Pregnancy
Just some short scenes from Kushina's pregnancy. Part fluff, and a bit of character development. It begins shortly after Kushina tells Minato she's pregnant. If you haven't gotten the birds and the bees talk, pretend the chapter before was the end of this story. There's also a bit of a language and pregnancy content.
(MINATO AND KUSHINA)
Sharing the news with Jiraiya
"Sensei! Sensei! Guess what! Guess what!"
"Shut up, gaki, can't you tell I have a wicked hangover?"
"Fine, hold on." Minato put his hand on Jiraiya's forehead and released a pulse of healing chakra to alleviate the hangover.
"Ahh, it pays to have a genius student, even though your cure isn't as good as Tsunade's."
"Only you would think insulting the person who could give you a headache ten times worse is the best course of action."
"At least Tsunade understands what it's like to be drunk and pipes down when she's healing. When was the last time you got out, gaki?"
"You know what, I'm just going to tell Kushina that I told you the news and you were too drunk to remember. I always did enjoy watching her beat you to the Valley of the End and back."
"That little twerp couldn't touch me if she tried."
"I seem to remember a very different ending to your last visit home." Minato flicked his sensei's forehead. "Are you listening to me now?"
"Fine, fine, what's got you more excited than a Genin on a sugar high?"
"I'm going to be a father!"
"Ow! Volume, gaki! Now what's got you all worked up?"
"I'm going to be a father, you old pervert!"
"I take back my earlier statement about you not getting out. What have you been drinking and you better hand it over right now because I want some. What gave you the idea you were my father?"
"I don't even know why I bothered. Enjoy your hangover and I'm not going to be the one dragging your sorry butt to the Hospital after Kushina gets through with you." Minato stormed off.
"I honestly don't know what I said," Jiraiya mumbled to himself and shifted into a more comfortable position on the bar stool before falling back asleep.
(-.-)
Breaking the news to Kakashi
"So, Kakashi, when a man and a woman love each other very much—"
Kakashi shifted awkwardly in his pajamas where Kushina had sat him down beside her. "Um, Kushina—"
"Something very special happens—"
A snort sounded from the adjacent room as Minato appeared, rubbing a towel through his hair, even while it dripped down his torso and moistened the waistband of his sweatpants. "Kushina, there's no need to traumatize my student, I've already gave him the news."
"Well, that doesn't mean—"
"Kakashi, go to bed, you have a mission in the morning and it's already late."
The boy leapt to his feet and dashed out of the room with all the speed the prodigy could muster.
"Have you forgotten that I'm the only person allowed to torture my student, Kushina?"
"Well, I don't have any students to torture—"
"I offered you a Genin team a few months ago, that's all your fault."
"Oh fine, but I was really looking forward to telling him and watching him squirm!"
"Sorry to ruin your fun, but I need him functioning tomorrow morning, not comatose."
"You should have taken a longer shower."
Minato leaned over and kissed the top of Kushina's head, the towel falling in her lap.
"Towels are for drying people off, not making other people wet, Minato. On a more serious note, did you come up with any new ideas for the chakra-trapping seals around the house? The current ones won't be enough once the seal starts to loosen."
"Yeah, I sketched one out but I left it in my office."
"You get way too much enjoyment out of calling that place your office."
"Can you blame me? Anyways, do you want me to go get it?"
"It can wait until tomorrow, now go dry off for real this time."
(-.-)
Mornings
"Minato?" Kushina moaned.
"What?" He answered from the closet.
"I don't feel too good."
"I really can't do anything about that."
"Well, you're a mostly certified medic!"
"Kushina, it's just morning sickness, there isn't a jutsu that can fix that."
"Can you pretty please invent one? This is the second day in a row!"
"I love you Kushina, but I really don't have that kind of medical skill. Write a message to Tsunade, she might know a trick to help, and I'll make sure it gets to her."
"But Minato!"
"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"
"No."
Minato pulled on his haori and looked down at Kushina, who had made no effort to wake up properly. "Is there something special you would like for breakfast?"
"Breakfast is my job to make."
"Well, are you going to make it?"
"No."
"Then I am. Do you want anything?"
"No."
"Okay, I'll see you this afternoon."
(-.-)
Destinations
"Minato?"
"I'm sorry, there was an accident outside the village and everyone was too superstitious to investigate. I sent a message, did you get it? Did I wake you?"
"I got it, I couldn't sleep, it's not about the incident."
"I heated up some ramen from a few nights ago, want some?"
"No."
"Okay? What's wrong?"
"He's going to have to be a shinobi, won't he?" Kushina knelt beside his chair and leaned against Minato's side.
"Who?"
"Our baby."
Minato laid his chopsticks down and dropped his head into his hands. "Yes, he will have to be a shinobi and a damn good one."
"So he's not going to get any choice in the matter?"
"No."
"Because of who we are?"
"Yes."
"And only because of that?"
"Yes."
"So just by having this child we put his life in danger?"
"We can't help who we are, Kushina, but we can and will be the most powerful parents our baby could ever hope to have. He will be completely safe in this house."
"But will he ever be safe anywhere else?"
"I-I don't know."
(-.-)
Week Ten
"Minato? Why hasn't the baby come yet?"
"It's only been ten weeks, Kushina."
"Exactly! I thought babies were due in nine!"
"Nine months, Kushina, not nine weeks."
"Well, it should be nine weeks."
"Of course, but we haven't even finished the nursery yet!"
"Well, I've finished the safety seals!"
"Sure you have. Where are they?"
"In my head."
"Any why haven't you written them down?"
"Because I'm so tired!"
"Then go take a nap."
"I just woke up from a nap!"
"Did you now?"
"I woke up just before you got home."
"It's Sunday, Kushina. I haven't gone anywhere."
"How is it Sunday? It feels like a Wednesday!"
"You barely slept last night, go take a nap."
"But I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"Well, um, you have to sleep for two now."
"You're bullshitting me."
"Yes, I am, now go take a nap."
"Well, you're not supposed to admit it!"
"Then you should get some rest and stop swaying like you're drunk."
"I've never been drunk."
"Good for you, I haven't either."
"But I wanna get drunk!"
"I'm sure you do."
"Can you get drunk for me?"
"No, now, sleep."
"Okay."
"Good."
(-.-)
Sleepless Nights
"Minato?"
"Mm?"
"Minato?"
"Hm?"
"Minato!"
"What?"
"Is the baby going to keep us up at night?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Because it already is."
"It is?"
"It's the middle of the night, Kushina."
"So?"
"And are you asleep?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I'm worried about the baby."
"Mm."
"Oh, you're right."
"Go back to sleep."
"But Minato—"
Minato rolled over and kissed her forehead. "There is absolutely nothing that can be done about anything right now, Kushina. Okay? Go to sleep, you need your rest and I have a mission tomorrow."
(-.-)
Joy
"Minato! Minato!" Kushina screamed excitedly.
"What? What happened? Is everything alright?" Minato flew around the corner and nearly slammed face-first into the kitchen cupboard.
"Guess what! Guess what! Guess! Guess!"
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!"
"I'm going to have a baby!"
"I almost broke my nose because you didn't deliver the news with enough excitement the first time?"
"No, that's not it. I'm actually having a baby!"
"Yes, yes you are. Why is this new news?" Minato said as Kushina leapt circles around him
"It just sunk in! I'm actually having a baby! I've wanted on for so long and now—"
"Yes, yes, but do you realize I was in the middle of a council meeting when you turned on the emergency beacon? And probably overloaded the entire house with chakra."
"Oops. I'll turn them off?"
"And think of something for me to tell the council."
"Bah, they're not important, all they get to do is bore you to death yammering about things they want to happen, slamming the Uchiha, and more boring stuff."
"Kushina, I haven't even been Hokage for a year, I have to listen to them, at least for a little while longer."
"Right."
There was an awkward silence as Kushina stopped her orbit, clutching her head.
"I'm so dizzy," Kushina groaned, turning green.
"I guess I'm not going back to the council meeting," Minato told himself as he quickly guided Kushina to the sink.
(-.-)
Growing
"I feel bigger than a bear."
"I fail to see what that has to do with standing on the ceiling of my office, Kushina." Minato handed the freshly signed document to the waiting Chuunin team. They turned to leave, casting frightened looks at the woman standing upside-down beside their Kage with her hair sweeping the ground.
"Wait!" Kushina called. They stopped and looked up at her. "Do I look as big as a bear?" She demanded of the shinobi.
The youngest Chuunin grunted an unintelligible answer.
Minato rubbed his temples.
"I think you look more like a beanpole with a rag tied around the middle." A second Chuunin said without thinking.
Kushina smiled wickedly and the four Chuunin trembled in their shoes.
"Thank you for being honest with me. Now get out before I—" The Chuunin were gone before she finished the first word. "Too bad, I kind-of wanted Chuunin-heart soup tonight."
There was a beat of silence before both erupted into laughter. "Did you see the team leader's expression when the kid actually answered?" Minato managed to gasp out.
"That was priceless! I don't look like a beanpole, do I?"
"You look like a perfectly beautiful young woman, Kushina."
"Shouldn't I have been starting to show already?" She asked, falling onto Minato's lap and poking her stomach. Minato put his hand between her fingers and stomach.
"Stop antagonizing the baby. You'll start to show in a week or two."
(-.-)
Cravings
"I'm hungry," Kushina stated, staring as Minato, who sat across from her on the couch, reading.
"Then get something to eat."
"I want a kunai."
"Kakashi left two on the end table behind you. Please don't throw them at me."
"Why would I want to throw a kunai at you?"
"Biwako told me you might start throwing things at me for no reason so I wanted to be sure."
"But I want to eat the kunai."
"Wait, what?"
"I don't know."
"I'm going to pretend that's the baby talking and he has no idea what a kunai is."
"How do you know he's a he?"
"How do you know?"
"I just do."
"Exactly."
"What if he's a girl?"
Both stared at each other, completely stumped.
"How can both of you be so naïve?" Kakashi asked, turning around from his seat in the adjacent kitchen where he was filling out a mission report.
"Well, I'll be sure to bow to your immeasurable wisdom when it is needed." Minato looked up and smirked at the scowling Jōnin. "Come sit with us for a while, Kakashi, I know you finished your mission report by its due date even though you haven't turned it in."
The teenager scowled and turned back to his work.
Minato marked his page and tossed the book onto the coffee table, before it scooted against the far wall. Kushina joined his smirk and they mirrored hand seals. Kakashi shouted in alarm as he landed on the couch between them.
"You just need a good teasing from your big brother," Kushina prescribed.
Kakashi tried to leap up from the couch but Minato tackled him. The Jōnin writhed, an action that would have dislodged him from the grasp of anyone else except the one who taught him the trick. The wrestling match ended when Kushina stood up and crouched in front of where Kakashi lay pinned, tapping his forehead in the most irritating way possible.
"Cut it out!" Kakashi scowled.
"What's this?" Minato asked pulling a scroll from one of Kakashi's pockets.
"Hey! Give that back!"
"Looks like one of the jutsu planning scrolls I gave you for your birthday. Why don't you share what you've been researching?" Minato picked Kakashi up from the ground and all three fell back on the couch.
"I've been studying Fūinjutsu," Kakashi muttered as Minato opened the scroll and raised a questioning eyebrow in the teen's direction.
"So what do you want this seal to do?"
Grudgingly, Kakashi answered, "I want it to either be capable of reverting something to its state a few seconds before or either be able to regenerate whatever its attached to."
"So basically you want to create an antidote to your Chidori?" Minato concluded.
Kakashi nodded and pulled his knees up to his chest.
"Right, well, it's a good thing you've got the two best seal masters in the world to help you out or it could take you a lifetime to develop something this ambitious."
"You think it can be done?" Kakashi asked hopefully.
Minato shrugged. "Yep! I'd wager about a year of constant work could do it, but with the time we'll be able to spend on it together, it will probably take a bit longer. Don't worry, I gained a mastery of sealing in less than two years. You're not as young, so it might be a bit harder, but you'll enjoy the challenge. It's great to know someone is actually interested in our work!"
"Seconded!" Kushina chorused.
Kakashi smiled.
(-.-)
The Book
"Kushina? I have something for you."
"I'm in the kitchen, I have something for you too!"
"Smells like ramen."
"It is."
"Good, I'm hungry."
"Why?"
"Um, because I haven't had time to take a break since breakfast?"
"Of course that's why you're hungry, but why do you have something for me?"
"Because I'm tired of you asking me pregnancy questions."
"But you know all the answers!"
"I'm a guy, Kushina, I really have no idea if your right knee is supposed to be heavier than your left if you wear a necklace of grapes on the last Tuesday of your first trimester."
"What does that mean?"
"I have no idea, you're the one who asked it. Fugaku says his wife is willing to answer the rest of your questions, and there's an open invitation for you to visit."
"Fugaku's being uncharacteristically hospitable. Why?"
"He's trying out a new delinquent rehabilitation program."
"I'm not a delinquent."
"Then why do pranks keep following you around?"
"Unlucky, I guess."
"Kushina, you're going stir crazy without missions."
"So? I should be able to prank whomever I please!"
"Yes, but is it really necessary to prank the tabby cat minding its own business?"
"You know Minato, sometimes I have no idea what to think about you. You forgot to give me what you said you had for me."
"Oh! Right, here it is." Minato traded the scroll for the bowl of food.
"You know those pregnancy books bore me to tears, Minato, so what makes this scroll any different?"
"You'll enjoy it, I promise, alright? I promised to meet Danzo to argue over the necessity of having three separate militaries and I'm hoping he listens to my proposal, so I really have to be on time, can I take this with me?"
"Sure, can I come? You've been talking about this proposal for weeks, but haven't explained any of it."
"If you really want, but I thought you hated Danzo."
"Oh, if he's actually going to be there then I'll stay here."
(-.-)
Fear
"Minato! Minato!" Kushina screamed hysterically, shooting upright. Lightning fast, Minato twisted where he lay and slammed his hand onto the floor beside his mat. His chakra pulsed though the room, filling the room with a thousand lines of sealing and a pale blue light. The light slowly faded once it became clear the two were alone.
"Kushina? What is it? What happened?" Minato sat up and reached for her.
"Stop!" She grabbed Minato's forearm and slammed him onto his back.
He grunted, but didn't move as Kushina's hair tightened around his neck.
"Prove you're Minato. Please!"
Slowly, Minato twisted the arm Kushina held in her grasp. She let go and pressed her thumb against the inside of his upper arm. He winced as Kushina channeled chakra directly into his skin. Seal lines spread across his skin and Kushina released the tension in her hair before it broke his neck. Careful not to make any sudden movements, Minato sat up and brushed Kushina's hair back into its proper place while she sobbed into his chest.
"I'm right here, Kushina, we're completely safe, I promise," Minato murmured into her ear.
Kushina only clutched him harder with one arm and rubbed the skin over his heart as if to make sure it remained intact.
Once he exhausted a slew of gentle reminders and reassurances, Minato asked, "What happened, Kushina?"
"Not now, Minato."
"Yes, now. We promised not to face the dreams, the nightmares alone, remember?"
Kushina's grip tightened even further.
"I'm not going to let you face it alone."
After a long minute, Kushina relented. "Remember that mission that went bad at the beginning of the war where we were caught pilfering information?"
"Of course."
"They had seen me seal the information we stole into your shoulder and they had somehow gotten information on us as a couple, not just as Lightning. The seal 'master' they had insisted that it could only be unsealed by me even though he clearly didn't understand it at all. Not only did they know about us, they knew I was Jinchuuriki. Kami, they seemed to know everything!"
Minato listened impassively, letting her retell the memory
"They even had seals to completely bind my chakra. They knew they could never torture me enough to make me open the seals and their seal 'master' recognized the numbing seal I used to deaden any pain they might inflict on me, even if he couldn't dismantle it. So they made me watch from the observation room while they tortured you instead."
"We got out, Kushina, remember? You were brilliant and played their game until they unsealed your chakra long enough for you to flood my base Hiraishin seal and I used the chakra to transport both of us to the rendezvous point where the backup team brought us safely back to Konoha."
"That's not how it ended this time. The seal master had recognized the scar the Hiraishin left as an active seal before they let me near you and you realized this and had to—you had to completely destroy it so they couldn't access the formula and when he realized this, they determined you were still a flight risk and they just killed you, Minato!"
"Kushina, look at me." Minato pushed her back and held her at arms' length. "Kushina, look at me," he repeated, tenderly cupping the side of her face and lifting it to meet his gaze. "It wasn't real. We both got out with only a few scars to show for it. I'm alive, you're alive, I promise. There's no disputing it. Understood?"
She nodded.
"Say it."
"We're alive. It was only a dream."
"Good, now go back to sleep. I'll stay right here and keep watch until you wake up."
"But you have a meeting in the morning!"
"Not anymore."
"That's an abuse of authority."
"Why do you think I wanted the job?"
"Don't make me second guess you now!" Kushina giggled.
"Well, with your mood swings you'll be ecstatic to see me sometime soon, so I'm not particularly worried."
"Point."
(-.-)
Moving
"Kushina? Why are you laying in the middle of the floor?"
"I can't get up."
"Why?"
"Because I have a little creature in my gut who's more annoying than both of us combined on our best day."
"Right. Well, as long as you're not insulting me. Would you like help getting up?"
"No. I think the rice is about to burn. Would you be so kind?"
"Sure?"
Ten minutes later
"Kushina?"
"Hm?"
"Would you like something to eat?"
"Mhm."
"Would you like help to the table?"
"I like it right here. Could you bring it here like the best husband in the world?"
"Sure."
Minato juggled two plates of food and two glasses of water with chopsticks clenched in his teeth as he sat down beside where Kushina lay sprawled in the center of the living room.
"I love you, Minato."
"I love you too, Kushina."
Five minutes later
"Are you planning on sleeping here?"
"Yes."
"Right. I'll go clear these dishes and make up a bed on the couch."
"What about orange?"
"You're not hearing a word I say, are you?"
"Only if they're not pink."
"I thought so."
(-.-)
The Day
"Did you get the seal finalized?"
"Yes."
"Is the nursery ready?"
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Eight."
"You're not even looking at me!"
"No, I'm not."
"Is the safe house ready?"
"Yes."
"Do the ANBU know what they're supposed to be doing?"
"Yes."
"Are the—"
"Kushina, everything is ready, everything will be fine, okay! Why are you so nervous all of a sudden? You're never nervous. Sit down and eat something."
"But what if—"
"Kushina, everything will be fine, I promise."
"Cross your heart?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die…