Birthright

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Triplets seems to be a rather strong preference. Poor Hinata, lol. Do feel free to weigh in on what gender(s) you would like the rest of the Uchiha children to be. I'm probably going to cap it at six children eventually because more than that is just really hard to manage lol. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. It takes place five months after the last one.

Chapter Notation: The Ninja Nations are experiencing their mini Baby Booms. So a couple new characters in this one.

Chapter 6

Hinata smiles as she watches the twins play with their new playmates. Akeno and Kaemon. The twins were now about two and a half years old, but Akeno and Kaemon were younger.

This was apparently something that fascinated both their daughter and their son. Having someone around who was smaller than them! It was quite amusing to watch.

"I'm surprised the idiot figured out how to father a child." Sasuke smirks.

Hinata shakes her head and swats her youngest husband lightly, while giggling. Sasuke was Sasuke. He apparently just couldn't resist picking a fight with Naruto.

Naruto twitches. "Excuse me?!" And Naruto would always take the bait.

Akeno was Sakura's and Naruto's daughter. Her name meant beautiful sunrise and bright shining field. And the toddler certain lived up to it.

"You heard me." Sasuke smirks and Itachi chuckles.

The children were oblivious to their parents bickering though. Arashi wanders right over to Akeno and glomps her. "Sunny!

Sunny was the Uchiha boy's nickname for her. With Akeno's sunshine colored hair, it was no mystery where he came up with it. The poor girl was likely going to be stuck with that nickname for the rest of her life, but there was no denying she was an adorable child.

Gaara shakes his head. "Some things never change." He smiles and kisses Mei's cheek.

Mei nods in agreement as she watches Sunny's green eyes sparkle with surprise and delight. Her little chubby cheeks had also inherited Naruto's whiskers, but she had Sakura's skin tone. The perfect blend of her parents, the Kage supposed.

Aiya was far more interested in Kaemon than Akeno though. Well more specifically, she was interested in his white fluffy teddy bear. The son of two Kages didn't seem to mind though.

"Bear." He nods sagely as if this was some profound observation.

Hinata smiles as she watches them play. Kaemon's name meant joyful. Which she supposed was also fitting. Mei and Gaara had been overjoyed to find out that Mei was expecting.

Aiya nods and huggles the bear. "Yes, bear." The red head was surprisingly tolerant of sharing his favorite toy with her. It was sweet.

"Do you know what you're having yet?" Sakura smiles at Hinata.

Hinata shakes her head. No. Today was the big day though. She was going in for an ultrasound, in a couple hours.

The bluenette was almost positive it was twins at this point. There was so much damn kicking going on. Why did all her children have to be such Taijutsu Specialists?!

As if sensing her thoughts, Sasuke smiles and caresses her cheek. "No, but we're going to find out today." He then kisses her briefly. "And don't worry, Hinata. We'll take good care of you just like last time."

Her husbands did take excellent care of her. Which was probably why she was pregnant again. They were rather thorough in this regard. Not that she minded. Her pregnancy hormones were reeking havoc on her already healthy sex drive.

At least the morning sickness was over, but now she still had food cravings and almost everything made her want to pounce or be pounced by her lovers. Of course, that had been a normal thing before pregnancy. Well minus the cravings, but it was particularly intense now!

"So is Hiashi coming over to watch them while you're at the doctors?" Naruto looks at Hinata brightly.

The bluenette nods. "Yes, he is." She smiles. "Father adores the twins." Though she knew that he really, really wished they would stop calling him Candydaddy.

Oh well. Arashi and Aiya were both capable of pronouncing grandfather or at least grandpapa, but neither did. They seemed to find it rather amusing to "torment" him in this way.

"As he should." Gaara smiles and nods.

Hinata felt rather proud of her babies, even the Kazekage was forced to acknowledge their adorableness! They really were that cute.

Mei laughs. "Mmm, of course. Well we should probably be going." Mei stands up. "It's a long journey back to the Sand."

Gaara nods and scoops up his son. Kaemon looks down at his playmates with sad eyes. He knew it was time to go.

"Oh it's alright." Gaara chuckles. "You'll see them again soon. For now, it's time to go home." And with that, the Kage Family quickly heads off.

Naruto shakes his head in amusement. "Well, I guess we should be going too. After all, Hinata has a doctor's appointment and her dad will probably be coming over soon." He smiles as he stands up.

Sakura nods in agreement as she does the same. Then she leans over and picks up her daughter. "Maybe, we'll go shopping for some more clothes for her. She's growing so fast." The pinkette smiles.

"They all do." Hinata nods with a smile of her as she watches her friends leave their house.

It wouldn't be long now. Soon enough, her father would arrive. And not long after that, they would go to the hospital where they would find out what they were having this time!

Meanwhile Hiashi inspects his Twin Toolkit. He had learned a long time ago that when you were dealing with Aiya and Arashi it was best to be prepared. Inside, he had two changes of clean clothes for them each, medicine, a couple stuffed animals, some nontoxic art supplies, and prepared meals.

He had made sure to get the nontoxic art supplies. While Hiashi doubted his grandchildren would be children who tried to eat the crayons, it was better safe than sorry. For some reason, children had an odd habit of trying to put everything they could reach into their mouths. It was their way of exploring, he supposed.

"Hanabi, if anyone asks, inform them that I went to watch the twins." He smiles at his youngest daughter.

She nods. "Alright. I will, father." The smile was returned and with that, Hiashi heads off.

It didn't take him long to reach the Uchiha District. As repulsed as he had been at the suggestion of Hinata having two husbands at first, Hiashi couldn't deny that thus far it had somehow worked out beautifully. He wasn't really sure how that was the case and quite frankly, he didn't want to know how. Still, he was happy that his daughter was happy.

That and whatever else he might think of Sasuke and Itachi, they were rather devoted to Arashi and Aiya. No one could question that. Which was surprising given their rather…bloody histories. They could be so gentle with twins that even by Hiashi's Standards, it was sweet.

"I'm here." He greets Hinata and her husbands.

Hiashi still had a difficult time believing at least one of them, possibly both had fathered the twins. Aiya and Arashi could be unholy terrors when they wanted to be, but most of the time they were so innocent. He wondered, if they were ever going to have a paternity test done.

In the end, it might not matter. They all lived together. Both Sasuke and Itachi acted as fathers to the twins. Did it really matter which had done the actual siring? Probably not. Not as a practical matter anyway.

Hinata smiles. "Thank you for coming." Her smile was one only an expectant mother could give.

She was glowing. So much so in fact, that Hiashi almost overlooked Itachi's and Sasuke's presence entirely. Which was probably a good thing. Relations between them were aloof at best and strained at worst.

"Of course." Hiashi kisses his cheek. "I'm always more than happy to watch them." Besides, it was a rather important day. "Especially in a situation like this."

Hinata giggles." Good. Itachi, Sasuke, do you want to leave early?" She smiles at them. "We could have lunch before we go to our appointment."

Sasuke nods and strides over to her side. The fact that it looked like such a natural movement was both comforting and a little disturbing to Hiashi. It was obvious that the Uchiha Brothers scarcely left her side, if work wasn't involved.

"That sounds like a good idea to me." He glances at his older brother. "What do you think, Itachi?"

Itachi nods. "An excellent suggestion. After all, she is eating for two now." He smiles as he walks over and laces his fingers with Hinata.

Another effortless motion. The circumstances behind their marriage might be strange, but the love was there. That's what mattered most. No matter how deviant, it might be.

"Good. Well don't worry about anything." He smiles. "I'm more than happy to watch them."

The proud parents thank him and then set off. Well that meant that he had to find a way to entertain a pair of toddlers for a few hours. That was fine though. It was the first time he had faced the Terrible Twos.

A few hours later, Hinata was in the hospital exam room. Sasuke smiles as he watches his wife get on the table. Her belly seemed suspiciously round for this point in her pregnancy, even bigger than last time.

"How are you feeling today, Hinata?" Tsunade smiles at her.

This was either a very big baby or it was twins again. A really, really big baby. While Sasuke would be overjoyed to have four children, having her go through a second twin pregnancy seemed a bit overly demanding.

Hinata smiles. "A little nervous, but alright otherwise." She glances at her husbands. "They spoil me, even if they are overprotective to the point that I want to strange them both sometimes." The bluenette giggles.

Overprotective? They were not being overprotective. If Sasuke had his way, she'd already be on medical leave and she wouldn't leave their bedroom unless it was absolutely necessary until she gave birth.

She'd be their little Goddess and she would sit upon a throne of blankets and pillows. Fluffy pillows, of course. Her comfort was of paramount importance.

"Well that's good." Tsunade starts setting everything up.

It didn't escape Sasuke's notice that Itachi's eyes were scanning everything. The man was just as anxious as he was. His brother was just better at hiding it.

Itachi nods. "Very good." He smiles. "We're eager to officially meet the newest addition to our family."

Tsunade smiles as she places the cold gel on Hinata's belly, causing the woman to shriek. "THAT'S STILL ICE COLD!"

Sasuke smirks. It was a bit amusing to see a fully trained ninja freak out over something that minor. He'd never actually felt that gel, but according to Hinata it was as cold as a glacier.

"I'm sorry, Hinata." The busty blonde apologizes. "Unfortunately, we don't really have a warmer substitute." Hinata grumbles, but nods in understanding.

The younger Uchiha Brother nods. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Today was the big day and they were only moments away from finding out if it was a girl, a boy, both, or a set of identical twins.

He hoped it wasn't the last option. That would just get horribly confusing. The raven haired ninja could see a million ways that a set of identical twins would be an unholy terror, especially in a couple years when they went through their own Terrible Twos.

She sighs. "It's alright, Lady Tsunade." Hinata smiles." It's nothing compared to labor."

Tsunade laughs and looks at the machine. "I suppose that's true.." She smiles. "Let's see what we have here."

Back at the Uchiha District, Arashi sucks on a juice box as he listens to Candydaddy tell them a story. Candydaddy sure had a lot of stories. Most of them were about the other Candies.

"Lots of Candies!" He laughs as she sucks more on the little straw.

That's what he called the rest of his family. The ones with the eyes like his own. Eyes like Mommy. He wasn't sure why, but Aiya and his Daddies didn't have those eyes.

Hiashi chuckles. "Yes, I suppose so." He pauses. "Can you say Hyuga?"

His Candydaddy was always trying to get him to say grandfather or Hyuga. The words were just so weird though. He could say grandfather easily enough now, but his Daddies had told him to stick to Candydaddy. So he did.

"Candy!" He giggles and so does his sister.

Daddies liked it when he said candy. So yeah. That's what he did. After all, Arashi liked making his Daddies happy.

Hiashi sighs. "Well I suppose that's a start." He chuckles. "Now, where was I?"

Aiya smiles and claps. "More story!" That was right. They loved their stories.

Hiashi nods and continues on with the story. Arashi laughs as he listens more about the Candy Clan. Hiashi was very proud of it, even at two the Uchiha boy could tell that much!

"Our Clan is an ancient one." Their grandfather smiles. "Dating back to even before the Leaf was founded."

Aiya smiles and claps. She didn't understand half of what Candydaddy said, but she liked the way he said it. He was obviously happy about something.

So that meant that she was happy about something. Aiya liked it when the big people were happy. They usually gave more cuddles and toys when they were happy.

Hiashi seemed happiest when they talked though. "Long time." So she humors him.

"Yes, a very long time." He nods in eyebrow as he eyes the now purple walls.

It seemed that Aiya and Arashi had a disagreement as to which color was better. Red or blue. So the parents had compromised and gone with purple. A stately shade though. A dark one.

While lavender might look good on Hinata, he wasn't sure that it sent the right message for the home of the Clan Heads of the Uchiha Clan. The District had only been restored in the past couple years. It was important to think about it's public image!

She claps encouragingly. "Long, long time. What next? What next?" Arashi giggles and joins her in the clapping.

Grandfather seemed to like clapping too. It was also a natural reaction for her, so she didn't mind doing it.

"Well we obviously had to find a large space to build our Estate." He smiles.

Aiya had no idea what an estate was, but she laughs anyway. Candydaddy was having fun. So was she!

Meanwhile at the hospital, Tsunade blinks. Itachi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. What was going on?

"Is something wrong?" He looks at the busty blonde in concern.

He really wished that she would stop doing that during these crucial moments. Every time she did, he almost had a heart attack. Honestly, you would think someone like Tsunade would be aware of how nerve-wracking this experience could be for someone like him and Sasuke (or anyone)!

Tsunade rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "Well no. Not exactly." Uh huh? "It seems that Hinata is having another multi-birth pregnancy." Ohhh.

Twins again. Well that was going to be a handful. Still, he was sure that they could manage. Three parents and four kids meant they weren't that outnumbered.

Sasuke beams. "That's wonderful news." He kisses Hinata's forehead. "I'm sorry. I know that labor won't be an enjoyable experience, but we'll be there while you endure it."

Hinata sighs and gives him a dirty look. "That's easy for you to say." The young woman grumbles. "You aren't the one who has to deliver them." Well that was a fair point. Itachi couldn't exactly argue with that.

Itachi chuckles. Hinata could be surprisingly feisty, when she desire to be. Of course, being married to two Uchihas meant that one had to be.

"What are their genders?" Identical twins could be potentially problematic.

It would be a challenge to tell them apart and he wouldn't put it past their future sons or daughters to trick everyone. He could foresee many headaches, if they were identical.

Tsunade pauses. "Well there's something you should know before I tell you their genders." That didn't sound promising.

"Is something wrong?" Hinata looks at her with wide eyes.

Tsuande shakes her head and Itachi raises an eyebrow. Why was she acting so strangely. He couldn't for the life of him understand what would cause an experience medic such the former Hokage to behave this way.

Surely, she must have delivered dozens, if not hundreds of babies. So what could possibly be evoking such an unusual reaction from the busty woman?

The granddaughter of the First Hokage bites her lower lip. "Well no. Not wrong." She sighs. "It's just you're going to have your hands full."

Of course, they were going to have their hands full. They already had Arashi and Aiya. Now, they would have four children. That was only to be expected.

He still didn't get why Tsunade seemed so nervous about the whole affair. What on Earth was going on? This didn't make any sense.

"What do you mean?" Hinata frowns. "Any parents with two sets of twins would have their hands full."

That was most assuredly true. Though that didn't matter. They would find a way. They always did. Besides, they had shadow clones.

Sasuke gives Tsunade a pointed look. "What's going on?" It was obvious that his foolish little brother's patience was wearing thin and to be honest, so was Itachi's.

"Congratulations." Tsunade pauses as she glances at the screen. "One, two, three." Wait. Three?! "You're having triplets!"

THUD! At first, Itachi thought he might faint. That or perhaps Sasuke. What had actually happened surprised him a great deal though.

It hadn't been him or Sasuke who had fainted at the news. No. It had been Hinata. Hinata had fainted because they were having twins.

To be fair, Itachi probably would have done the same in her position. "That's wonderful news, but I have concerns for our wife's safety." Delivering three children at once seemed rather risky.

Tsunade nods in understanding. "I would recommend a C-Section in all honesty." She looks at them warily. "Ultimately, it will be her decision to make though."

Itachi nods in understanding and so did Sasuke. That only made sense. Hinata was the one delivering them. So she should get the final say on such matters.

"Do they all look healthy?" Sasuke glances at Tsunade with anxious eyes.

Tsunade nods. "They're right about what you would expect for triplets to be at this stage in a pregnancy." She hesitates for a moment and then continues. "This does put her at a much higher chance of delivering early though."

Naturally, Sasuke thinks to himself. At some point, their sons and/or daughters were simply going to run out of room. They'd want to get out of there early. So that they could stretch out.

"That makes sense." Sasuke checks Hinata's pulse. "Is she going to be okay?" He hoped that she had just fainted from shock and not something else.

Tsunade nods and checks her vitals. "Yes. I think she was just rather surprised to hear that she was carrying three bundles of joy this time." The blonde woman shakes her head. "You two are certainly overachievers when it comes to restoring your Clan."

Itachi smirks and Sasuke nods proudly. Damn right they were. Of course, it helped to have such a gorgeous wife. A gorgeous wife with a wicked imagination and who was normally rather willing to go along with their suggestions when it came to lovemaking.

"That's true." He sighs. "I guess we should wait until she wakes up to find out the genders." Sasuke smiles.

The former Hokage nods in agreement. It was the decent thing to do in his mind and clearly she felt the same way. It would be wrong to find out if they were having more sons, more daughters, or both before Hinata even woke up.

Itachi chuckles. "Well this has certainly been quite the eventful day." That was the understatement of the century, Sasuke muses to himself.

"Yes, I imagine so." Tsunade laughs.

Hopefully, their wife would wake up soon. Sasuke really wanted to know what they were having this time around. It didn't really matter. He'd love them, no matter what their gender was. Still, curiosity could be an extremely powerful force.

It was one that could drive a person to madness sometimes. Luckily, Hinata used to faint a lot more than she did these days. So Sasuke figured she'd be waking up shortly and then, they could find out.

About ten minutes later, the Uchiha Matriarch proved him right. Her eyes slowly flutter open and she looks around in confusion. "What happened?"

Sasuke shakes his head. "You found out that we're having triplets." He pauses. "And then you fainted."

"Oh." She blushes. "Well I guess this is becoming something of a family tradition then." The bluenette giggles sheepishly as she looks at Tsunade. "Did you tell them what we're having yet?"

The Hokage shakes her head. Hinata really should have known better than that. Tsunade wasn't the type to say something like that while Hinata wasn't even conscious.

"No. I haven't." She smiles. "But if you want to know what you're having, let's have look." The Hokage looks at the screen. "This might take a few minutes." She smiles. "There are three of them, after all."