"They want you to do what?" Kakashi asked after Mariko closed the door. Kakashi told Nicholas to take the younger children into the bedroom Nicholas and Rikko shared. He knew who it was when Mariko answered the door. Only would the a member of the Anbu Black Ops be at their door, giving a message to Mariko from her father. Which meant only one thing.
"It is a mission my father wants me to do." Mariko replied, shrugging. Kakashi let out a silent growl, it always frustrated him when Mariko acted like a mission was nothing close to a fatality. " I guess it's my turn."
"You and Twila take turns doing missions? Like some kind of childish game?" Kakashi asked, sitting on the sofa. "How could he do this to you? You and Twila, the two of you are his only children. Doesn't he know it's almost Rikko's first birthday?"
"Kakashi, my father knows very well when Rikko's birthday is," Mariko replied, feeling insulted that Kakashi would say something like her father didn't care about her and Twila. Althugh Mariko was never really close to her dad, he was still her dad, and she wouldn't let anyone insult him. " And is only doing this because of his disability."
"That doesn't mean you should do his job." Kakashi mumbled, not wanting to fight. If there was one thing he hated talking about was about her parents.
"As heir's to the family name, we have to live up to the family reputation."
"What reputation?" Kakashi asked, shooting up, holding his hands in the air. " All anyone knows is that your father is about at the same level as anyone on the Council."
"But he is also known, by few, to do missions with his old teammates." Mariko replied with hard eyes, crossing her arms as she continued. " The Hokage ensures every time that an heir to each member is teamed together, like the Nara, Yamanaka and Akamichi clans. And we go on missions together. And this time, it's my turn with Hiro and Junko."
"But that's not fair." Kakashi whispered, feeling defeated. He knew Mariko was a shinobi and she held her family's honor above her own life. And that was what bothered Kakashi, and he didn't want to know what could happen if she kept that demeanor. But then again, he couldn't understand because she had a family name to honor. Kakashi never really had a name to live up to, only a few knew who his father was, and Kakashi was already a prodigy and a legend. How else could he live up to his father's name? He felt a hand touch his comfortingly and a head nuzzled up to his neck.
"I know, it's scary and it may seem unfair." Mariko whispered, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. " But, as you know, it's my responsibility. As are you and the children, my sister and possibly her future family."
"As my responsibility is to you, and our children." Kakashi said, holding Mariko's hand.
"As that maybe, we are Shinobi as well."
"I suppose so." Kakashi said, turning and kissing Mariko. Mariko wrapped her hand around Kakashi's head, holding the kiss like the kiss at their wedding. Nearly every time she kissed him, her heart would beat faster and her face would start blushing. Releasing the kiss, he leaned back and wrapped an arm around her. " Anyway, I guess it's up to me to plan out Rikko's birthday."
"Oh no, I already had that all planned out." Mariko said, shooting up and made a mad dash back into the kitchen. She grabbed her notebook and ran back to Kakashi, plopping herself onto his lap. Handing him a list, Kakashi smiled and shook his head. It was just typical of Mariko to already have a plan. " All you need to do is follow the list. Then you'll need to decorate, do some of the baking because Twila will do the rest. And please, for goodness sake, refrain from having any rivalry competition during the party. I don't want to come home to find a destroyed house. Or my baby boy crying his eyes out."
"Tell that to Gai, not me." Kakashi chuckled, imagining Gai trying to come up with a cake eating contest, or something worse. Then Rikko would start throwing a temper tantrum.
"I'm not related to him." Mariko said, swinging off his lap and waltzing into the bedroom. Chuckling, Kakashi walked over to the mantel where Mariko kept pictures of every event since their marriage. Kakashi's heart warmed as he looked at the pictures Mariko always bragged about to company. Photo's of Nicholas's first day at the academy, Mika's first tooth, and Rikko's birth. In the center of these photos was Kakashi and Mariko on their wedding day, and Gai and Twila were standing next to them with prideful smile's on their faces.
Then he looked over as Mariko came out wearing her dark green vest, black, and skin tight leggings. Her bright hair was pulled into a high pony tail and a gold wrist band around her wrist. She looked up at him with a determined smile and crossed her arms, trying to act like a tough Shinobi. The act that Kakashi never fell for, in fact, it hurt him to see her act so arrogant.
"Be careful." Kakashi pleaded, following her out the door, grabbing her hand. "Are you sure I shouldn't come with you? Gai and Twila can watch the children."
"You trust them with that responsibility?" Mariko asked, smiling comically.
"No, but..."
"I'll be fine." She promised, kissing him passionately. Breaking the kiss, she backed up and winked. " I'll be home before Rikko's 1st birthday."
"I heard she finally said yes." Kakashi said to Gai, sitting on the sofa. Proudly, Gai sat back and crossed his legs, acting like a teenager again.
"At long last, I'm gonna marry the love of my life." Gai announced, taking a sip of his Saki. Kakashi rolled his eyes, he forgot about how much Gai loved his Saki.
"Next to your daily, extreme workouts."
"Hey, your only young once." Gai said, pointing to Kakashi. Kakashi knew it was a gesture to him marrying Mariko so young. " Besides, I have to get caught up with our rivalry. You married first, had the first set of kids, and you got your own place first. And now it's my turn to have a wife, a kid and my own apartment."
"Whoa slow down there, Gai." Kakashi said, chuckling. He should've guessed that Gai was going to try and rush things to keep up with Kakashi. " Getting married is one thing, but starting a family is another thing. That's a lot to deal with for both of you. And let me tell you, taking care of a kid is not easy."
"Says the one who took in an orphaned infant and then got married." Gai teased, taking another sip. " Then had two more children hardly five years after. I'm not sure if that's considered rushing or not. "
"I guess you got a point there," Kakashi chuckled, crossing his arms. " But make sure Twila's alright with this. Marriage and parenting are, like, a partnership. The two of you got to work together."
"Yeah, we know, we had a long discussion about that."
"When do you plan on doing the ceremony?" Kakashi asked as Mika ran in and climbed onto Kakashi's lap.
"As soon as we possibly can." Gai shurgged, rubbing Mika's hair. " With her dad being ill, and Twila wants him to walk her down the aisle, we're trying to work things around him."
"Did you ask for his blessing?" Kakashi asked as Mari snuggled under his chin, falling back asleep.
"Actually, Twila begged me not to and I thought that I should obey her word." Gai replied, leaning back again. "Just wait until that little girl find's her boyfriend, she'll probably do the same thing."
Kakashi glared at him, holding his sleeping daughter close. Even if Mika might not be his only daughter, he still didn't want to imagine anyone taking his little girl. Mika was already a daddy's girl, besides the Sharigan inheritance. She loved reading and training with her brother, she loved rolling around in the dirt and rough housing with Rikko. Kakashi smiled, looking down at her, remembering when she was born and how proud he was. Being a first time father was exciting enough, but to be a father to a daughter as a first born child, the excitement was overwhelming.