"KAKASHI!" Kakashi and Anko jump to their feet as Tsunade shows up from the hospital room, with Shizune following from behind.
"T-Tsunad-sama?" Kakashi's voice is shaking with fear as the Hokage glares at him.
The Hokage's angry face suddenly changes to a smile and places a hand on Kakashi's shoulder—causing the other jounins to step back.
"Congratulations." Tsunade kindly offers.
"Huh?" The grey-haired jounin replies.
"Tsunade-sama, how is Kurenai doing?" Anko intervenes.
"She's doing fine. She fainted because she was exhausted. Also, Kurenai's about more than a week pregnant."
Anko's jaw drops and turns to look at Kakashi, who seems to be frozen. Tsunade pokes him for a response but he stays exactly the same.
"Anyways, this may be good news to you Hatake; but now I'm short a shinobi and we were already short staffed to begin with." Tsunade leaves and Shizune follows her.
"Are you going to go see her?" Anko asks.
"Yeah. You can come too."
"I'll go later tonight. I think you need to talk to her first."
Kakashi enters the hospital room and finds Kurenai sitting up.
"Hi." Kakashi says as he sits by her side. "So…"
"So…I'm guessing Tsunade-sama told you everything." Kurenai responds.
"Yeah. Did you know about…"
"No, I didn't. If I did I would've told you."
"I know. So, ummm…how're you feeling?"
"Not too bad…"
They try to think of what to say next as they drown in silence.
"You know, this kid's lucky to have us as parents." Kakashi utters as he takes Kurenai's hand in his.
"Why's that?" Kurenai smirks.
"We're both intelligent people and very good looking too. So the odds that this kid is good looking and smart is very very high."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sasuke strolls down the village and sees Naruto and Kiba watching their pets compete. Akamaru is no match for Howaito's speed and power and loses quickly.
"You owe me a big bowl of ramen." Naruto states.
Kiba just growls in frustration as Naruto showers praises at his white fox.
"Hmph." Sasuke scoffs as he passes by the two ninjas.
Naruto hears and sees Sasuke and charges at him. As the blonde ninja punches the Uchiha, Kiba jumps in and removes Naruto from Sasuke.
"You better start showing some respect to me you bastard!" Naruto growls.
"Whatever." Sasuke shoves his fist into his pockets.
"He's right Sasuke. Naruto's been named to succeed the Godaime." Kiba offers.
Sasuke's ears perk up as he hears this.
"So, he's reached his goal, while I don't even come close to reaching mine." Sasuke thinks.
"You know what, it doesn't matter what you think. I really am going to be the next Hokage. That means I'm considered to be the top shinobi of this country. I'll have you doing what I say in no time." Naruto walks off with Howaito.
Later that night, Sasuke is disturbed from his training from the screaming and yelling heard far into the village. He follows the sound to the barbeque restaurant. There he sees the most of the jounins and the chuunins his age group. They were all gathered around Kakashi and Kurenai—patting them on the back, hugging her and shaking his hand. Sasuke was so intent on watching what was happening that he doesn't notice Hinata approach him.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke turns around to face the kunoichi. "Would you like to join the party?"
"No," Sasuke sighs. "What's the party for anyways?"
"Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei are expecting a child."
Sasuke walks away but Hinata stops him.
"Come join us Sasuke-kun."
"No." Sasuke sees Naruto through the window. "I don't think I'm welcome."
"Naruto-kun is not the obstacle to your goal. He's not trying to hold you back, nobody is. You're not letting yourself be helped by those who offer it. I'm sorry that you don't feel at home here."
Hinata leaves to rejoin the party and join Naruto. Sasuke approaches the door and stands in front of it. He stands in front of it for a long time before turning around and walking away.
"Running away Sasuke?"
"Kakashi."
"You know, you could join us in there."
Sasuke looks at the people in the restaurant, then at the road that leads to his home. He sighs and follows Kakashi to the party.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto breaks away from his conversation with Lee when he sees Kakashi return with Sasuke. Kakashi returns to his seat beside Kurenai and Sasuke sits beside him. They hear a ringing noise coming from Gai hitting his glass with a fork.
"Attention please." Gai shows his sparkling teeth as everyone turns to look at him. "This is a beautiful moment." He starts to cry out tears as he shouts, "A BABY! A BEAUTIFUL BABY IS CREATED BY THESE TWO AND IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING. AND I FOR ONE KNOW ABOUT BEAUTY." Gai flexes his muscles as he says this.
No one drinks their beverages after Gai's speech so Kakashi stands up.
"We just want to thank everyone for showing up and offering us kind words for the baby. There's still nine months to go but with this much support and enthusiasm being shown already, we can't wait to see how much more of your kindness and love is going to be showered on our child when he or she arrives."
A chorus of "awws" followed Kakashi speech and everyone lifted their drinks to the couple. Naruto sees Sasuke without a cup and slides one his way. Sasuke swiftly catches it and nods at the blonde ninja.
