Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), some moderate Dumbledore bashing (he's more manipulative than evil but mostly just stubborn), and who knows what else.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 24: When the World Stands Still
Satoshi grew tense when his father ordered him to stay behind, to clear out any Kikaichu not belonging to his swarm, and to prepare to secure the living room against all forms of eavesdropping. Ten minutes later, Tokage helped Anko through the door and escorted her to the couch. Kurenai entered the room next with a small bundle cradled in her arms and Satoshi sent his father a puzzled look even as he raised the requested barriers and wards. Shibi had then directed Satoshi into the chair across from Anko and stood just behind him while Kurenai sat next to Anko and Tokage faded into the background so he would be on hand if needed but not in the way.
"What happened?" Satoshi demanded softly as he briefly glanced in his father's direction before turning his gaze on the two kunoichi in confusion; his eyes quickly noting Anko's rather pale and drawn complexion and the out of place pink bundle in the older woman's arms.
"There was something I should have told you a long time ago, Sash… Satoshi," Anko began, her nervousness apparent in the way she'd stopped herself from using the childhood nickname she'd given him. "I wanted to tell you sooner but I was afraid you'd be angry with me and then you were always busy or out of the village on missions. I had only wanted to give you something that was as precious as what you'd given me. And I know I should have at least spoken to you first but I just… I… I was afraid that I'd lose my nerve or that you'd reject my gift outright."
"What are you talking about, Anko-chan? You already repaid me for that… we'd… you'd… you said that you'd teach me how to… in exchange… so why…?" Satoshi asked as he stumbled over bringing up their nights of shared intimacy in front of the current audience.
"I… that was part of what I wished to give you but it wasn't the only thing I planned at the time. I… I only intended to give you something I thought would bring you joy but I think I only made things worse," Anko attempted to explain before she stopped and glanced at Kurenai only for her to flinch away from the older woman when her eyes landed on the pink bundle she held. "I… maybe it'll be easier if… Kurenai? Could you please let him…?"
Both Kurenai and Shibi sighed in unison at Anko's cop out even as the older kunoichi scooched forward to the edge of her seat and carefully extended the pink bundle she'd been cradling protectively. Even more confused, Satoshi hesitantly accepted the bundle as Kurenai admonished him to be gentle as she took extra care in the way she transferred the bundle into his hands. He stared down at the fuzzy pink wrapping that he absently realized was an extra soft blanket with tiny pink cherry blossoms of silk stitched into it.
Uncertain of what he was supposed to make of what he'd been given, Satoshi glanced up towards the two kunoichi for an explanation before turning to his father when Anko dropped her gaze and Kurenai only shook her head.
"Open it up carefully, little bug; you need to see to understand," Shibi softly instructed when it became obvious the teen had no idea why he'd been handed what appeared to be nothing more than a blanket.
With more than a little trepidation, Satoshi settled the bundle on his lap and gently pulled back the top of the blanket only to freeze the instant a tiny face was uncovered. Breathing was a little difficult and his head felt as if it was stuffed with cotton as he quickly analyzed what he was seeing and searched for the most logical explanation based upon what he knew and the way Anko had been behaving since she'd walked into the house.
It took a few minutes but once he kick-started his brain and reformed a connection with reality, Satoshi reached out with his free hand to trace a finger along the bridge of the baby's nose and run a thumb over the baby's soft cheek. Further inspection led to him discovering just how tiny the babe was before he gently tucked the blankets back into place when the baby started to shiver and fuss from the cold.
Without taking his eyes off the bundle in his lap, Satoshi asked, "Why? Why would you…? Why didn't you…?"
"A life for a life," Anko whispered brokenly at the hard undercurrent that was clearly audible in his voice despite how quietly he'd spoken. "You gave me back my life and the only thing I could think of was how happy you were with the children and how much like your old self you where with the children. I was going to talk to you about it first but then when you'd told me you hadn't… and I wasn't certain I could… and by the time I learned I was, you'd spoken of your plans and I was afraid you'd be angry with me for ruining everything. It was a mistake not to tell you when I had the chance but the longer I waited, the harder it was to find the courage to face you."
"How long have you known, tousan?"
"Around two months."
"And the reason why you… or Kurenai… couldn't have told me when it was obvious I didn't know?"
"I made them promise not to, I knew I owed it to you to at least be the one to let you know and I'd thought I have at least another month in which to do so."
"How many other people knew before me?"
"Kurenai was the first and she sent me to your father when I hadn't been able to tell you. I needed to tell Inoichi because I needed to request time off and because I'd been worried that your father would be angry with me and accuse me of line theft. The only other one who knew was Tokage and that was because Inoichi and your father insisted that a medic attend me when they learned I was pregnant."
Satoshi let out an annoyed huff as he carefully transferred the babe on his lap back into his arm and brought his legs up into the chair with him while cradling the baby closer to him so he could keep her warm while watching her face. After a moment, he continued with his questions, "I'm going to assume she's a girl since she's wrapped in pink… What's her name? When was she born? It's obvious she was born early… why? Were there any complications? Should she even be out of the hospital?"
"I named her Saki… because I saw her as a reflection of the hope you'd given me," Anko replied tentatively before trailing off.
Kurenai sighed again as she picked up where Anko left off when Anko showed no sign of answering the rest of Satoshi's questions, "She was born on the eleventh of this month but she was due on the seventeenth of next month. She was thirteen and a half inches long and weighed four pounds three ounces when she was born but she's now up to four pounds seven ounces. They were released from the hospital an hour ago or we would have been here sooner."
"Mitarashi-san was under a great deal of stress this past month; that's why your daughter was born so early," Tokage added after the genjutsu mistress paused. "If not for your father getting me when he did, we might have lost them both when she went into labor prematurely on the ninth; as it was she had a long and difficult labor and lost a considerable amount of blood before and after she gave birth. We nearly lost both of them more than once over the next two days but as you can see they are both recovering now. The little one is doing much better; she is slowly but steadily gaining weight and the only real concerns are making certain she stays warm and keeping a close eye on her to make certain she doesn't get sick because her immune system is rather weak still."
Satoshi nodded and discreetly pulled out his wand to perform a diagnostic spell over his daughter to find out if she had a magical core and if there were any other problems that had been missed. He frowned when he got the results of his scan as while he'd expected her to be magical he had not expected to find her core unstable and he suspected it had something to do with her premature birth. A more in depth scan let him know that while her core was stressed it had not actually fractured but he really had no idea if that was going to be a problem and if it was, he didn't know how to fix it.
Needing more information, Satoshi called for Dobby and the moment the elf popped into being beside him, Satoshi instructed, "Dobby, I need you to find and bring me my copy of Derwent's Treatise on Core Anomalies*."
"What did you find, Satoshi-kun?" Shibi asked once the elf had popped away to fetch the book he'd asked for.
"She has my Kekkei Genkai," Satoshi replied after glancing briefly at the two kunoichi (who were unaware that his bloodline was his magic). "The problem is that there is something wrong with her immature core and I don't know how big of a problem it is going to be or if there is even a way to fix it, if it doesn't heal on its own. I can't say if the problem is because she was born too early or if part of the reason why she was born too early was because of the problem."
"Are you angry?"
Satoshi snapped his head up to meet Anko's gaze at the half whispered question and stared at her for a long moment before he answered, "Damn right I'm angry; not only did you give me no choice in the matter but you didn't trust me enough to allow me to help you. I'm also downright furious that I nearly lost both of you without even knowing you were in danger."
"But I think you knew that already and what you are really asking is if I'm going to hate you for the rest of your life because you hid the fact that you were pregnant with my child from me. And the answer to that is no; I could never hate you. It may take me a while to forgive you but you are still my friend and I'm certain that I will one day better understand your reasons for doing what you did."
Anko visibly sagged back in relief and Satoshi huffed over her lack of faith their friendship only to sigh a moment later as he recalled that her insecurities stemmed from what had happened with Orochimaru. Uncurling from the chair, Satoshi passed his daughter to his father and crossed over to Anko so he could pull her into a hug.
"How can you not hate me? I've ruined everything!"
"Baka, you've ruined nothing. All you've done is throw a monkey wrench into the gears of my life. A little bit of elbow grease and a few adjustments and things will continue on like they always do; one day at a time."
"I don't deserve a friend like you."
"I don't deserve the headache you give me when you say things like that," Satoshi countered with exasperation as he tugged on a lock of hair from her ponytail (something he knew she absolutely hated). "Are you going to be alright now?"
"I think so."
"I'm glad; I need my friends just as much as they need me."
"Dobby has found the book you requested, Master Satoshi," Dobby declared in English as he popped up beside the pair with a soft crack.
"Thank you, Dobby; you've been a big help as always. If you could please stay here for a few minutes while I research what I will need to fix my daughter's magical core so I can let you know if I need anything else?"
"Master Satoshi has a new family now? Dobby did not know Master Satoshi was looking for more family."
"I wasn't exactly looking; it was just as much of a surprise for me as it is for you, Dobby. My father is holding her if you'd like to see her; just be careful, she was born too early and she's very delicate right now," Satoshi replied as he thumbed open the book and began looking for information on how to repair a damaged core.
"Master Satoshi said the little one has something wrong with her core?"
"Yes, she's suffering from magical exhaustion and her core is stressed; I'm worried it might fracture."
"There is only one cure for fixing a damaged core."
Satoshi froze and glanced up at the elf in surprise having not expected the elf to know how to fix the magical core of a human. He tilted his head to one side and furrowed his brow while asking, "What is it?"
"Phoenix tears."
"Phoenix tears? That's it? I just have to give her a tear?"
"No… a phoenix has to give her a tear… only willing tears will heal the core and they must be directly from the phoenix so the magic is not lost."
Satoshi snapped the book shut making everyone in the room jump at the sudden, unexpected sound. He silently handed the book back to the elf and spun on his heel to cross back over to where his father was holding his daughter and silently collected Saki. He then let out a piercing whistle that made everyone jump a second time and startled the baby in his arms, making her cry. Both kunoichi let out a soft squeal in shock and Kurenai nearly skewered the bird (only Satoshi's quick reflexes allowing him to catch the kunai before it struck) when Fawkes appeared above Satoshi's head in a burst of flames.
"You delay my only chance of healing my daughter and I will hurt you, Kurenai-san," Satoshi growled irritably as the phoenix settled down on his shoulder and peered down into the still crying bundle in his arms. He then gave his attention to the bundle in his arms as he gently rocked his daughter while he addressed the bird, "Fawkes, I hate to ask after all that you have already done for me but you are the only phoenix I know. Will you shed your precious tears for my daughter's sake? Please?"
Fawkes chipped questioningly as he leaned down closer to the mewling bundle and Satoshi obliged the bird's curiosity by pulling the back the blanket so he could see her better. The phoenix tilted his head back and forth and blinked his eyes a couple of times as he studied the small child before he trilled a soft joyful song of welcoming that soothed the fussy babe (and calmed everyone else in the room). He then cried a single pair of pearly tears that slid down to the tip of his beak as he leaned down and gently brushed the tears into Saki's partially open mouth.
"Thank you, Fawkes; I appreciate your help more than words could say. I will forever be in your debt."
The phoenix trilled a soft laugh and nuzzled Satoshi's cheek before he took to the air and sang once more as he circled around both Satoshi and Saki while leaving a pleasantly warm trail of flames that coiled around the pair before he disappeared in a second flash of flames as he reached the air above Satoshi's head. The flames surrounding them faded away a moment later to reveal Satoshi standing with his daughter cradled in one arm while he tenderly brushed the fingers of his other hand through her soft hair.
"Okay… am I the only one who wants to know what the hell just happened?" Kurenai half demanded and half exclaimed as she lowered the second kunai she had in her hand.
"Blessed they be by phoenix," Dobby stated in his broken Japanese as he bounced on his toes just a few steps away from Satoshi was wrapped up in his daughter. "Tears of healing be saving little missus."
"Phoenix? That was a phoenix? I thought phoenixes were just myths. Where did it come from? Why did it show up here of all places? And what was it doing?" Anko blurted out when she finally found her voice.
"Satoshi-kun befriended him years earlier after a misunderstanding in which Satoshi and Kakashi both tried to kill the bird when he unexpectedly flashed into our house over supper around the time there were people from Satoshi's past attempting to kidnap him out of the village," Shibi explained as he moved up to stand behind Satoshi and watch his granddaughter over his son's shoulder.
"The phoenix has saved Satoshi's life twice and now he's just saved Saki-chan after Satoshi all but begged him for his help. That's the first time I've ever seen Satoshi ask the phoenix for anything and he didn't ask for himself but for his daughter. He would have never asked for himself even if he was dying a slow and painful death but for one of his precious people he would move heaven and earth."
"What good would my life be without my family and friends?" Satoshi asked softly as he finally rejoined reality and glanced up over his shoulder at his father. He then glanced up to catch Anko's eyes as he added, "People are precious treasures that can't be replaced. Some of them are a little tarnished and they sometimes get a little banged up but they never truly loose their value. If they break, you don't throw them away; you hold them close and help them put themselves back together."
The young woman blushed a bit over the message the teen had just given her before he broke eye contact so he could return his gaze to the child in his arms. Satoshi leaned down and gently kissed his daughter's brow before rubbing her nose with his as he breathed in that unique scent that always seemed to cling to newborn babies while his Kikaichu slowly ventured forth to explore the little one. He smiled when the queen crawling on Saki's nose triggered his daughter's feeding response as she opened her mouth and tried to follow the bug.
Nudging the bug off her face, he presented his pinky finger to his daughter before he wandered back to his chair to curl up with her once more; completely and utterly fascinated by the little being in his arms.
"Does Master Satoshi want his Dobby to fetch the little missus a bottle?" Dobby inquired as he slipped up beside the chair and peered into the blanket.
"One moment, let me find out what she's been eating and when she last ate," Satoshi instructed as he looked back up at the two kunoichi sitting on the couch watching him. "She appears to be hungry. When was the last time she ate and have you been breast feeding her or does she require a special formula due to being born early?"
Anko shook her head no as she glanced down partly in shame and partly because she was still uncomfortable with the idea of holding the fragile baby and hadn't even considered feeding her naturally. Kurenai sighed and draped an arm over Anko's shoulder as Tokage pulled a storage scroll out of his utility pouch and crossed the room to hand it to Satoshi.
"She's been drinking a specialized formula created especially for premature babies that is designed to help them gain weight and boost their immune systems. She'll need to drink only that right up until her original due date; at which time I'll need to run a few tests to determine if she'll need to continue with the special formula or if she can be gradually switched to a more standard formula. It's been almost two hours since she ate this morning; which is about how often she'll eat for the next couple of months. I changed her diaper just before we left the infirmary but I imagine she'll need a fresh diaper here soon. Do you know how to feed and change a baby or do you need a crash course?"
"Okaasan taught me how to take care of infants when Shino-kun was born," Satoshi answered as he opened one of the scrolls and found a series of storage seals that each held a single bottle filled with just enough powdered formula to make a two fluid ounces. Nicking his thumb, he pressed the bloody digit to the corner of the scroll and channeled several threads of his magic and chakra into the scroll in order to alter the storage seals in order to make it possible for Dobby to access them with his magic so the elf could make his daughter's meals if needs be.
"Dobby, Saki-chan's doctor said she has to drink the formula inside this scroll. Each seal holds a bottle with enough powder to make one serving and all you have to do is add two ounces of warm water and shake it until it is thoroughly mixed. If you will please fix one bottle and bring it to me…?"
The elf nodded (his bat-like ears flapping vigorously in his excitement) as he accepted the scroll and popped away to make a bottle. The requested bottle appeared out of thin air just above Satoshi's head less than a minute later and the teen snagged it out of the air before gravity asserted itself on the bottle. He gave it a quick shake, tested the temperature, and then offered the nipple to his daughter. Saki was soon suckling the bottle with the intense single-mindedness that all babies exhibit when they are hungry.
"What happens now…?" Satoshi asked without taking his eyes off of his daughter.
"I'm giving you full custody of your daughter," Anko stated, sounding more like her usual self now that the hardest part of the conversation was over. "I… you know how I feel about children and quite frankly she terrifies me because she's so tiny I'm afraid that I would accidentally hurt her. I only wanted to have her because I wanted to give you something special; not because I wanted a child."
"I do know how you feel about children; you've never hidden your nervousness around kids, not even when you first met me and had no idea how to act around me. What about when she's older? Don't you want to have anything to do with her at all? She is your daughter too, after all."
"Would you think less of me if I said I'd rather not have anything to do with her?"
"No, I'd be a little disappointed because I think all children need both of their parents and while I can't pretend to understand why you feel that way; I can at least accept that that is the way you feel."
"Arigatou."
The matter of the child's custody settled, Kurenai passed Satoshi a scroll containing Saki's medical records, her birth certificate, and the guardianship papers that she'd prepared on Anko's behalf and at her request; all he had to do was sign the forms and file them with the village council and he'd be the sole legal guardian of his daughter. There were several long minutes of silence at that point as Satoshi carefully burped the baby when he noticed that she'd eaten half the bottle, her little mewling cries of frustration over the loss of her bottle more than a little adorable. Once she let out a not so dainty belch, Satoshi gave her back the bottle and smiled in amusement as she made little grunting noises around the nipple between sniffles.
The silence was broken again not long after that when Shibi cleared his throat to get Satoshi's attention before he instructed, "I'm going to ask you to seal away all knowledge of your daughter the same way you protected your other secrets."
"Absolutely not!" Satoshi immediately refused in a loud voice that startled all three females in the room; the two kunoichi because they'd never heard the teen speak with such forcefulness before and the baby because she was at an age where loud noises startled her. "I am not ashamed of my daughter and I refuse to hide her from the world."
"It has nothing to do with being ashamed of the little caterpillar," Shibi pointed out, the older man taking Satoshi's outburst in stride. "It has to do with protecting her from those that might wish her harm because she is your daughter; especially considering how vulnerable she is right now."
"It won't work, tousan," Satoshi sighed out a moment later after giving the matter some thought. "You can't hide the existence of a person for their entire life; the thread that ties them to the world would shatter if I tried to prevent it from being woven and the backlash could potentially kill me or just shatter my soul which in turn would put the other secrets I hold at risk. She'll be far too large a part of my life to hide her with a thread of magic. There's also the fact that she is the future heiress of the Aburame Clan and making her entire existence a secret would create needless complications since I'd eventually have to reveal her presence to the entire village which would again make the secret unstable."
"Could you seal away the knowledge that I was her mother? Since I won't have much of a connection to her? I am not ashamed of her because she's part of you but if Orochimaru knew I'd given birth, he'd hunt her down simply to see how the curse seal affected the child born of a woman carrying the seal since he will never know that my seal was removed. It might even be best if you hide the fact that I was ever pregnant or that you and I slept together since people might speculate if they knew what we shared."
"It makes me sad that you would ask me to cut you out of her life so thoroughly but because you are asking me to hide your connection to her and you already decided that you didn't really want to be a part of her life it would be possible to seal that knowledge away. People will still speculate on who her mother is but they won't have anything to link you to her because she'll not be seen in your presence unless you are with me and even then everyone knows how you feel about children."
An hour later, the knowledge that Anko had given birth to Satoshi's daughter, that Anko had ever been pregnant, and that Anko and Satoshi had been intimate had all been sealed using the Fidelius Charm. Anko had refused to learn the two secrets about her daughter but accepted the knowledge of the third secret because she treasured the time she'd spent with Satoshi. He had been more than a little sad over her choice but knew he couldn't force her to accept the knowledge if she didn't want it.
Kurenai on the other hand, had asked to be told all of the secrets so that she could help Anko through her postpartum depression which would confuse the hell out of the younger woman because she would have no clue as to why she was feeling that way. Tokage also learned the three new secrets because he was Satoshi's, Anko's (through her pregnancy), and now Saki's personal medic.
Kurenai escorted Anko home to get some rest shortly after that while Tokage gave Saki a quick check up to see how much the healing tears that the phoenix had given her had helped her physically. Satoshi scanned her with his magic at the same time and was pleased to see that her core was already starting to recover though it would take a few days before it was fully healed. Once Tokage took his leave after answering a few more questions that Satoshi had had about his daughter's health, silence settled over the room once more as Shibi took Anko's former seat on the couch and watched his son and granddaughter.
"Are you angry, tousan?"
"No. I was disappointed that Anko went behind your back and that you didn't use a bit more precaution but I can't be angry with either of you. I don't think I was ready to be a grandfather so soon but the little caterpillar is your daughter and I can't regret having such a precious little gem in my life."
"I don't think I am ready to be a father either. If Anko had talked to me first, I would have asked her to wait a couple of years when I would have been better prepared to take care of a child. I could never even think of turning my back on any child of mine though and I would have helped Anko in any way I could during her pregnancy had she told me sooner. I was a fool not to think of the possible consequences of sleeping with Anko but at the time I had a million other things on my mind and Anko asked me to trust her and so I did. I can honestly say that I won't make the same oversight a second time with another woman though because I know there is little to no chance that another woman would have the same well meaning intentions as Anko had."
"What are you going to do now?" Shibi asked after he relaxed a bit knowing his son had learned a valuable lesson from the circumstances surrounding his daughter's birth.
"I'm going to need some time to figure that out. Do you think you could tell the kids that they can have the rest of the weekend off and make arrangements for them to spend tonight at a friend's house? I'd like the rest of today and at least part of tomorrow to bond with Saki and think about my options before I introduce her to all of the termites. I think it might be best if I ask Ko if he has the time to check her chakra coils this afternoon too, since I'd prefer to prevent them from shutting down rather than risk her needing to go through the painful process of having them reopened later on down the line. When do you think it will be safe to introduce the Kikaichu to her body?"
"I will pass on your message to the children," Shibi agreed without hesitation. "I would have suggested speaking with one of the Hyuuga if you hadn't as I'd already anticipated the possibility of her being born with magic of her own and agree that the sooner we catch the conflict, the easier it will be to reverse the destruction of her chakra network. We'll need to confer with one of the Hyuuga and with Tokage before even considering starting your little caterpillar's swarm though; if only because the stress of the first hatching could cause potential problems at her age since the number of hatching eggs would be far larger than normal given that her mother was not an Aburame."
"I was afraid of that… though you do know she'll end up with a dual swarm like I carry, ne?"
"Yes, I suspected as much. I also assumed that you would like to offer one or more of your queens to be part of the implantation ceremony because their offspring would be better able to cope with the dual networks."
"At least two queens; one from each of my swarms," Satoshi confirmed with an absent nod.
"We'll sort it out when the time arrives," Shibi promised as he stood up. "I'm going to send the kids on their way since I'm pretty certain that they are all sitting out on the porch worried and concerned about what is happening or they will be soon."
Satoshi nodded as he too climbed to his feet, "Alright. I'm going to disappear into my office and make a list of things I'm going to need. I'll also need to redecorate the office so that I can turn it into a nursery since I don't think Torune-kun will appreciate being woken up all hours of the night if I tried to keep her in our room and it's not fair to ask him to move to another room."
"I'll pick up something for supper so you don't have to worry about making anything."
"Okay."
Satoshi spent the next hour just sitting in the chair at his desk studying his daughter with wonder and a small measure of melancholy each time he thought of Anko. He could see the kunoichi in his daughter's features; the coloring of her hair, the shape of her nose, her pupil-less eyes that were just developing a dark green ring around the outer edge of the iris while there were hints of tan spreading outwards through the blue of her eyes from where the pupil would normally sit, and in the slenderness of her long (if petite) fingers. He could also see himself in his daughter; the shape of her face, the wildness of her hair, the shape of her tiny mouth, and the shape and length of her toes.
Satoshi didn't think he'd ever seen anything so beautiful.
Saki grew fussy at that point and Satoshi set about changing her diaper, casting a weak warming charm on her blanket so that it radiated gentle warmth to prevent her from getting cold while he changed her and continued his inspection. He couldn't remember his brother or cousin looking so delicate when they were born but then again they'd both been full term at the time of their birth.
Once a clean diaper was securely in place, he used his magic to carefully make her clothes fit just a little better (making certain not to make them too tight) before he canceled the warming charm and wrapped her back up. A new warming charm was then placed on the outside of the blanket (to prevent the folds of the cloth from growing too warm on the inside) and he settled her into the crook of his left arm while he reluctantly focused his attention on writing down the list of things he would need to purchase in order to take proper care of his daughter.
When he finished the list of supplies, he wrote out a list of what would be needed to be done to turn the office (which he'd only been using for about two months) into a nursery and what he'd need to buy to accomplish it. After that, he wrote a quick note for Ko requesting a favor from him (but not going into any details) and called Dobby to ask him to deliver the note and make the needed purchases.
He also asked the elf if he knew a young female elf that would make a good nanny for his daughter; making certain to reassure Dobby that he didn't doubt his capability. He could have asked Dobby to watch his daughter but Dobby was often called by his friends and he didn't want the elf popping about the world with his daughter in tow or stop allowing his friends to call the elf if they needed to. Explaining that to the pouting elf helped to cheer him up as it reaffirmed that Dobby was special and needed.
Not long after that, Dobby turned up with a little half grown elf (her age less than two years old) in hand; whose name was Pinny. She was inexperienced, being young as she was, but she came from a long line of nanny elves and had the memories of her ancestors to help her learn quickly. She was just at the age where an elf is able to bond with their first family (elves matured far faster than humans due to their magical nature) and the family of her mother hadn't needed another nanny since there were no new children in the family and so had not been willing to keep her.
Satoshi bonded her to him after he confirmed that she wanted to be part of his family and once the giddiness of the bonding wore off (the influx of wizard magic like sugar to an elf), Satoshi explained her new duties. Those duties were currently limited since Satoshi fully intended to be his daughter's main care giver and consisted of; keeping the nursery clean (once it was fixed up), purchasing baby supplies, making Saki's bottles (bar the times Satoshi did it himself), watching over Saki when Satoshi wasn't with her (something that would rarely happen during her first two years), and protecting her from those that wished her harm. As Saki grew older there would be other duties added.
It was about that time that Ko knocked on the door and Satoshi gave him permission to enter. He took a moment to introduce Pinny to the Hyuuga, letting the elf know that he was a friend, before the teen introduced the Chuunin to his daughter. To say Ko was flabbergasted would be an understatement; especially when he learned that Satoshi hadn't even known he was going to be a father until that day. That small confession helped to explain the sudden change in the children's normal routine and the need for a little space for the night. Satoshi then explained his concerns about Saki's chakra network; bringing up the issues he'd had when he was younger while carefully avoiding any mentions of magic.
Ko gladly scanned the baby's underdeveloped chakra coils, which were unstable but not in immediate danger of collapse, and spent a half hour teaching Satoshi how to use a single thread of chakra to stabilize her chakra coils without overwhelming her network. Long used to maintaining a steady thread of chakra to hold a leaf (or a stone) in place against his body for days at time, it was no trouble for Satoshi to establish a thread of chakra that would permanently link his chakra coils to his daughter's to provide that stability and prevent her network from shutting down until such time as the link was no longer necessary. The fact that he had such excellent control over his chakra helped as the average shinobi would have used too much chakra or been unable to unconsciously maintain the connection at all times.
Ko then made arrangements to check on Saki's network once a day for the next week to monitor its status and was given the name of Saki's medic so that he'd be able to consult with Tokage in regards to Saki's health when needed. Just before the older man left, Satoshi asked him not to say anything to the kids yet because he planned to introduce them all to her the next day. Ko agreed and offered Satoshi one last congratulations on becoming a father (unexpected though it was) before he left to collect the youngest three members of Team Four.
Satoshi then spent the rest of the afternoon alone with his daughter while Dobby took Pinny on a tour of the Compound and the village so she would know where to find everything. Pinny brought Satoshi another bottle for Saki right about the time that the baby was getting hungry before the two elves set about using magic to put together the dresser, crib, and changing table Dobby had purchased. When Shibi came to let him know he'd picked up supper, Satoshi gave the two elves permission to redecorate the office with instructions for Dobby to move his office things into the guest room for the night until he could figure out what he was going to do with them.
Shibi confiscated his granddaughter the moment Satoshi stepped into the kitchen with her, to Satoshi's exasperation and amusement, so that Satoshi could eat (the teen had skipped lunch in the wake of the shocking revelation that he had a daughter). As he ate, Satoshi reported what Ko had discovered about Saki's chakra coils and how he'd need to stay fairly close to her to maintain the chakra thread he had linked to her coils for at least a couple of weeks; which meant he'd need to request time off. Time off without pay wouldn't be a problem since Satoshi still had the small fortune his birth parents had left him; part of which he'd had converted over into ryō that he had promptly tucked away in his Konoha Bank account in addition to the money from his many missions that he'd saved through the years.
Since he didn't plan on taking his termites out of the village on missions any time soon, he figured he could still supervise them around the village and monitor their training while keeping Saki close. That led to him introducing his father to Pinny as he explained that the dainty elf would be Saki's nanny and protector. The elf would not take the place of Saki's mother but she would at least be someone that Satoshi could trust to keep an eye on his daughter at all times; especially during the times that he allowed others to watch over her later on down the road.
The conversation then turned to the difficulties that Satoshi could expect to face as a single parent (Shibi had far more experience in that particular role than he would have preferred). Around the time Satoshi reclaimed his daughter so his father could eat, the conversation moved on to Satoshi's concerns about how the children, the clan, his friends, and his honorary family would react to Saki.
Shibi assured Satoshi that the clan would be ecstatic over the news of the next generation of Aburame being born, despite the fact that she was born out of wedlock and that her mother was not part of the clan; their dwindling numbers meant they'd just be happy to know the clan still had a future. There was also the fact that the living members of the clan all adored Satoshi to no end and had practically from the moment Shibi had first brought him home (for much of the same reasons why they'd adore Saki once they were introduced to her). Shibi was also certain that the children, his friends, and his self-adopted family would accept his daughter without any trouble.
Feeling far more relaxed, Satoshi asked his father if they should plan a welcoming party for the following weekend or wait until Saki's original due date came and passed. Shibi suggested he introduce her to those he was closest to when he introduced the children, present her to the clan on the following weekend, and leave the welcoming party for another few weeks. That had Shibi asking Satoshi if he'd given any more thoughts to his future now that he had the responsibility of caring for his daughter.
Satoshi sighed as he gently brushed Saki's cheek with the back of his index finger before he haltingly explained the decision he'd reached over the course of the afternoon.
Translations: Japanese to English
Arigatou – thank you
Baka – idiot
Sashi-chan – intentional misspelling of Satoshi's name and the nickname given to him by Anko when they first met
Notes:
* The Treatise on Core Anomalies by Dilys Derwent is a made up book by me, the author, for the purpose of this story and may or may not pop up in some of my other stories. For those who may not remember her, Derwent is a canon character from the HP books; she worked at St. Mungo's as a healer and a former headmistress of Hogwarts during the late seventeen hundreds.
AN: The next chapter will pick up from where this one left off and show some of the reactions of Satoshi's friends and family to Saki's presence. I would have included that in this chapter but I figured an 18,000 word chapter was too much and so broke it into two parts; one dealing with Satoshi's introduction to his daughter and one dealing with everyone else.
Next; Fidelius Charm and the number of secrets that Satoshi is currently holding. I know it appears that I am allowing him to use the rather difficult spell as a catch-all to protect a ton of information but there will be repercussions later due to how many secrets he holds. There is also a limit to the number of spells that a person can hold and that limit is based on several things; such as the size of the person's core, the number of people that knew the secret being sealed, the number of people who are told the secret, the wording of the secret, and the total amount of information being sealed by a single secret. More details will be discussed later on within the story.
For those who are curious, here is a list of the secrets that Satoshi has sealed to date (and yes, there is a reason for the seeming redundancy of some of them – it has to do with covering all bases to prevent someone from deducing a secret through similar facts or slight hints).
01 Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher Stone was not destroyed
02 Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher Stone is being guarded by the scorpions
03 Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher Stone now belongs to Aburame Satoshi
04 Uzumaki Naruto is the Jinchuuriki Host of the Kyuubi
05 Uzumaki Naruto is the son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina
06 The AnBu Member known as Gaichuu is Aburame Satoshi
07 Uzutsui Arashi and Uzutsui Aranami are the created alter egos of Aburame Satoshi
08 The AnBu Member known as Gaichuu is host to a swarm of Kikaichu
09 Aburame Satoshi is a member of Konohagakure no Sato's AnBu Corps
10 Aburame Satoshi holds two active summing contracts for the scorpions and the dragonflies
11 Aburame Satoshi's magic has the ability to subdue a partially transformed Jinchuuriki
12 Harry Potter was adopted by Aburame Shibi
13 Harry Potter and Aburame Satoshi are the same person
14 Harry Potter lives in the village of Konohagakure within the Hidden Countries
15 Aburame Satoshi's true Kekkei Genkai is his ability to use magic
16 Aburame Satoshi is a fully trained wizard capable of using magic
17 Aburame Satoshi was born with a magical core
18 Uzumaki Naruto is the godson of Jiraiya
19 Jiraiya is Uzumaki Naruto's godfather
20 Aburame Satoshi created a jutsu that will alter, restore, repair, or remove any seal
21 Aburame Satoshi can safely alter, restore, repair, or remove a seal placed upon a living person
22 Aburame Satoshi can safely remove Orochimaru's curse seal
23 Mitarashi Anko's curse seal given to her by Orochimaru has been successfully removed
24 Aburame Satoshi removed the curse seal Orochimaru placed upon Mitarashi Anko
25 Mitarashi Anko is the biological mother of Aburame Saki
26 Mitarashi Anko conceived a child in Nov 96, carried her child for eight months, & gave birth in Jul 97
27 Mitarashi Anko and Aburame Satoshi shared physical intimacy
Anyway, I think that was everything I needed to address for now. You can expect the next chapter to be up in five to seven days. ~ Jenn