(A/N: Thanks for 45 reviews!
Watermelon Gal: Aw, you're not stupid. It was just me being confusing and avoiding the actual issue. The Uchiha Curse was not explained in this chapter, and you will be told what it is in this chapter and it will be explained how it works. Itachi didn't recognize Sasuke because a) he hasn't seen him in forever, b) wasn't really paying attention, was more concerned with kicking Oro's ass, and c) it was kinda dark in the grand hall. Or we could just say that he's blind. =D Itachi is Orochimaru's slave, which is the only reason he's not dead like the rest of the clan.
Bishiehuggler: The Uchiha curse is weird, and it's weird no matter if I'm vague about it, or I explain it, which will come in later chapters. Such as this one. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not something that most people would consider normal. And Itachi IS a frazzled old housewife. XD
Junsui-san: You're welcome for the OroIta-ness. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and hopefully, your questions will be answered. =)
Iceheart19: No, it wasn't very fast paced. Very slow, actually. I'm glad you liked it though. And yes, because I had so much fun writing ItaOro in "And the Beat Goes on" I'll probably write the pairing the same way from here to eternity. Naruto might be falling for Sasuke...or he could just be looking to get laid. We shall never know - tis Naruto. =)
teckno: The tone of the fic changed? I missed it...Eh...it'll probably shift back and forth a bit, depending on my mood and such. I'm glad you liked the ending scene [that's the scene I was most worried about] and I'm glad you enjoyed most of the content in the chapter. The way I interpret the whole Itachi-Orochimaru relationship is that Itachi is actually in control of everything, but if it were up to him, there would be no sexual situations involved. Hence, Orochimaru has to take control in that situation, or he'd never see any action. =3 I'm odd.
Yuen-chan: I'm so glad someone agrees with me! ::glomp::
Kurisuteru-chan: I'm glad you like the story. The Uchiha Curse isn't meant to be understood yet, but it will be explained in this chapter. =)
keelhaul lizzie: 3:30 am? Yeesh. I'd be so asleep. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I'm with you completely about the ItaOro. ::nod nod:: =D
Kyme: Indeed, they are the strangest pair. I'm glad you like the fic though. =)
Genrou chan: You learn something new every day. Orochimaru uses "kun" to taunt people. Something I did not know. I've seen neither manga nor anime involving him, so I've got no clue how to write him. =3 As for Itachi, it is a stretch, but I think I can make up several excuses for it:
One, he was a prostitute when he was younger, so he knows how to act the part; two, he does it to be on level with Orochimaru; three, he actually does see Orochimaru as being a bit closer to him than anyone else, though he wouldn't freely admit that. Take your pick. Either that, or it's just my way of writing them in my other fanfic infecting this one. --
bleedformeee: It is different, I'll give you that. I'm glad you like it. =)
YukaYuka: The curse will be explained in this chapter. I'm glad you think the story's cute. =)
artemis347: I'm glad you like the story!
mika: I'm glad you like the story so much. The Uchiha curse will be explained in this chapter.
AquaHawk-04: Since I said so! Bwhaha! No, I'm joking. I really don't know why they call each other pet names. And thank you for telling me it was odd!
And now, on with the fic!)
Chapter 4: Riding Lightning
Sasuke sighed, rolling over. The covers were still wrapped about him, despite the fact it was nearly noon. Naruto had been uncannily nice to him, allowing him to sleep in, for however long he wanted, and to bathe when he wanted, and to have what he wanted, when he wanted it, and to eat whatever he wanted.
It was kind of nerve wracking, for he was waiting for the other shoe to fall, for Naruto to turn him out or demand payback. So far, the kitsune-jin had let him do as he pleased, provided he made sure he slept only in Naruto's bed, and ate only in the blond's dining hall, and bathed only in Naruto's bath.
Currently, the kitsune-jin was attending some religious worship, as today was some sort of holiday in the kitsune-jin religion. Sasuke sighed, rolled over again and got up. He'd been feeling much better as of late, with lots of sleep and good food helping to rejuvenate him. Of course, he was anything but sedentary, having decided he rather liked his slim frame and to keep it that way as long as he could. He exercised daily, often until he could barely move.
Another thing that concerned him, was that Naruto was becoming increasingly sexual with him. He didn't like to be touched, and often flinched and shirked away from the kitsune-jin's advances, which, at first, had been soft and sweet, and innumerous, seeming to have no ulterior motive but to offer comfort and friendship.
Now, the touches he received were frequent, and seemed to hold promises of more than comfort or friendship. He hated it. He wanted to get away from the kitsune-jin, and part of him knew that the other shoe was going to drop, and when it did, sex was going to be the prince's price.
He sighed and threw on his robe. Yume looked at him from the bed, blinking her big, round eyes. She closed them and went back to sleep. Outside, he could hear the cheering and roaring of the kitsune-jins gathered for their end-of-summer festival in the town square. The sun shone brightly in and blinded Sasuke when he opened the drapes.
He could barely believe it was nearing the end of September. The plants, when they should have been dying off in order to prepare for the winter, were still growing, at a ridiculous rate, some still blooming, even this late.
It was still hot too, and Sasuke decided to dress to the weather, in airy cotton, instead of the heavy velvets, and wools Naruto seemed to expect him to wear during the winter.
He dropped his robe and pulled a navy coloured t-shirt over his head. He had no where to go, so it didn't matter how he dressed. He pulled on a pair of shorts, deciding against wearing a belt today. He'd filled out enough that he didn't need it, and besides that, it would constrict his movement.
He left his shoes in the room, where Yume would probably chew them up. She seemed to like chomping on his shoes, rather than her master's, perhaps because his were cheaper and more replaceable. He somehow thought it was her expression of her hatred for him.
He padded down the hall, feeling the soft carpet, plush under his toes. He headed into the dining hall, yawning and stretching. He hadn't even brushed his hair yet, so he was sure it was a mess. He'd do his personal grooming after he ate, he supposed.
He was surprised to find a maid attending to breakfast, or maybe it was lunch. Normally, the hall was empty, Naruto merely having made sure no one cleared the table until he had eaten. Hyuuga Hinata looked up at him and smiled, just a little bit.
"Good morning, Sasuke," she said. "Naruto-sama will be back shortly. He told me to say that you were to wait for him. Perhaps you should go groom yourself."
He surveyed her for a moment, wondering why Naruto wanted to dine with him. He shuddered at the possible implications.
Hinata was young, about Naruto's age. Despite that, she was married to Inuzuka Kiba, a rich noble and heir to the Inuzuka clan. She herself was from the Main House of the Hyuuga Clan, a prestigious kitsune-jin family.
Hinata was shy, and soft-spoken. Her eyes were white, which was a trademark of the Hyuugas, apparently. Sasuke had only ever seen one other person with eyes as devoid of colour, and that was Neji. He wondered if the two were somehow related.
Hinata was also short, and diminutive, with a rather boyish figure. Her dark hair had been cropped short. It was hard to dislike her, but Sasuke did, for she was too soft and she seemed almost disloyal to her husband, by harbouring the crush she did on her prince. The other fact was that she had taken a post far below her status, serving the kitsune-jin prince like a common slave.
Of course, Sasuke knew nothing of social status, except he was trash.
Stupidly, he wandered back to the bed chamber. Why would Naruto want to dine with him? He had no table manners, and he ate like a ravenous horse. After he ate, he always felt like such a glutton.
That first night, he'd eaten till he'd been sick, stuffing himself beyond the point of full, simply because it'd been so long that he'd gone without food.
He stared at himself in the mirror, picking up the brush. His face was pale, but no longer drawn and marred, but rather, perfect and rounded. His eyes were dark, slanted daintily and with long lashes. His lips were rosy and full, and pouty. His dark locks, which had been treated very well, washed and cut, were like silk, and they framed his face. He looked like some sort of geisha girl, sans make-up.
Slowly, he ran the brush through his tangled hair, thankful his hair was naturally straight, rather than curly. It would have been even harder to get the brush through his hair.
He went about his personal grooming, slowly, musing on several things, and dreading going to dine with the prince.
It seemed the other shoe was falling toward the earth at a rapid pace.
Sighing, and knowing he could not put it off longer, for his stomach was protesting loudly, he wandered out of the bedchambers, back to the dining room.
Hinata had gone, leaving behind her a vast spread - there were dishes upon dishes of soups, and breads and cheese, with platters of vegetables and rare exotic fruits. Candles had been lit, and the drapes had been drawn, casting the room in darkness. Rich meat glistened and he was tempted to eat something before the prince arrived and be gone.
He sat down and waited. He waited a long while, and the candles had began to drip tallow before Naruto breezed into the room. He was dressed ornately, and though his clothes were richly decorated, they were wove of cotton, like his own. His eyes had been drawn upon, with dark lines extending to either side of his face. Black rimmed his eyes. He looked both fearsome and gracious.
He sat down, directing a courteous smile at the former courtesan seated across from him. He frowned lightly, saying, "Did I keep you waiting long?"
Sasuke shook his head, averting his gaze. Naruto's eyes disturbed him, holding the promise of something feral. He kept his eyes down. Naruto's voice continued, that low note of lust, denoting his intentions to the human boy.
"Did Hinata not instruct you on how to dress for this occasion?"
Again, he shook his head in a negative sign. Naruto sighed. "I suppose it will have to do."
Sasuke kept his gaze focussed on the floor, and Naruto's voice stopped. The only sound in the room was the noise that the kitsune-jin made while devouring his meal. He paused, and looked up at the courtesan, who was the picture of dejected beauty in the candlelight.
"Are you not hungry?" the kitsune-jin prince inquired, waiting for the human to acknowledge him.
Sasuke was starving, but his conscious wouldn't allow him to eat, not knowing what came next. He chanced a glance up at Naruto, and seeing the hurt and worry that rested in the blue depths, hastily picked something off a platter and forced himself to down it.
He nearly retched, but he chewed at whatever it was persistently. He didn't know what he was eating, because everything tasted like sawdust in his dry mouth. Naruto chuckled lightly. "Do you always begin by eating dessert?"
Sasuke paused, and looked in horror to find that he'd been munching on a rich dessert, of which was a cake, covered in caramel, and chocolate, and whipped cream, with bits of fruit woven into the actual pastry. He had no doubt that some of the cream was sticking to the sides of his face - a fatal mistake indeed. It illuminated that he had been a whore, and he was quite sure it wasn't becoming.
While he'd been mute in horror, Naruto had crossed the room, sliding his arms about Sasuke's thin frame. "If you'd like, allow me to do the same and start with my sweet treat," the kitsune-jin purred and Sasuke nearly fainted dead away at the suggestion.
Feeling weak, he tried to push himself away from Naruto, but to no avail, and merely ended up falling into the other male's arms. Naruto gathered him up and carried him back to the bed chambers.
No matter how hard he struggled, it seemed that the kitsune-jin was the stronger of two forces and held onto him firmly, until he at last resigned to his fate and hung there, limp, like a rag doll. He had nothing to look forward to, but there was no use grimacing about it.
And when at last it was over, they lay panting, tangled in a sweaty, sticky mess that Naruto now called his bed, limbs all askew and confused. The kitsune-jin, ever instinctual, for even now, after the blood had been watered down by generations, the fox was a wild creature and acted on instinct, tried to initiate some post-coital nuzzling and tenderness with his supposed mate, but Sasuke blatantly refused to have a part in it.
The blond forced him to lie still after a while, with his hips propped up on a pillow, and Sasuke feared that he was being prepared for another round. He squirmed and wriggled about, trying to escape Naruto as the blond slid the pillow under his lower back. This earned him a good smack.
"Stop that," Naruto hissed.
Sasuke tried to kick the kitsune-jin. Naruto growled, catching him by the foot and holding him there. "Don't. Move."
Sasuke stayed perfectly still, not daring to take a breath. He didn't want to know what the kitsune-jin would do to him, not now that he'd seen the long canines that terrible mouth housed.
"Why?" he murmured faintly through clenched teeth.
Naruto smiled and petted his head. "Why not?" he asked.
Sasuke turned to glare at the kitsune-jin. "Why?" he demanded, his voice denoting the anger, and the hurt of having his trust broken once again.
Naruto smiled, almost gently. "Ah, because. You can be of great service to me, Uchiha."
Sasuke said nothing, waiting for Naruto to spill all the information. The blond was close to doing it - his smile was growing wider by the minute. "How?" he asked, trying his best to sound curious, rather than pissed off.
Naruto sighed and looked up. "You've never heard of the Uchiha Curse?"
Sasuke blinked. "Uchiha....curse?" he asked, feeling stupid and uninformed.
What dark secrets did his deceased family have to hide?
"Yes. You've never heard of it? Ah, well...I suppose you wouldn't have. I only know about it from your brother."
"My brother..," Sasuke said, the thought still strange, but trying to prompt the kitsune-jin to continue.
Naruto grinned, looking down at him. "Yeah. Oh, you should see him! It's kind of strange, I guess, but...wow..."
"What are you going on about, you idiot?" Sasuke growled, now frustrated with the prince's blathering.
"Heh. Yeah, I guess you couldn't know. He's got quite the cute tummy on him."
Sasuke blinked stupidly, wondering what the hell Naruto was on about. He really wished the blond would stop beating around the bush and just come out and say it.
Naruto continued. "Though I don't know what the hell we're gonna do with a little Orochimaru-Itachi running around. Man, that kid's gonna be from hell."
Sasuke coughed. "Excuse me? Kid?"
Naruto nodded, looking at Sasuke as if he were stupid or something. "Yeah. You didn't get it? Your brother's pregnant."
Sasuke felt tell-tale weakness running through his veins. He felt sick, he felt dizzy. This couldn't be happening, no, no...
"Is...that why?" he asked, feeling numb all over, dreading the answer.
Naruto nodded gravely. "Yup. That's why you gotta stay still."
Sasuke turned over, ignoring the blond's last words. He had started to shake and he could feel tears in his eyes. "No," he murmured. "You're lying. You're lying," he accused, feeling hysteria welling up inside of him.
"I'm not lying, Sasuke."
Sasuke started to cry, hysteria setting in. He didn't -
He couldn't -
Why -
His thoughts were all screwed up and all he could do was sob, pathetically, even as Naruto tried to stop him. He cried and cried, until he'd cried himself to sleep, still hiccupping as he nodded off.
Naruto sighed and slithered out of bed, once he was sure that the dark-haired human was asleep. His father had called upon him earlier and he was loathe to miss the appointment with the Yondaime, for he'd hear about his father's anger, if not hear it first-hand.
He headed off for the study, after dressing himself. He wondered what on earth his father could possibly want to talk to him about, for he rarely seemed very important in his father's life, although he knew that their name and reign rested on his shoulders.
He slid into the study, thoroughly surprised to find his grandparents and his father in the room. Tsunade smiled, almost sadly at him, in the way only the matron of the family can. Naruto ignored her and turned to his father, who looked rather grim.
"Father?" the prince of Konha asked, and was responded to by awkward silence.
At last, the Yondaime of Konoha sighed and answered his son. "Naruto, there's something very important that you need to know..."
Naruto listened, hanging onto every word his father said. In truth, no one else could have garnered the boy's attention quite to that extent.
The Yondaime looked almost nervous. "You're engaged," he stated, rather bluntly, given the situation.
Naruto coughed. "Excuse me?"
The older man sighed. "You're going to marry Haruno Sakura. She's the daughter of one of the merchants in the North and the marriage has been arranged for a long time. She's heading South as we speak, for as you know, you've just turned seventeen."
Naruto stood there, agape, like a fish out of water. He was going to be married? He didn't even know this girl! Who was she? What did she look like? What did she act like? Would he even like her?
"But," he began, feeling incredulous, overwhelmed, and at the same time, angry.
"There's no buts about it, Naruto. You're seventeen and you know that every kitsune-jin male marries at seventeen."
Naruto shut his mouth and turned on his heel quickly, leaving as fast as he could. He didn't want to think about this, not now, not ever.
The Yondaime sighed. Tsunade looked at him piteously. "I told you he wouldn't take it well. Naruto's not one to take others decisions. He'd rather make his own, based on his feel -"
The Yondaime had rose during her speech and strode out of the study, his head bowed, as if in deep thought. "Quiet, Mother," he whispered, just before he was gone.
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, who shrugged in response. She sighed and decided to go find her grandson and condole him into him into the marriage.
She found him sitting in his common room, with a fire on the hearth and the human whore at his feet. The shades were drawn and someone had brought in tea, and sake. Naruto absently played with the dark haired one's locks.
Tsunade entered the room, without knocking, knowing full well that her grandson knew she was there, or, if not, he would have told her to be gone. "Naruto?" she asked gently, shutting the door behind her.
"Leave me alone, old hag."
Tsunade grumbled about being called names, but she persisted. "Naruto, darling, I know you're upset, but try to listen to reason..."
Naruto said nothing and handed Sasuke a cup of tea which the boy took grudgingly. Naruto picked up the bottle of sake and drank the alcohol straight.
"That's illegal, you know," Tsunade said, trying to be gentle with her grandson's feelings, but growing increasingly annoyed.
Legal drinking age in Konoha was twenty-five. Naruto shrugged. "So?"
Naruto was going to be anything but cooperative. The blond kitsune-jin returned to fussing over the whore, who never once said anything to him. "Are you alright? Are you comfortable? Tired? Hungry? Is the tea alright? Is it warm enough? Are you still mad at me? I'm sorry, Sasuke, I didn't mean to, you know, and. . ."
The prince sighed and continued to stroke Sasuke's hair lightly. "We should rest while we can. Tomorrow's another busy day," Naruto told him, standing up, and forcing the boy to go with him.
Sasuke stood, a little awkwardly, for he was sore from Naruto's treatment of him. Tsunade snorted. "Brat, I don't see what's so bad about Haruno Sakura, especially when you're so concerned about that courtesan. Why, Sakura's of noble blood and rich. And a kitsune-jin too, unlike that geisha you have there."
Naruto frowned, but said nothing, taking Sasuke by the arm and dragging him by her. "Goodnight, Grandmother," he growled, stalking off to his chambers.
Tsunade sighed and shook her head. Naruto was such a hot head. He reminded her somewhat of her son in his younger days. She could only hope that he shouldn't lose something dear to him, which would forever change him, as it had her son.
Naruto had never known a mother, because she had died in childbirth, no matter how the doctors had tried to save her.
Naruto's mother, Kurenai, had been a very young woman when she had given birth to her son, and younger still when she was married to the Yondaime. She had come from the Western Deserts, from kitsune-jin nobility, unlike most noble clans, who originated in the North.
Of course, she was only a half kitsune-jin, as her mother had been a human slave girl, but her father had held her as his own, despite her heritage. In the West, kitsune-jins often had many girls, human girls, as slaves, a harem, and from them, they had many, many children.
Kurenai had been very beautiful. She had thick black hair that curled a little, and wide, red eyes. Her skin had been smooth and pale, which was a rarity coming from the Western lands, where the sun was blistering hot. She was often bold, having been raised in the position of heiress, for her father lacked any sons, despite all the women who mothered children for him.
The Yondaime had loved her dearly, and her death had effected him more than anything else - the birth of his son, and his coronation soon after had left no mark on him. It surprised Tsunade that Naruto bore so little similarity to his mother.
It also surprised her that he had selected a mate that bore so much similarity to her. Sasuke had hair the colour of the midnight sky, and fine, pale skin, an oval face, and when his temper was roused, she knew the red of the Uchiha bloodline tainted his eyes. She supposed this was another reason the Yondaime objected to the boy so strongly - he reminded him all too much of his dearly departed wife.
Naruto had gone from her sights now and she sat down. She wondered vaguely why Naruto continued to have that whore around, then decided she didn't want to know what her grandson was doing with the boy, for she had already seen Itachi, Orochimaru's whore, and she was well aware of the curse of that family. She'd heard the stories of Konoha when she was a child. She barely recalled who had told them to her now, and she almost thought it had been her nurse, or one of her parents.
"Once upon a time," she murmured, reciting the first line of the story.
Once upon a time had always been the first line, because she had been young, so it was almost a fairy tale. It hadn't been a fairy tale, but it was odd enough to be explained to her then by magic. Now that she was older, she understood the science behind it.
The story had always recounted the Great War, between Konoha and the Western Deserts. Both sides had been ravaged, with whole villages plundered and burned to the ground and whole populations decimated by famine, fire, disease and a million screaming brutes.
Famine had spread because the Western warriors were especially vicious, first burning the vast fields of Konoha to the ground, then ploughing the earth and salting it, so that nothing could grow. In addition, many of the farmers had turned to the military and marched westward in what was known as the suicide-campaign. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers had been killed before they ever reached the edge of the desert.
The West, however, had suffered just as much, and in the end, they had lost and been annexed with Konoha. Their people were enslaved, not in the traditional sense, but they were heavily taxed, and prevented from leaving their land. The only escape in the West from Konoha's tyranny had been death. That, of course, had changed with the arrival of kitsune-jin Konoha, because they were on much friendlier terms with their Western cousins.
Unfortunately, the loss of life had been so great, on both sides, that they had began recruiting women. Women, the domestic sex, had seen it as an opportunity to gain their wings and be equals with their husbands. Ill-trained and ill-advised, they had gone to battle, only to be slaughtered, even more terribly than the men. It was said that not a single Konoha woman who marched over that horizon ever came back.
And of course, that left the surviving men with fewer females. The population was emaciated, and miscarriages were common. The death rate was climbing higher and higher, with disease over taking the cities, and starvation took its toll too. Those females who did carry to term often didn't live to see their children and gave birth to thin, weak babies.
The Uchiha Clan had been in even worse trouble. They only had one female between ten or twelve males. Marriage was impossible, for there was none outside the family that would give up their daughters, or their wives, and the head of the house refused to let an outsider into the family. The Uchihas had long been a family of incest, for they believed it kept their blood pure.
This was where the fairy tale and the facts separated. As a child, Tsunade had been told that a pregnant sorceress had stopped to rest with the Uchihas one night, and the head of the clan had asked her for her unborn child. She had refused, and when the man got angry and told her to stop being selfish, she had countered that she wasn't and that she had worked hard for the child. The Uchiha had only scoffed and she had cursed him - and the whole of the male populous of that family - to find out just what hard work it was to bring a child into the world. Somehow, the curse had been just a little too powerful, or perhaps the sorceress a little too wicked, and every generation of male Uchihas from there down had been able to reproduce as a female.
Of course, as Tsunade found out later, there had never been any sorceress. It had just been purely the invention of someone, probably one of the Uchihas who managed to get himself knocked up, to tell a small child what was happening.
With anything, there was always a scientific explanation. The Aburame Clan of Konoha had been famed for its medical knowledge of the human body. While most peoples held the view that the male simply implanted a tiny human into the female, where it grew, the Aburames knew exactly what went on.
In desperation, the Uchihas had turned to this clan, who were secretive and often antisocial, giving most people the impression that they were alchemists, which was a forbidden profession.
The first solution had been to take the organs of dead females and embed them in the males. Of course, this had taken quite a bit of tweaking, and because the population was so sick, the organs were often decaying or infected and sometimes caused the death of their carrier(1).
Slowly, the population began to increase, and more females became available. Health increased, and more and more healthy babies were born to healthy mothers. Still, the dwindled Uchiha clan was determined to restore its former might, in fear that another clan might usurp their powers in Konoha.
So, their quest continued. And somehow, they struck success, when one of the Aburames suggested that they inject hormones into the womb of a pregnant woman, to continue the growth of both sets of sex organs. It was well-known to the Aburames that the sex of a child could not be determined until the fifth month, because there were hormones, and chromosomes present that didn't dissipate until then. Until the five month point, a fetus had both sets of reproduction organs(2).
The first few attempts were flunks. It either killed the mother, or killed the baby, or mutilated them both. Finally, they got it right. And with that, the first of a generation of child-bearing males was born.
The Aburames continued their experimentation, and the Uchiha population began to climb. With twice as many to become impregnated, how could they go wrong?
Indeed, it went wrong. The experiment wasn't meant to last, but last it did. Another generation was born, and the males could bear children, and so on and so forth down the line.
Tsunade sighed. She didn't want to know exactly what was done to the Uchiha boys, but she knew that it couldn't have been pretty.
She rose and stood, deciding to have a talk tomorrow with Naruto about safe sex.
- - - - - - - - - - -
[A/N: And there you have it. This is probably the weirdest chapter in the story so far, simply because I felt I had to explain the biology behind the mpreg in this.
(1): This simply does not work. Taking organs out of people who have died due to illness probably isn't the smartest thing, especially if the body hasn't been preserved. Also, it leaves the person who had the organs implanted in them not properly set up for bearing a child, and as an added defect, you would be passing on the genetics of the donor of the organs.
(2): Until the gestational age of 19 weeks (approximately five months), the gender of a baby cannot be determined. If I can recall my grade nine biology right, this is because the chromosones that determine sex aren't yet active, and are held in check until this point by levels of hormones in the mother. Up until the point where the chromosones become active, the baby develops both testes and ovaries. Theoretically speaking, if you could keep the chromosones from becoming active, the baby would continue to develop both sets of gametes. With this method, the "mother" would pass on his own gentics, instead of a donor's, and plausibly pass down the ability to procreate as both male and female to his child. There's some faults with this little theory of mine, but if anything here is glaringly incorrect, please feel free to correct me, because I really don't remember grade nine anymore. =D
Review? =)]
Watermelon Gal: Aw, you're not stupid. It was just me being confusing and avoiding the actual issue. The Uchiha Curse was not explained in this chapter, and you will be told what it is in this chapter and it will be explained how it works. Itachi didn't recognize Sasuke because a) he hasn't seen him in forever, b) wasn't really paying attention, was more concerned with kicking Oro's ass, and c) it was kinda dark in the grand hall. Or we could just say that he's blind. =D Itachi is Orochimaru's slave, which is the only reason he's not dead like the rest of the clan.
Bishiehuggler: The Uchiha curse is weird, and it's weird no matter if I'm vague about it, or I explain it, which will come in later chapters. Such as this one. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not something that most people would consider normal. And Itachi IS a frazzled old housewife. XD
Junsui-san: You're welcome for the OroIta-ness. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and hopefully, your questions will be answered. =)
Iceheart19: No, it wasn't very fast paced. Very slow, actually. I'm glad you liked it though. And yes, because I had so much fun writing ItaOro in "And the Beat Goes on" I'll probably write the pairing the same way from here to eternity. Naruto might be falling for Sasuke...or he could just be looking to get laid. We shall never know - tis Naruto. =)
teckno: The tone of the fic changed? I missed it...Eh...it'll probably shift back and forth a bit, depending on my mood and such. I'm glad you liked the ending scene [that's the scene I was most worried about] and I'm glad you enjoyed most of the content in the chapter. The way I interpret the whole Itachi-Orochimaru relationship is that Itachi is actually in control of everything, but if it were up to him, there would be no sexual situations involved. Hence, Orochimaru has to take control in that situation, or he'd never see any action. =3 I'm odd.
Yuen-chan: I'm so glad someone agrees with me! ::glomp::
Kurisuteru-chan: I'm glad you like the story. The Uchiha Curse isn't meant to be understood yet, but it will be explained in this chapter. =)
keelhaul lizzie: 3:30 am? Yeesh. I'd be so asleep. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I'm with you completely about the ItaOro. ::nod nod:: =D
Kyme: Indeed, they are the strangest pair. I'm glad you like the fic though. =)
Genrou chan: You learn something new every day. Orochimaru uses "kun" to taunt people. Something I did not know. I've seen neither manga nor anime involving him, so I've got no clue how to write him. =3 As for Itachi, it is a stretch, but I think I can make up several excuses for it:
One, he was a prostitute when he was younger, so he knows how to act the part; two, he does it to be on level with Orochimaru; three, he actually does see Orochimaru as being a bit closer to him than anyone else, though he wouldn't freely admit that. Take your pick. Either that, or it's just my way of writing them in my other fanfic infecting this one. --
bleedformeee: It is different, I'll give you that. I'm glad you like it. =)
YukaYuka: The curse will be explained in this chapter. I'm glad you think the story's cute. =)
artemis347: I'm glad you like the story!
mika: I'm glad you like the story so much. The Uchiha curse will be explained in this chapter.
AquaHawk-04: Since I said so! Bwhaha! No, I'm joking. I really don't know why they call each other pet names. And thank you for telling me it was odd!
And now, on with the fic!)
Chapter 4: Riding Lightning
Sasuke sighed, rolling over. The covers were still wrapped about him, despite the fact it was nearly noon. Naruto had been uncannily nice to him, allowing him to sleep in, for however long he wanted, and to bathe when he wanted, and to have what he wanted, when he wanted it, and to eat whatever he wanted.
It was kind of nerve wracking, for he was waiting for the other shoe to fall, for Naruto to turn him out or demand payback. So far, the kitsune-jin had let him do as he pleased, provided he made sure he slept only in Naruto's bed, and ate only in the blond's dining hall, and bathed only in Naruto's bath.
Currently, the kitsune-jin was attending some religious worship, as today was some sort of holiday in the kitsune-jin religion. Sasuke sighed, rolled over again and got up. He'd been feeling much better as of late, with lots of sleep and good food helping to rejuvenate him. Of course, he was anything but sedentary, having decided he rather liked his slim frame and to keep it that way as long as he could. He exercised daily, often until he could barely move.
Another thing that concerned him, was that Naruto was becoming increasingly sexual with him. He didn't like to be touched, and often flinched and shirked away from the kitsune-jin's advances, which, at first, had been soft and sweet, and innumerous, seeming to have no ulterior motive but to offer comfort and friendship.
Now, the touches he received were frequent, and seemed to hold promises of more than comfort or friendship. He hated it. He wanted to get away from the kitsune-jin, and part of him knew that the other shoe was going to drop, and when it did, sex was going to be the prince's price.
He sighed and threw on his robe. Yume looked at him from the bed, blinking her big, round eyes. She closed them and went back to sleep. Outside, he could hear the cheering and roaring of the kitsune-jins gathered for their end-of-summer festival in the town square. The sun shone brightly in and blinded Sasuke when he opened the drapes.
He could barely believe it was nearing the end of September. The plants, when they should have been dying off in order to prepare for the winter, were still growing, at a ridiculous rate, some still blooming, even this late.
It was still hot too, and Sasuke decided to dress to the weather, in airy cotton, instead of the heavy velvets, and wools Naruto seemed to expect him to wear during the winter.
He dropped his robe and pulled a navy coloured t-shirt over his head. He had no where to go, so it didn't matter how he dressed. He pulled on a pair of shorts, deciding against wearing a belt today. He'd filled out enough that he didn't need it, and besides that, it would constrict his movement.
He left his shoes in the room, where Yume would probably chew them up. She seemed to like chomping on his shoes, rather than her master's, perhaps because his were cheaper and more replaceable. He somehow thought it was her expression of her hatred for him.
He padded down the hall, feeling the soft carpet, plush under his toes. He headed into the dining hall, yawning and stretching. He hadn't even brushed his hair yet, so he was sure it was a mess. He'd do his personal grooming after he ate, he supposed.
He was surprised to find a maid attending to breakfast, or maybe it was lunch. Normally, the hall was empty, Naruto merely having made sure no one cleared the table until he had eaten. Hyuuga Hinata looked up at him and smiled, just a little bit.
"Good morning, Sasuke," she said. "Naruto-sama will be back shortly. He told me to say that you were to wait for him. Perhaps you should go groom yourself."
He surveyed her for a moment, wondering why Naruto wanted to dine with him. He shuddered at the possible implications.
Hinata was young, about Naruto's age. Despite that, she was married to Inuzuka Kiba, a rich noble and heir to the Inuzuka clan. She herself was from the Main House of the Hyuuga Clan, a prestigious kitsune-jin family.
Hinata was shy, and soft-spoken. Her eyes were white, which was a trademark of the Hyuugas, apparently. Sasuke had only ever seen one other person with eyes as devoid of colour, and that was Neji. He wondered if the two were somehow related.
Hinata was also short, and diminutive, with a rather boyish figure. Her dark hair had been cropped short. It was hard to dislike her, but Sasuke did, for she was too soft and she seemed almost disloyal to her husband, by harbouring the crush she did on her prince. The other fact was that she had taken a post far below her status, serving the kitsune-jin prince like a common slave.
Of course, Sasuke knew nothing of social status, except he was trash.
Stupidly, he wandered back to the bed chamber. Why would Naruto want to dine with him? He had no table manners, and he ate like a ravenous horse. After he ate, he always felt like such a glutton.
That first night, he'd eaten till he'd been sick, stuffing himself beyond the point of full, simply because it'd been so long that he'd gone without food.
He stared at himself in the mirror, picking up the brush. His face was pale, but no longer drawn and marred, but rather, perfect and rounded. His eyes were dark, slanted daintily and with long lashes. His lips were rosy and full, and pouty. His dark locks, which had been treated very well, washed and cut, were like silk, and they framed his face. He looked like some sort of geisha girl, sans make-up.
Slowly, he ran the brush through his tangled hair, thankful his hair was naturally straight, rather than curly. It would have been even harder to get the brush through his hair.
He went about his personal grooming, slowly, musing on several things, and dreading going to dine with the prince.
It seemed the other shoe was falling toward the earth at a rapid pace.
Sighing, and knowing he could not put it off longer, for his stomach was protesting loudly, he wandered out of the bedchambers, back to the dining room.
Hinata had gone, leaving behind her a vast spread - there were dishes upon dishes of soups, and breads and cheese, with platters of vegetables and rare exotic fruits. Candles had been lit, and the drapes had been drawn, casting the room in darkness. Rich meat glistened and he was tempted to eat something before the prince arrived and be gone.
He sat down and waited. He waited a long while, and the candles had began to drip tallow before Naruto breezed into the room. He was dressed ornately, and though his clothes were richly decorated, they were wove of cotton, like his own. His eyes had been drawn upon, with dark lines extending to either side of his face. Black rimmed his eyes. He looked both fearsome and gracious.
He sat down, directing a courteous smile at the former courtesan seated across from him. He frowned lightly, saying, "Did I keep you waiting long?"
Sasuke shook his head, averting his gaze. Naruto's eyes disturbed him, holding the promise of something feral. He kept his eyes down. Naruto's voice continued, that low note of lust, denoting his intentions to the human boy.
"Did Hinata not instruct you on how to dress for this occasion?"
Again, he shook his head in a negative sign. Naruto sighed. "I suppose it will have to do."
Sasuke kept his gaze focussed on the floor, and Naruto's voice stopped. The only sound in the room was the noise that the kitsune-jin made while devouring his meal. He paused, and looked up at the courtesan, who was the picture of dejected beauty in the candlelight.
"Are you not hungry?" the kitsune-jin prince inquired, waiting for the human to acknowledge him.
Sasuke was starving, but his conscious wouldn't allow him to eat, not knowing what came next. He chanced a glance up at Naruto, and seeing the hurt and worry that rested in the blue depths, hastily picked something off a platter and forced himself to down it.
He nearly retched, but he chewed at whatever it was persistently. He didn't know what he was eating, because everything tasted like sawdust in his dry mouth. Naruto chuckled lightly. "Do you always begin by eating dessert?"
Sasuke paused, and looked in horror to find that he'd been munching on a rich dessert, of which was a cake, covered in caramel, and chocolate, and whipped cream, with bits of fruit woven into the actual pastry. He had no doubt that some of the cream was sticking to the sides of his face - a fatal mistake indeed. It illuminated that he had been a whore, and he was quite sure it wasn't becoming.
While he'd been mute in horror, Naruto had crossed the room, sliding his arms about Sasuke's thin frame. "If you'd like, allow me to do the same and start with my sweet treat," the kitsune-jin purred and Sasuke nearly fainted dead away at the suggestion.
Feeling weak, he tried to push himself away from Naruto, but to no avail, and merely ended up falling into the other male's arms. Naruto gathered him up and carried him back to the bed chambers.
No matter how hard he struggled, it seemed that the kitsune-jin was the stronger of two forces and held onto him firmly, until he at last resigned to his fate and hung there, limp, like a rag doll. He had nothing to look forward to, but there was no use grimacing about it.
And when at last it was over, they lay panting, tangled in a sweaty, sticky mess that Naruto now called his bed, limbs all askew and confused. The kitsune-jin, ever instinctual, for even now, after the blood had been watered down by generations, the fox was a wild creature and acted on instinct, tried to initiate some post-coital nuzzling and tenderness with his supposed mate, but Sasuke blatantly refused to have a part in it.
The blond forced him to lie still after a while, with his hips propped up on a pillow, and Sasuke feared that he was being prepared for another round. He squirmed and wriggled about, trying to escape Naruto as the blond slid the pillow under his lower back. This earned him a good smack.
"Stop that," Naruto hissed.
Sasuke tried to kick the kitsune-jin. Naruto growled, catching him by the foot and holding him there. "Don't. Move."
Sasuke stayed perfectly still, not daring to take a breath. He didn't want to know what the kitsune-jin would do to him, not now that he'd seen the long canines that terrible mouth housed.
"Why?" he murmured faintly through clenched teeth.
Naruto smiled and petted his head. "Why not?" he asked.
Sasuke turned to glare at the kitsune-jin. "Why?" he demanded, his voice denoting the anger, and the hurt of having his trust broken once again.
Naruto smiled, almost gently. "Ah, because. You can be of great service to me, Uchiha."
Sasuke said nothing, waiting for Naruto to spill all the information. The blond was close to doing it - his smile was growing wider by the minute. "How?" he asked, trying his best to sound curious, rather than pissed off.
Naruto sighed and looked up. "You've never heard of the Uchiha Curse?"
Sasuke blinked. "Uchiha....curse?" he asked, feeling stupid and uninformed.
What dark secrets did his deceased family have to hide?
"Yes. You've never heard of it? Ah, well...I suppose you wouldn't have. I only know about it from your brother."
"My brother..," Sasuke said, the thought still strange, but trying to prompt the kitsune-jin to continue.
Naruto grinned, looking down at him. "Yeah. Oh, you should see him! It's kind of strange, I guess, but...wow..."
"What are you going on about, you idiot?" Sasuke growled, now frustrated with the prince's blathering.
"Heh. Yeah, I guess you couldn't know. He's got quite the cute tummy on him."
Sasuke blinked stupidly, wondering what the hell Naruto was on about. He really wished the blond would stop beating around the bush and just come out and say it.
Naruto continued. "Though I don't know what the hell we're gonna do with a little Orochimaru-Itachi running around. Man, that kid's gonna be from hell."
Sasuke coughed. "Excuse me? Kid?"
Naruto nodded, looking at Sasuke as if he were stupid or something. "Yeah. You didn't get it? Your brother's pregnant."
Sasuke felt tell-tale weakness running through his veins. He felt sick, he felt dizzy. This couldn't be happening, no, no...
"Is...that why?" he asked, feeling numb all over, dreading the answer.
Naruto nodded gravely. "Yup. That's why you gotta stay still."
Sasuke turned over, ignoring the blond's last words. He had started to shake and he could feel tears in his eyes. "No," he murmured. "You're lying. You're lying," he accused, feeling hysteria welling up inside of him.
"I'm not lying, Sasuke."
Sasuke started to cry, hysteria setting in. He didn't -
He couldn't -
Why -
His thoughts were all screwed up and all he could do was sob, pathetically, even as Naruto tried to stop him. He cried and cried, until he'd cried himself to sleep, still hiccupping as he nodded off.
Naruto sighed and slithered out of bed, once he was sure that the dark-haired human was asleep. His father had called upon him earlier and he was loathe to miss the appointment with the Yondaime, for he'd hear about his father's anger, if not hear it first-hand.
He headed off for the study, after dressing himself. He wondered what on earth his father could possibly want to talk to him about, for he rarely seemed very important in his father's life, although he knew that their name and reign rested on his shoulders.
He slid into the study, thoroughly surprised to find his grandparents and his father in the room. Tsunade smiled, almost sadly at him, in the way only the matron of the family can. Naruto ignored her and turned to his father, who looked rather grim.
"Father?" the prince of Konha asked, and was responded to by awkward silence.
At last, the Yondaime of Konoha sighed and answered his son. "Naruto, there's something very important that you need to know..."
Naruto listened, hanging onto every word his father said. In truth, no one else could have garnered the boy's attention quite to that extent.
The Yondaime looked almost nervous. "You're engaged," he stated, rather bluntly, given the situation.
Naruto coughed. "Excuse me?"
The older man sighed. "You're going to marry Haruno Sakura. She's the daughter of one of the merchants in the North and the marriage has been arranged for a long time. She's heading South as we speak, for as you know, you've just turned seventeen."
Naruto stood there, agape, like a fish out of water. He was going to be married? He didn't even know this girl! Who was she? What did she look like? What did she act like? Would he even like her?
"But," he began, feeling incredulous, overwhelmed, and at the same time, angry.
"There's no buts about it, Naruto. You're seventeen and you know that every kitsune-jin male marries at seventeen."
Naruto shut his mouth and turned on his heel quickly, leaving as fast as he could. He didn't want to think about this, not now, not ever.
The Yondaime sighed. Tsunade looked at him piteously. "I told you he wouldn't take it well. Naruto's not one to take others decisions. He'd rather make his own, based on his feel -"
The Yondaime had rose during her speech and strode out of the study, his head bowed, as if in deep thought. "Quiet, Mother," he whispered, just before he was gone.
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, who shrugged in response. She sighed and decided to go find her grandson and condole him into him into the marriage.
She found him sitting in his common room, with a fire on the hearth and the human whore at his feet. The shades were drawn and someone had brought in tea, and sake. Naruto absently played with the dark haired one's locks.
Tsunade entered the room, without knocking, knowing full well that her grandson knew she was there, or, if not, he would have told her to be gone. "Naruto?" she asked gently, shutting the door behind her.
"Leave me alone, old hag."
Tsunade grumbled about being called names, but she persisted. "Naruto, darling, I know you're upset, but try to listen to reason..."
Naruto said nothing and handed Sasuke a cup of tea which the boy took grudgingly. Naruto picked up the bottle of sake and drank the alcohol straight.
"That's illegal, you know," Tsunade said, trying to be gentle with her grandson's feelings, but growing increasingly annoyed.
Legal drinking age in Konoha was twenty-five. Naruto shrugged. "So?"
Naruto was going to be anything but cooperative. The blond kitsune-jin returned to fussing over the whore, who never once said anything to him. "Are you alright? Are you comfortable? Tired? Hungry? Is the tea alright? Is it warm enough? Are you still mad at me? I'm sorry, Sasuke, I didn't mean to, you know, and. . ."
The prince sighed and continued to stroke Sasuke's hair lightly. "We should rest while we can. Tomorrow's another busy day," Naruto told him, standing up, and forcing the boy to go with him.
Sasuke stood, a little awkwardly, for he was sore from Naruto's treatment of him. Tsunade snorted. "Brat, I don't see what's so bad about Haruno Sakura, especially when you're so concerned about that courtesan. Why, Sakura's of noble blood and rich. And a kitsune-jin too, unlike that geisha you have there."
Naruto frowned, but said nothing, taking Sasuke by the arm and dragging him by her. "Goodnight, Grandmother," he growled, stalking off to his chambers.
Tsunade sighed and shook her head. Naruto was such a hot head. He reminded her somewhat of her son in his younger days. She could only hope that he shouldn't lose something dear to him, which would forever change him, as it had her son.
Naruto had never known a mother, because she had died in childbirth, no matter how the doctors had tried to save her.
Naruto's mother, Kurenai, had been a very young woman when she had given birth to her son, and younger still when she was married to the Yondaime. She had come from the Western Deserts, from kitsune-jin nobility, unlike most noble clans, who originated in the North.
Of course, she was only a half kitsune-jin, as her mother had been a human slave girl, but her father had held her as his own, despite her heritage. In the West, kitsune-jins often had many girls, human girls, as slaves, a harem, and from them, they had many, many children.
Kurenai had been very beautiful. She had thick black hair that curled a little, and wide, red eyes. Her skin had been smooth and pale, which was a rarity coming from the Western lands, where the sun was blistering hot. She was often bold, having been raised in the position of heiress, for her father lacked any sons, despite all the women who mothered children for him.
The Yondaime had loved her dearly, and her death had effected him more than anything else - the birth of his son, and his coronation soon after had left no mark on him. It surprised Tsunade that Naruto bore so little similarity to his mother.
It also surprised her that he had selected a mate that bore so much similarity to her. Sasuke had hair the colour of the midnight sky, and fine, pale skin, an oval face, and when his temper was roused, she knew the red of the Uchiha bloodline tainted his eyes. She supposed this was another reason the Yondaime objected to the boy so strongly - he reminded him all too much of his dearly departed wife.
Naruto had gone from her sights now and she sat down. She wondered vaguely why Naruto continued to have that whore around, then decided she didn't want to know what her grandson was doing with the boy, for she had already seen Itachi, Orochimaru's whore, and she was well aware of the curse of that family. She'd heard the stories of Konoha when she was a child. She barely recalled who had told them to her now, and she almost thought it had been her nurse, or one of her parents.
"Once upon a time," she murmured, reciting the first line of the story.
Once upon a time had always been the first line, because she had been young, so it was almost a fairy tale. It hadn't been a fairy tale, but it was odd enough to be explained to her then by magic. Now that she was older, she understood the science behind it.
The story had always recounted the Great War, between Konoha and the Western Deserts. Both sides had been ravaged, with whole villages plundered and burned to the ground and whole populations decimated by famine, fire, disease and a million screaming brutes.
Famine had spread because the Western warriors were especially vicious, first burning the vast fields of Konoha to the ground, then ploughing the earth and salting it, so that nothing could grow. In addition, many of the farmers had turned to the military and marched westward in what was known as the suicide-campaign. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers had been killed before they ever reached the edge of the desert.
The West, however, had suffered just as much, and in the end, they had lost and been annexed with Konoha. Their people were enslaved, not in the traditional sense, but they were heavily taxed, and prevented from leaving their land. The only escape in the West from Konoha's tyranny had been death. That, of course, had changed with the arrival of kitsune-jin Konoha, because they were on much friendlier terms with their Western cousins.
Unfortunately, the loss of life had been so great, on both sides, that they had began recruiting women. Women, the domestic sex, had seen it as an opportunity to gain their wings and be equals with their husbands. Ill-trained and ill-advised, they had gone to battle, only to be slaughtered, even more terribly than the men. It was said that not a single Konoha woman who marched over that horizon ever came back.
And of course, that left the surviving men with fewer females. The population was emaciated, and miscarriages were common. The death rate was climbing higher and higher, with disease over taking the cities, and starvation took its toll too. Those females who did carry to term often didn't live to see their children and gave birth to thin, weak babies.
The Uchiha Clan had been in even worse trouble. They only had one female between ten or twelve males. Marriage was impossible, for there was none outside the family that would give up their daughters, or their wives, and the head of the house refused to let an outsider into the family. The Uchihas had long been a family of incest, for they believed it kept their blood pure.
This was where the fairy tale and the facts separated. As a child, Tsunade had been told that a pregnant sorceress had stopped to rest with the Uchihas one night, and the head of the clan had asked her for her unborn child. She had refused, and when the man got angry and told her to stop being selfish, she had countered that she wasn't and that she had worked hard for the child. The Uchiha had only scoffed and she had cursed him - and the whole of the male populous of that family - to find out just what hard work it was to bring a child into the world. Somehow, the curse had been just a little too powerful, or perhaps the sorceress a little too wicked, and every generation of male Uchihas from there down had been able to reproduce as a female.
Of course, as Tsunade found out later, there had never been any sorceress. It had just been purely the invention of someone, probably one of the Uchihas who managed to get himself knocked up, to tell a small child what was happening.
With anything, there was always a scientific explanation. The Aburame Clan of Konoha had been famed for its medical knowledge of the human body. While most peoples held the view that the male simply implanted a tiny human into the female, where it grew, the Aburames knew exactly what went on.
In desperation, the Uchihas had turned to this clan, who were secretive and often antisocial, giving most people the impression that they were alchemists, which was a forbidden profession.
The first solution had been to take the organs of dead females and embed them in the males. Of course, this had taken quite a bit of tweaking, and because the population was so sick, the organs were often decaying or infected and sometimes caused the death of their carrier(1).
Slowly, the population began to increase, and more females became available. Health increased, and more and more healthy babies were born to healthy mothers. Still, the dwindled Uchiha clan was determined to restore its former might, in fear that another clan might usurp their powers in Konoha.
So, their quest continued. And somehow, they struck success, when one of the Aburames suggested that they inject hormones into the womb of a pregnant woman, to continue the growth of both sets of sex organs. It was well-known to the Aburames that the sex of a child could not be determined until the fifth month, because there were hormones, and chromosomes present that didn't dissipate until then. Until the five month point, a fetus had both sets of reproduction organs(2).
The first few attempts were flunks. It either killed the mother, or killed the baby, or mutilated them both. Finally, they got it right. And with that, the first of a generation of child-bearing males was born.
The Aburames continued their experimentation, and the Uchiha population began to climb. With twice as many to become impregnated, how could they go wrong?
Indeed, it went wrong. The experiment wasn't meant to last, but last it did. Another generation was born, and the males could bear children, and so on and so forth down the line.
Tsunade sighed. She didn't want to know exactly what was done to the Uchiha boys, but she knew that it couldn't have been pretty.
She rose and stood, deciding to have a talk tomorrow with Naruto about safe sex.
- - - - - - - - - - -
[A/N: And there you have it. This is probably the weirdest chapter in the story so far, simply because I felt I had to explain the biology behind the mpreg in this.
(1): This simply does not work. Taking organs out of people who have died due to illness probably isn't the smartest thing, especially if the body hasn't been preserved. Also, it leaves the person who had the organs implanted in them not properly set up for bearing a child, and as an added defect, you would be passing on the genetics of the donor of the organs.
(2): Until the gestational age of 19 weeks (approximately five months), the gender of a baby cannot be determined. If I can recall my grade nine biology right, this is because the chromosones that determine sex aren't yet active, and are held in check until this point by levels of hormones in the mother. Up until the point where the chromosones become active, the baby develops both testes and ovaries. Theoretically speaking, if you could keep the chromosones from becoming active, the baby would continue to develop both sets of gametes. With this method, the "mother" would pass on his own gentics, instead of a donor's, and plausibly pass down the ability to procreate as both male and female to his child. There's some faults with this little theory of mine, but if anything here is glaringly incorrect, please feel free to correct me, because I really don't remember grade nine anymore. =D
Review? =)]