, grabbed the larger wrist, and came around with a hook punch to the attacker's jaw. It wasn't enough to do any real damage, but it got the man's attention quickly.
The three between Tsuyomi and the door all fell into the hall a second later when the larger person Tsuyomi had hit shoved him into them roughly. Tenzou caught sight of the three youngsters as they picked themselves up off the floor and briefly wondered if Tsuyomi had shoved them out when he found them peeking or something. That all stopped when he saw Tsuyomi fly out the door and hit the opposite wall face first, yelling all the way until the wind was knocked out of him.
The triplets started to make their way over to weakly protect their brother, but Tenzou stepped between them and the dark room they were supposed to have been sleeping in, creating a much larger barrier between the four kids and danger. He didn't bother asking pointless questions of identity and objective. The objective could be easily guessed. The identity could be sorted out after things were finished.
"Now why is it that the Hokage, his old team, and a couple others are hanging about this old place so late at night and not sleeping?" a dark haired man demanded as he stepped into a sliver of light for Tenzou to see. "Why is my aunt's old house starting to fill up with strangers? Unless some of you actually do belong here?"
Tenzou caught the pointed look directed at the children behind him, and the comment of the man's aunt having once owned the place was noted doubly. "Tsuyomi, get them in with Sakura. You're all safest there."
"Oji-san?" Akaiko asked nervously.
"Don't distract him, imoto-chan," Tsuyomi herded her and her brothers before him. "Want me to tell Tou-san, too?"
"No. And don't tell anybody in there either. Just Neji and Kakashi, please."
"Hai," Tsuyomi nodded, knowing any other questions would have to wait for later. Right now, the fighting was about to start, and he had to protect the others like Yashu had told him when they were babies.
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"What are you four doing in here?" Yashu demanded from Sakura's side when the door opened to admit the children.
"Be back soon, Kaa-san," Tsuyomi said instead, then walked right through the wall to his left and alerted Kakashi to join Tenzou.
"Well, you three?" Tsunade picked up where Yashu left off as another round of contractions took away the other three adults' attention.
"Somebody hurt Nii-san," Akaiko again spoke for her brothers. Tsunade thanked whatever gods were listening that Sakura, Sasuke, and Yashu didn't hear her. The women would be furious to find out their son was harmed. Sasuke was a wild card to her. She didn't know if he would ignore the situation in favor of Sakura, or if he would storm out of the room to defend Naruto's son on the spot. There was just no telling.
"Lovely," she rolled her eyes. "Is he okay?"
"Hai," all three nodded.
"Then shut up about it and keep out of the way."
Yashu was encouraging Sakura to push harder now, faster. The first child was crowning, a head of black hair--lighter than the identical boys sitting off to the side in confusion--was just visible in Sasuke's hand as Yashu guided him in holding the baby steady.
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"I don't want anything more than to pay a little visit to my brother's grandchildren," the man still standing in the triplets' bedroom spoke softly. "I will not fight you both."
"Ten, you already know what I'm thinking, so just get it over with," Kakashi said when he recognized the voice. "Capture and return to prison."
"Hai, senpai," Tenzou stepped forward, prepared to trap the man before them in heavy wooden shackles, only to find himself thrown back nearly as easily as Tsuyomi had been a few seconds before.
"Let me clarify," Danzo walked into the hall now, "I will not fight you both at the same time. You'll die too slowly if you get the chance to team up."