Temari watched Hinata try to control her features, and fail. Again. Her poor sister-by-marriage had a serious case of laughter. Tears were by now streaming from the purple-haired girl's eyes as she fell off the log she was sitting on with a 'plop'.
The boys were looking a bit bewildered, except for little Katashi who was grinning along with his older sister though it was quite obvious he didn't know the joke either.
"Hinata?" Kankuro held out a hand to the girl now sitting in the dirt at his feet, a little close to the fire for comfort. "Hoshi?"
She waved the puppeteer's hand away, falling into gaspy little breaths as she tried to pull herself together. She did manage, barely, to scoot away from the flames and put the seating log to her back.
"Perhaps she's carrying." Juroken whispered over at the concerned husband. "Katashi's mother would do a lot of that laughing, then start crying for no reason. Especially right before the boy came along."
The boy in question looked confused, turning his gaze upon the old hermit. "Carrying what?" He asked bluntly. "Her pack's no bigger than Temari's is. I can carry more if I she needs help carrying stuff."
Kiba turned away before he could laugh at the kid. Had he ever been that naïve? Somehow, with the Inuzuka nin-dogs running around, he doubted it. He couldn't remember a time he didn't know about where babies came from. Iruka had even given him detention once in his first year for explaining 'conception' to some other boys before they got to that part of their education. Seems the words he'd used were a "bit rough" and "crude" according to their Academy sensei.
Hinata's reaction though, had him whipping back around to eye her curiously. Kiba heard her sputter madly and then begin laughing even louder. Could she be pregnant?
Hinata saw Kiba's reaction, and it sent her off into further spiels of hilarity. "N…n…no!" She finally managed to gasp out loud. "No." She looked at all the men in the group. "No one is carrying, no one!" She started laughing helplessly once more.
Temari's eyebrows quirked up as she looked around at the confused males. Her eyes fell on her brother's half empty tea cup. She picked it up and sniffed suspiciously. Suddenly, her own mouth twitched. Once. Twice.
Kankuro stared at the two girls now clinging to each other while laughing and gasping for air.
Shino looked helplessly at the other males and shrugged. "I was on a mission once where there was a potion that induced uncontrollable laughter." He didn't mention it had been used on him. That was not something he cared to remember, or wanted to admit.
Hinata choked and shook her head 'no', but couldn't speak as she leaned weakly against Kankuro's legs. He ran his hand down her long hair. "What's so funny then?"
"I wanna know what 'carrying' means." Pouted the seven-year old Hyuuga boy.
"You're a bit young, aren't you?" Shino started.
"Pregnant." Juroken nodded at the boy.
"Oh." Katashi said, then shrugged. "I thought that only happened in the Spring? Like with the deer."
This sent both Hinata and Temari back into peals of laughter, even Shino managed a small smile. He should have known that a rurally raised child would know more about basic nature than a village raised child.
"Human women are different than the animals in the mountains, Katashi." Juroken said gently, seeing the boy get a bit miffed that no one was explaining the joke. "I don't know why the girls have the giggles, but it's not because either of them are carrying."
"No. No." Temari said, her mouth firming. "No. We're NOT carrying a child. And now, neither will any of you." She said as she pointed to the empty tea pot.
Hinata caught Temari's eye and they both collapsed again. This time though, Kankuro wasn't petting his wife's hair. He was looking horrified.
"Where did you get that tea from?" The puppeteer whispered hoarsely, looking at the older man worriedly.
The old hermit shrugged. "You said it was in Hinata's pack. That's where I got it."
Kiba groaned and sniffed deeply. "That's why it smelled familiar!"
Shino was washing out his mouth with water, so it took him a moment to speak up. "Kiba, you have a sister and a mother who is a kunoichi! Couldn't you tell from the smell that this wasn't tea?"
Hinata hiccupped loudly as her sister-by-marriage patted her back helpfully. "It is tea. Just not the kind you're used to drinking."
"I don't get it." Katashi looked around angrily.
"That's alright lad, neither do I." Juroken said, not making sense of this conversation at all. "If it was tea, but wasn't tea … what?????"
Kiba looked down at Katashi and sighed. "Kid, you know that a female ninja is called a kunoichi, right?" He waited for the boy to nod. "Well, kunoichi who don't want to 'carry' drink something …er, special …right, special to prevent them from … carrying." He deliberately did not go into detail, or mention that kunoichi's always drank a contraceptive brew while on a mission in case of capture, and rape. Katashi was still too young for that knowledge just yet.
Juroken choked and Shino tossed the old man the water pouch. The old man gratefully washed out his mouth. "It won't hurt us, will it?"
Kiba shrugged and grinned, winking at the boy. "Well now, not unless you want to have a child."
"GROSS!" Shouted Katashi, making a disgusted face.
Shino looked over at the others and saw the stunned, and rather odd look on Kankuro's face. He motioned for Kiba who turned, looked, and nodded.
"C'mon, Katashi. Let's go get some firewood." The dog-nin said and motioned for the old hermit to join them.
Katashi groaned as he stood. "But I thought we were leaving right after we ate? Why do we need firewood now?"
Shino shot an irritated glance at Kiba, couldn't his teammate have come up with a better excuse than that?
Kiba looked puzzled a moment, then grinned. "It's training! Especially for you. We're going to add some extra firewood to your pack. Toughen you up. Now get going!"
"You're making that up!" Accused the young boy, even as he followed the two ninjas away from the camp fire as Akamaru herded the old hermit along after them.
"Temari?" Shino asked quietly.
"Coming, coming." She sighed and scrambled to her feet even as she wiped away the last tears from her laughing jag. "Careful baby brother." She teased heartlessly. "Twins run in her family, you need to finish drinking your brew!"
Temari evaded the swipe Kankuro aimed at her, then tripped and nearly fell as his chakra strings wrapped around her legs. He gave her a nasty look before releasing her to follow the others.
"I…I'm sorry." Hinata whispered, looking up into her husband's too solemn face.
"YOU WANT TO GET ME OUT OF CAMP FOR A REASON, WHY?????" Shouted Katashi in the distance. Any reply the boy received, however, wasn't heard by the two now staring intently at each other.
Kankuro cleared his throat uneasily, even going so far as to open his mouth, but no words came out.
Hinata watched, nervous at his odd behavior. Was he angry with her? "I didn't d…do it on purpose."
The puppeteer growled and ran his hands through his hair. "I know that, Hinata."
Hinata. Not Hoshi. Inwardly, the girl cringed a bit. "You are mad though?"
"Yes, no …oh, I don't know." Kankuro muttered. "Not mad with you, though."
"My uncle didn't know the difference between the brew pouch and the tea packages." Hinata said in a small voice.
Kankuro groaned and slid off the log to sit in the dirt next to her, pulling her into his chest as she 'eeeped' at his sudden and unexpected move. "I love it when you make that sound." He grinned.
But do you love me? She wondered and had to bite her tongue from asking. Tears stung her eyes, but didn't fall.
"Did you get a chance to make your brew today?" He asked, his voice gruff and strained.
Hinata looked up at him, unsure. "What answer is the r…right one?" She whispered brokenly.
Kankuro groaned and hugged her to him. "Don't stammer, you break me in two when you do that to me." He paused a long moment and she wondered if he was going to let the subject drop. "Did you?"
Hinata sighed. "No." She admitted, wondering if that was what he wanted to hear. She pulled back to look up at his face. Relief, consternation, regret, resignation and fear? Was she reading him right?
"Can you get some more brew from Temari?" He asked.
Hinata's heart stopped a moment as her stomach dropped to her feet. "You don't want a baby?" With me …she added to herself. "A son or ten years, remember?" He couldn't divorce or leave her without forfeiting everything until they'd been together ten years, or she had a son, whichever came first.
Kankuro nodded, he recalled the terms of the marriage contract clearly. "Are you wanting to get rid of me so soon?" He tried to tease her, but his words fell flat.
"No." She admitted truthfully, plainly. He knew how she felt about him, she whispered it each night before he could sleep. "I wouldn't be a bad mother."
Her whisper caught him off guard, she could tell by his shocked expression and the sudden tightening of his arms. "Oh, Hoshi. You'd be a perfect mother. As if there was any doubt of that. I'm just selfish and want to keep you for myself for a while, before any kids come along."
Hinata shook her head. Once she would have believed him, but now she knew him well enough to see the lie behind his eyes. "T…try again." She demanded in her own quiet fashion. She may be shy, but she was also stubborn.
Kankuro groaned and let his head fall backwards, banging it into the log at their back.
"KIBA! I CAN SEE AKAMARU BEHIND YOU! THROUGH YOU!" Came a ringing shout of joy from behind the tree line.
"Seems your brother is improving by leaps and bounds." The puppeteer offered her a weak smile. "If your father doesn't want him, we can take him in."
"Father will love him." She averred, hoping and praying it was the truth. "Is my father the reason you don't want a child? A child with me? He's not so bad, really. And you could teach me to be a good parent if you don't trust me."
A shout interrupted her and she watched alarmed as her husband's face turned red. "Teach you? Teach YOU?" He growled, looking stunned. "What do I know about being a parent? What could I possibly know about being a good father?"
Hinata felt pinned to one spot by his glare. She didn't know how to respond. "You had a father …"
"I had a Kazekage, and he was an asshole." Kankuro sneered angrily, unable to rein in his emotions. He knew he was frightening her, but couldn't help himself. He felt sick to his stomach even as his mouth ran away from him. "He killed my mother and he killed any feelings a child should hold for their father. Your father's a jerk, but at least he cares for you all."
Hinata reached up slowly and placed her palms on either side of his face, his anger had startled her, but it hadn't scared her. Not for herself. "I thought your mother died in childbirth?"
He nodded, closing his eyes to the pain of his vague memories. He'd been too young. Kankuro wasn't sure if he remembered his mother, or only the stories of her that his uncle and sister used to tell him. "When a demon is placed in a vessel, there always has to be a sacrifice. A sacrificial death. Like your Fourth Hokage did when he sealed the fox demon. My father offered up my mother's life instead of his own …like it was nothing. Your Hokage was a hero, sacrificing himself for the sake of his village. My father though ..."
She'd known that, of course she'd known about the sacrifice the Fourth had made. But she'd never put it together with Gaara's birth. "Your father was …disturbed." She whispered.
"Evil, not disturbed." Kankuro put his hands on top of hers where she still cradled his face. "I'm not meant to be a father."
Hinata sat back, pulling away from him as she studied him owlishly. She knew. She knew that this was one of THOSE moments. A moment that could potentially prove a turning point. A moment that meant everything, or nothing. Deliberately, she reached out and slapped him across the face.
He stared at her, one hand to his stinging cheek.
"YEAH!" Katashi's voice echoed from the forest.
Hinata gave him the fiercest look she could, gathering every bit of courage she held in her small body. "I love you." She snapped at him, finding it easier to say than she'd expected. But then again, she'd been saying it every night for how long now? "I love you and you are the only one I would want to be the father of my children."
He didn't even blink as he watched her, totally amazed. She was so angry at him, and she was so fucking gorgeous as she glared at him.
"Your father was worse than I could ever have thought. But Kankuro, he did NOT raise you. Nurses, Nannies, your sister, I don't know. Eventually it was Baki most likely."
He nodded, not bothering to mention his uncle or anything else. Truthfully, he was so in awe of her right now he wasn't sure if he could have said anything.
"You are not your father, you could never be him." She stormed, then softened her look a bit as she continued. "You can be a bully at times, and are rough and don't always say the right things. But I know, I know deep down, that you are not him."
Kankuro shook his head, wanting to trust her words. "The morning after we …I mean the morning I woke up in your bed and you LET me think I'd been awful to you …I thought I'd hurt you."
Hinata melted on the spot and wrapped her arms around him. "No! I kept telling you and telling you that you didn't hurt me. I didn't tell you we hadn't slept together, but I know I told you that you didn't hurt me."
Kankuro pushed her away, holding her shoulders to keep her still. "Was it a dream then that I struck you?"
Pale-lilac eyes watered up once more. "I'm so sorry. Kakashi told me later that Kurenai had had a plan the night of the reception. To use genjutsu on you and test how you'd react. She'd heard about your father's ….ways. I suspect that THAT is the source of your 'memories', because I can say without a doubt you have never hit me."
Kankuro didn't remember much of the reception itself, but he thought he remembered seeing Kurenai there. He closed his eyes and groaned. "I'll get her back later."
"No you won't." Hinata scolded him sternly. "She did that out of love for me."
The puppeteer nodded, but promised himself he'd have a chat with Kurenai at some later time. The memory of hitting Hinata had tormented him for a while, despite her protests that it had never happened.
"I want your children." Hinata said deliberately. Hoping he caught the plural form of the word she'd used. Not a child. And not a divorce after that child was born. Children. "I'm not going to borrow any contraception brew from Temari." She paused, growing uneasy as he didn't respond. "Unless you don't want to have …"
"EEEP!" Hinata squeaked as Kankuro wrapped his arms around her and gave her the most passionate kiss she could ever have dreamed of. She melted into his embrace as he held her tightly.
"EWWWW GROSS!" Katashi wailed. "NO, I CAN SEE THEM THROUGH YOU!"
Hinata tried to pull back as Kankuro groaned, chuckling without humor. "Kids are good in theory." He stated. "But the reality sucks."
o.O.o.O.o.O
It's short. The other story lines will continue, I promise! This chapter just needed to get done as is. Hope you liked.
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