"This is the music room," says Kazama, opening the final door on the left side of the hall. Everyone crowds inside to get a good look. The room is on the corner of the building, allowing for two big windows on the corner walls. Curtains decorated with treble and bass cleffs hang at the windows. Under one window is a row of chairs, and under the other is a low bookshelf filled with musical scores and lesson books. On the wall to the left, which is free of windows and doors, is a tall shelf with violins, music stands and a pot plant on it. "I have enough room to hold a small class in here," Kazama adds proudly.
"Wow," says Naruto. "Did you get the walls soundproofed in the end, 'tebayo?"
"Yes I did," says Kazama. "Speaking of which, you have your lesson tomorrow."
"ARRGH, I'VE BARELY PRACTICED!" Naruto freaks out. He was so busy learning the Zetsu Killing Seal that he forgot to practice most days while at the Temple of Jashin.
"Well you can practice in here now," says Kazama, grinning. "You won't have to deal with people - mostly me - yelling at you from across the house when you make too many mistakes."
"Thank goodness," says Naruto, relieved. There is nothing more annoying than hitting the wrong note several times in a row and having your grandma yell 'It's supposed to be C minor!' or something similar from across the house.
"And now," Kazama rubs her hands together gleefully. "The other side of that wall."
"YES! Finally!" blurts out Mei. "I am almost dying of curiosity."
"I think you'll love it," says Arashi, smiling mysteriously. He leads the way to the door on the left side of the hall, then unlocks and opens it. "After you," he says, gesturing everyone else through.
"You have a pool now!" Mei says, happily.
"They're keeping it locked most of the time, though," says Namiko, running up to the edge of the pool closest to them. "This end is really shallow," she explains. "And that barrier," she points to the barrier between the shallow end and the deeper end of the pool. "Is to stop little kids who can't swim from getting into the deeper end."
The pool is a big one, enough for a lot of people to fit in at once. The outside walls of the room it is in and the ceiling are made of wooden panelling. At the end of the pool-room closest to the door is a picnic area several meters wide. The picnic area has a long table surrounded by chairs, with a few more chairs lined up against the wall. A barbeque sits at the far end of the picnic area, in a small area where the wall is made of flagstones like floor around the pool.
"I thought you were having an outdoor pool," says Kakashi.
"It is an outdoor pool," sasy Tenzou, grinning. She walks over to the far end of the picnic area, past the barbeque, to a panel of switches. She presses one switch down and the panels on the longer wall swivel vertically, revealing the outdoors. Another flick of a switch and the panels slide back to the short wall opposite the picnic area. "That end does not move," explains Tenzou. "But the roof does. Watch this." She flicks another switch and all the ceiling panels swivel horizontally. Another flick of a different switch and the panels slide back to the house side of the pool-room. "And now it is an outdoor pool."
"That is clever," says Ikkaku, sounding very impressed. "Who's idea was this?"
"It was Iruka's idea," says Kazama. "Naruto and I couldn't come to an agreement on whether to have an outdoor pool or an indoor pool, so Iruka came up with this idea and Hashirama and Tenzou helped him design it."
"As usual, Iruka-nii is the best," says Naruto, grinning.
Before anyone can say anything else, the doorbell rings.
"Well that's the end of the tour," says Kazama. "I'd better go see who's at the door." She turns and heads out of the pool room to go answer the summon of the doorbell.
Everyone trails along behind her like so many baby ducks. Kazama realizes they are following and says, "Stop following me. Just wait in the living room, since it is a living room now."
So they all wait. Kazama returns a few seconds later with the Hokage, Mikoto, Itachi, Shisui, Eizo, Madoka and Madara carrying Sasuke.
Mikoto puts down what she is carrying and pounces on Kushina. "Kushina!" she says, cheerfully squeezing the stuffing out of her. "I missed you so much!"
"Can't...breathe…" Kushina gasps.
Mikoto laughs and releases her.
Itachi dumps herself on the couch miserably.
"She doesn't look well," says Kazama, concerned. "Why did you bring her?"
"She's too close to her due date to leave alone for too long," explains Mikoto. "Besides, forced socialization is part of her punishment for having underage sex."
"Mine is this shiny, glow in the dark mustache," mutters Shisui. "One of these things seems harsher than the other."
"If you want I could castrate you," says Fugaku mildly.
"No thank you," says Shisui, backing away from Fugaku.
"Kushina, you know my daughters, Itachi and Sasuke?" says Mikoto grinning.
"They are a lot bigger now, but yes," says Kushina.
"I have a son now as well," Mikoto looks around for Eizo. "Where's Eizo?"
They all look around the room. Eizo is nowhere to be seen.
"Did he wander upstairs maybe?" says Mikoto. "Or outside?"
Kazama sees the door to the extension, wide open. She remembers something important. "We left the pool open! Find him now!" She points to Madara. "You: put Sasuke down beside her sister and help us look. You kids stay here incase he comes back."
"Sure," says Madara, dumping Sasuke beside Itachi.
"Yes Grandma," says Naruto. Burifu is hanging on to Naruto's arm.
"What are we looking for?" asks Kushina, as she and Mikoto head through the door into the extension.
"A toddler," says Mikoto.
Kazama heads outside to search. A few of the adults follow her outside, some head upstairs and some head into the extension. Madara wanders off to search on his own. After what seems like hours of searching, the adults, minus Madara, who is apparently combing the house from top to bottom, meet in the garden.
"Maybe he wandered out the gate?" suggests Arashi. "He wasn't in the pool, so we closed and locked it."
"Maybe he wandered over to the Guards' huts?" suggests Fugaku, half hopeful.
Once again, they split up to search. Even Shisui is helping, despite being blind.
The adults all leave to look for Eizo, leaving Naruto, Itachi, Madoka, Kimiko, Namiko, Burifu, Aki and Minoru in the living room.
"Burifu, can you sense where Eizo is?" asks Sasuke.
Burifu shakes her head. "His chakra vanished."
"That's weird," says Naruto, scratching his head. "If his chakra is gone, he might've wandered really far away. I hope they find him."
"We'll have to get daddy's doggies to sniff him out!" declares Aki cheerfully.
The children fall silent. They can hear the adults calling for Eizo-Mori. Slowly, the search heads outside. Itachi is starting to look very sick. She is sweating and holding her stomach like she is in pain.
"Itachi, are you okay?" asks Madoka, concerned.
Itachi grimaces. "I think I'm having those fake contractions I was warned about," says Itachi, sweat forming on her face.
Naruto, says Kurama, gravely. Those are not merely fake contractions. She's in labour.
"Kurama says you're in labour," says Naruto, trusting that Kurama is right.
Madoka's face contorts in pure panic. "What do I do?" he says, frantically. "When did it start? How do I tell if there are complications? I'm not ready for this!"
Kimiko starts crying, and Namiko, Aki, Minoru and Burifu follow suit. Sasuke simply sits beside Itachi looking mildly horrified.
Naruto, says Kurama. Let me take over. I have seen a great many babies born, so I know what to do.
Did you? Says Naruto, astonished. Did you deliver any?
Naruto, I am the patron of healers, remember?
How do I even let you take over without breaking the seal, 'tebayo?
Kurama lets his chakra leak out of the seal, like he did that time he gave some to Naruto to summon Gamabunta when Jiraiya tossed him off a cliff. But this time, he takes over Naruto's body, rather than giving him strength. The seal does not allow him to use any ninjutsu or chakra, only to move Naruto's body.
Ooh, this is weird, says Naruto, now a spectator in his own body. It's like the mind transfer that Ino uses.
"Alright, brats," says Kurama. His gravelly voice surprises the others. "I'm the Nine Tails, and I'll be taking it from here. Madoka, pick your balls up off the floor and remember your training. Namiko, go get towels. Kimiko go get some hot water, not too hot, but hotter than warm. Aki keep your brother calm or he'll turn into a sapling. Burifu stop crying and go find an adult with medical training. Sasuke, do exactly what you did when Peanut was born."
"I do not want to be used as a birthing bed again!" protests Sasuke.
"Just help your sister lie down and hold her head in your lap," says Kurama. "Make it snappy! Oh, and Itachi? Take your pants off."
Everyone scrambles to do as they are told, and Madoka helps Itachi take her pants off. Soon, the baby is born and screaming up a storm. Madoka uses her medical ninjutsu to heal the damage to Itachi's nether regions, and then helps her put her pants back on. Burifu is still not back, so they wrap the baby in a towel with the placenta and umbilical cord still attached and clean up the mess.
Kurama relinquishes control to back to Naruto, who sits back on the floor. "That was intense!" says Naruto. "Seeing kittens born in no way prepared me for this, dattebayo."
"Itachi, how did you not notice you were in labour?" asks Madoka, who is exhausted from all the panicking he did. "You must've been in the final stages before you even arrived here."
"They said at the birthing classes that it would be excruciatingly painful," says Itachi, staring down at her baby. "This was mainly just uncomfortable. It didn't hurt that much, really."
"You have an abnormally high pain tolerance!" points out Sasuke. "YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THAT INTO ACCOUNT!"