Shadows and Fangs
Chapter 34
While before they realized it, it had already been half a year since they left Suna, in effect leaving hadn't meant cutting all ties, there was no need to be so dramatic after all. They were on the phone weekly with either Temari or Kankuro, often both, and sometimes even Gaara. And it was over one of these innocuous conversations that Temari dropped the biggest surprise on them.
"What do you mean you got married?" Kiba repeated with a frown, glaring at the receiver as if it was spouting lies and deforming the words she'd spoken.
"Exactly what it sounds like!" she replied cheekily, visibly very happy with herself.
"Just like that, huh?" Shikamaru muttered as he shook his head at her antics.
Something that sounded suspiciously like a snort made it over the line, and when she spoke again it was casually. "Both our council and Kiri's were really trying to make it into a big deal, you know – me, of this grand lineage of the village of the Hidden Sand, he, from a long line of bloodline limit users from the village of the Hidden Mist – and so on and so forth!" she dismissed with a huff. "They were even going to draft a contract, can you imagine? We'd have been lucky to get married within a decade! So in the end we just gave Gaara the certificate, he signed it, and done deal!" she relayed in a very smug tone.
Shikamaru had to frown at this, because while undoubtedly Gaara loved his siblings, he respected his position as Kazekage and didn't use it to bend the rules on his or their behalf. That he'd so easily gone against the will of both Suna and Kiri's council was surprising to say the least. "Just like that, huh?" he repeated suspiciously, stressing the words.
Temari giggled at this, a very strange sound coming from her that made them stand on guard. "Well…I might also have informed him that I was pregnant. He very well couldn't let his future niece or nephew be an illegitimate child, now could he?"
Kiba and Shikamaru shared a look at this, having to admit it sounded just like them. "So are you pregnant? Or was it a ploy?" Kiba asked bluntly, feeling confused.
"I am!" Temari confirmed with a laugh.
"Well…congratulations then!" the tracker declared happily.
"Will they let Sojiro smoothly transfer to Suna and your clan officially?" the shadow-nin then wondered, because he knew the Council of Elders could be annoying when they didn't get their way – although in effect, they were finally getting the marriage and prospective offsprings they'd been after for years, so he figured they shouldn't make this too hard!
"We only need the head of the clan's approval – and who's the oldest of the Sand Siblings?" she asked back matter-of-factly, not really needing them to answer that – of course she'd approve her own husband's transfer in a heartbeat. "Anyway. Sojiro's clan could technically get annoying once the kid's born, because of the poison bloodline, but I suppose that cases like this are bound to become the norm now that we've started opening up our borders to each other, so we'll learn as we go!" she reasoned matter-of-factly.
"Learn as we go, huh? Meaning this is just the start of your career in motherhood?" Shikamaru noted in amusement.
"Suna needs a new generation of Sand Siblings to look after her when we'll be gone," Temari declared in an almost absent tone. "Gaara's already researching about how to properly interact with babies, and Kankuro's got it into his head that poison techniques and puppeteering were made to go together – so he's buttering up Sojiro to get him to share that point of view," she then added fondly.
"Okay, so what I'm getting from this is that we should expect another call about that from Kankuro soon!" Kiba teased her easily.
Her lack of rebuttal and clear laughter made them share a look – that was exactly what was going to happen, visibly.
And it wasn't even the most surprising event of Kiba's week, because when he got to the HQ the next day, Gai was crying manly tears of joy as he greeted everyone.
"Everything alright there?" he asked cautiously as he shared a look with Karui.
"He was like this when I showed up," the kunoichi replied with a shrug.
They were saved the agony of wondering as Konoha's Green Beast noticed them and wheeled over to them. "Hello, Kiba and Karui! What a glorious morning this is, perfect for celebrating youth! Surely you've heard the wondrous news by now!"
Akamaru made his chuckling sound and Kiba gently pulled on an ear to make him behave. "I'm afraid not – but I'm all for good news, so please share!"
"Ah! Then it falls to me to bestow upon you the pinnacle of joyous joys! Lee was graced yesterday with a fresh leaf to help bud and bloom into the new generation of Konoha's Green Beasts!" the former teacher declared excitedly.
Karui frowned as she looked at him intently before turning to Kiba. "Did Lee have a kid, or did he just get into gardening?" she tried to clarify.
Kiba's eyes widened as he felt his jaw slack down. "Lee had a kid?" he asked Gai in surprise.
"Why yes, a little boy! Aptly named Metal Lee! Lee Junior, if you will!" A (seated) nice guy pose accompanied this information.
So admittedly, it had been a long time since they'd last seen Lee – over a year, actually, so more than enough time for him to meet someone and multiply. But seriously? "I didn't even know he was with someone! Did you?" he asked Karui, completely ignoring Gai. After all, she traveled to Kumo on a regular basis, so she had to know!
"Sort of – I didn't know when she was due, I didn't see her the last couple of times I was there and no one told me," she replied with a shrug. "But think of it as two best friends sharing a kid – it's how I've always seen them anyway…" she trailed off as she thought about it.
"That's exactly how it is!" Gai agreed with a blinding smile.
"How…progressive," was all that Kiba could say, wondering what else this week was going to throw at him.
Everyone he asked was as shocked as him, so he felt slightly better at least.
And the rest of the week was entirely uneventful, so he recovered fairly quickly.
Eventually, Shikamaru started a new job at the jounin office – a position Kiba jokingly called deputy jounin commander – which kept him a lot busier than his previous rotations had. It wasn't at the same level as working with Gaara had been, but it had the merit of helping time pass by even faster.
Kankuro called a few times, uncharacteristically enthusiastic, asking Kiba about being an uncle and insisting that he wasn't overreacting.
Temari was still commander of her HQ, and they could practically picture Mizu and Darami hovering behind her, the sensor to replace her if need be, the medic to get her to the hospital – he had to admit the mental imagine was funny. Kiba had even seen Sojiro once, while on deployment – imminent fatherhood agreed with him so far, he didn't even bring it up anymore that he'd bitten him all these years back.
Beyond the usual ups and downs associated with shinobi work, nothing too out of the ordinary happened during the next few months. Missions came, missions went…some succeeded, some failed…mostly they had successes, thankfully.
In retrospect, it should've been obvious it was only the calm before the storm. Really.
In March unfortunately they received some worrying news from Suna.
Temari's pregnancy really hadn't been the easiest so far – quite the opposite, unfortunately. It seemed that she got really unlucky, and something that could occur in about one out of ten Satoshi clan pregnancies happened to her when her child started developing their bloodline limit in the womb – thereby poisoning her.
As this wasn't unheard of the clan had measures in place, techniques to be used, precautions to follow and whatnot, but the strain on her body was still tremendous and she'd been forced to stop working to get some much needed bedrest, even with Sojiro and Darami combining their efforts to keep her healthy to the best of their abilities.
"Temari, we're…I'm…shit, I feel so useless – I don't even know what to say!" Kiba declared in annoyance over the phone, marginally relaxing when she chuckled clearly and Shikamaru gently rubbed his back.
"I'll take your honesty over platitudes any day, Kiba!" Temari assured him, voice fond but also tired. "But don't worry, I didn't call only to give you bad news!" she added mysteriously.
There was a rustling sound as she handed the receiver to someone else, and they recognized Gaara's voice as he greeted them.
"In fact, Shikamaru, you might recall that shortly after your wedding we discussed who would be responsible for signing my own certificate, were I to get married," the Kazekage started evenly.
Kiba raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru as he frowned. "Yeah, I remember…"
"Well, it would seem you and I were right – the Council will take that responsibility," the Kazekage informed him.
"Wait – will?" Kiba repeated with a slowly forming grin.
"Given Temari's weakened health, Darami and I initially did not judge it appropriate to host a wedding," Gaara started evenly. "But my sister has…stressed upon me the 'lack of common sense' and 'absolute stupidity' behind such preconceptions, so it seems we shall celebrate after all," he concluded.
Kiba, Shikamaru and Akamaru shared wide-eyed looks at this, searching for confirmation that they'd understood the same thing. "Gaara, are you saying that you and Darami are going to get married?" the shadow-nin rephrased.
"That is correct," the Kazekage confirmed rather contentedly. "The official invitations are on their way, but as friends, Darami and I both wished for the two of you to hear of this in person – and hope you will be able to attend, naturally," he added earnestly.
"As if anything could keep us from being there!" Kiba exclaimed happily – and all too seriously – as Shikamaru nodded next to him.
So little more than a month later, they – with Naruto and Hinata, as well as Kakashi, Tsunade, and officials from the other villages – were in Suna for Gaara and Darami's wedding. For the Sand, it was a huge deal, and the people were truly happy to see their Kazekage wed. Baki assured them the masses' happiness had been the same when their parents had gotten married and had their children – Temari's birthday was actually a national holiday in Suna, but she always blushed and changed the subject when it was brought up.
The festive atmosphere felt strange in a sense, since neither Gaara nor Darami were cheerful (or even just outgoing or expressive) people, but they played along dutifully, knowing how much it meant to a lot of people beyond just each other.
"Not sure I'd have seen this coming years back – being one day invited to attend the Kazekage's wedding," Shikamaru commented meditatively as he took a break from the festivities.
"That's why life is awesome," was Kiba's confident reply.
The shadow-nin chuckled at his matter-of-factness when speaking words that most people would just laugh at – it was one of the reasons he loved him after all.
They split their time between visiting old friends, driving Temari crazy by worrying about her and trying to help, assisting Kankuro in his efforts to get Gaara and Darami to take more than just a day off, and generally relaxing – although somehow, something just always came up, especially when there were so many people gathered in the same village for once.
And then of course during this vacation they realized they'd been married for two years, so they celebrated – all night long. (And then the better part of the next day, because they could.)
They'd barely been back for a month when they got the news that apparently Temari wasn't the only Sand Sibling who was expecting, and Gaara and Darami had evidently not remained idle.
Then the month of May rolled by and Shisen had his first birthday. He'd inherited Aoba's blue eyes like his sister, and really enjoyed pulling on people's hair – mostly chewing on it, actually – but was generally much quieter. The adults seemed much more enthused by this milestone than he was, at any rate.
After that it was June and Kao's turn, six years of age, and one year with her nin-dog – that one led to a very, very filling dinner, and it was excellent. Kao and Aomaru were, admittedly, the most excited, and played quite a few pranks that were mercifully forgiven.
And just a few days later, Sojiro called them and proudly told them he now had a little daughter.
"Do you have a death wish?" Shikamaru asked him with a frown, truly worried. "Temari's going to maim you alive for ruining her surprise!"
Next to him, Kiba and Akamaru nodded, so he didn't feel like he was overreacting.
Sojiro laughed nervously and they could practically hear him roll his eyes. "I got her permission first, what do you think? She said it was a brutal, brutal thing. I just volunteered to place a few select calls – although she'll call you anyway as soon as she feels better," he explained.
"How is she doing?" Shikamaru then asked worriedly.
"I think she's glad it's over," Sojiro replied truthfully. "Me too, obviously – I've lost a lot of weight worrying," he added with a sigh. "But now that the baby's here, I think we'll all be alright!"
"Well, thanks for thinking about us, Daddy!" Kiba drawled teasingly. "Does the pup have a name yet?"
"Natsu. In Kiri's old dialect it means 'summer', so as she was born on the first day of the season, it seemed fitting," the poison specialist explained.
"Sounds cute!" Kiba noted happily, testing the sound of it a few times.
"I hope we'll be able to visit soon," Shikamaru said wistfully.
Sojiro left them at this to make more calls, but they agreed Kankuro the new uncle deserved a call as well, and while he put up a good front it was obvious he was moved to the core as he described his niece in details.
"How's Darami doing?" the tracker then wondered as after all there was a second child on the way in that family.
Kankuro snorted at this. "Still scaring the crap out of everyone that looks at her for more than two seconds," he said somewhat fondly. "We're all just glad Temari made it through alright – now we can actually worry about the second pregnancy!" he then concluded with a relieved sigh.
"And Tsuneo?" Shikamaru then asked despite himself. "I hope your worry-induced short temper these past few months didn't chase him away?"
"Yeah, are you still behaving and not being stupid on that front?" Kiba added with all the tact he possessed.
To his credit, Kankuro was used to their antics and wasn't offended. "Still not being overly stupid, Commander," he replied mock-seriously.
"Good, be sure to keep it up!" Shikamaru declared with a pleased smirk.
After they hung up, Kiba sighed as he thought back on their conversations. "I miss being called that," he confessed wistfully.
"Called what?" Shikamaru asked in confusion.
"Commander."
The shadow-nin nodded as he ran a hand up and down his arm. "Hey, we could always ask Suna to have Anko taken out – that'll speed up your promotion!" he offered half-seriously.
Kiba chuckled and shook his head happily. "You're crazy – I love that about you, but be careful!" he said against his lips.
"Or if you'd rather, I could just call you that myself…" Shikamaru then added, smirking lazily.
Both were tempting offers though…
A few days later, Temari did call them – once she'd regained enough strength, they figured. They'd been really worried, but she'd never sounded happier – or peppier, strangely. And when Kiba mentioned he really wanted to see their kid – 'not just pictures, although she's super-cute!' – Temari just chuckled. "Well, you know where to find us!" she said somewhat ominously.
Taking into consideration how hectic their schedules had been recently, the prospect of a vacation in the Sand seemed difficult to achieve anytime soon, furthermore since they'd just been there, but they were allowed to hope, right?
Three weeks after that, Hinata invited Kiba and Shino over and although they both knew why – and she knew that they knew – they indulged her and let her 'surprise' them.
"So," she trailed off with a wide smile. "I'm sure you haven't realized this yet but…I'm pregnant!" she told them happily.
Kiba laughed and then stilled himself to look surprised. "Me? I had no idea! Shino, did you know?"
"…" the Aburame sighed at his antics but then mellowed at Hinata's happy look. "Of course not," he replied eventually. "I did not deduce as much from my insects noting the change in pheromones in the air, and neither did Kiba nor Akamaru, for that matter. To suggest otherwise would be folly."
Hinata and Kiba shared a laugh at this and even Akamaru barked in Shino's direction.
"Aw man, Shino, you're so awesome!" Kiba commented earnestly. He wished more people would see that, even if he rather liked being one of the only ones who got him.
"So are you, Kiba – and you too Akamaru of course!" Hinata reassured them warmly.
The tracker winked at her, grinning at Shino's pleased expression. "So when are you due?" he wondered.
"January," Hinata replied as she rested a hand over her stomach. "In time for the new year!"
The other two shared a look and Kiba hummed as he thought about how happy Naruto must've been feeling. Not to mention he'd be getting another honorary niece or nephew!
Shino for his part sighed contentedly. Kao wasn't in his class, but he saw her at the academy – he'd even taught her class a few times, when replacing their teacher. But for Hinata's child…he'd fight the other instructors for the right to be the professor in charge! There was just no way he'd let someone else do it. He was resolved.
Shino Aburame was a Man on a Mission.
"Shino looks funny," Shikamaru commented when he saw the Aburame the next day.
Kiba just frowned in confusion at him, shaking his head. "What are you talking about? That's his happy face!" he insisted as though stating the obvious.
Shikamaru didn't even argue against such proclamations anymore. "Right, obviously. My bad."
So basically everyone around them was slowly getting busy spawning offsprings right now. Shikamaru half expected Karui and Ino to make similar declarations any time soon, but his best friends seemingly hadn't proceed down that path yet.
He didn't know whether to feel reassured or disappointed. It was weird either way.
Then one night in July, Ino banged on their door until a sleepy Kiba let her in, with the sensor not even giving him an explanation as she headed straight to the liquor cabinet to pour herself a drink.
"I'll go get Shikamaru…" Kiba said as she visibly needed a moment to collect herself. When they returned to the living room, they found her spread on the couch with Akamaru's head on her lap as she ran her fingers through his soft fur – another sure sign she needed to talk about something, because she usually kept the shedding nin-dog at bay.
"What's going on, Ino?" Shikamaru asked her around a yawn as he sat down opposite from her. He knew it couldn't have been a fight with Sai as he was currently away from the village, but he had no idea beyond that – she usually vented about work exclusively with Sakura.
Ino frowned at the ceiling and pressed her lips together tightly for a moment before turning her head to them. "Sakura's pregnant," she informed them sourly.
"Sasuke's doing?" Kiba wondered around a yawn, too tired to be actively shocked, huffing at her nod.
"Nothing simple ever happens in our lives, does it?" Shikamaru muttered as he leaned back against Kiba, letting out another yawn. "How's she?" he then asked.
"Happy. She wants to join him on his travels the next time he's around," Ino replied slowly, almost grudgingly. Of them all, she was the one who most resented Sasuke for 'taking advantage' of Sakura – although truthfully, she was quite aware that he wasn't taking advantage of anyone, they were both consenting adults satisfied with the way things were.
The Yamanakas' protective instincts were stronger though.
"I'll admit, part of the reason I'm so pissed off is because he visits a couple of times a year but managed to get her pregnant while Sai and I have been trying unsuccessfully for a few months now," she started as she sat up.
The others shared a look at this, because they knew that Ino and Sai had decided to wait until she was pregnant before getting married. She'd said it was because she didn't want people asking about when they'd have kids, but now they wondered if maybe she knew they wouldn't be able to conceive so easily and had just been protecting them both.
"I'm no longer a little girl with her eyes clouded by a cool boy's good looks! He's one of the most selfish men I've ever met, and he doesn't deserve her – nor to be a father, if he won't even stay around!" Ino concluded as she looked up at them.
Personally, Kiba agreed to the first point but was living proof the second wasn't so imperative – but he realized they weren't being fair, not really, and it wasn't their place to comment. "Hey, you never know, perhaps that'll be the one thing to finally make him stay for good," he offered with a shrug because that was still a possibility.
"Part of me actually thinks Sakura and the kid would be better off without him," the sensor admitted as she ran a hand through her hair and speedily tied it into a messy bun. "I mean, your father wasn't around, and you and Hana turned out just fine!" she added as she gestured towards Kiba.
"Of course, but keep in mind it's difficult for an Inuzuka to feel lonely," he tempered. In addition to his mother, he'd had his sister, and their nin-dogs, so he reasoned it wasn't surprising that he'd never missed his father – plus the man did visit from time to time. And he had extended family. And a clan.
Because of the Sharingan, any child of Sasuke's would be expected to be an Uchiha – that alone would be cause to feel lonely: as things stood these days, Sasuke was the Uchiha clan. Maybe they were getting ahead of themselves, but he thought it would be best for that child if Sasuke stayed in the village.
"I don't know what I should do…what can I do for her?" Ino wondered with a tired shrug.
Shikamaru frowned slightly as he looked at her, seeing her doubts and her pain – she really cared for her friends to the point of being hurt for them, it had always been one of her best qualities, he thought fondly. "You know…Sai's creepy. He was raised in a creepy way by a creepy organization for a creepy purpose," he started, purposefully ignoring the way they both looked at him as though asking 'what's Sai got to do with this?'
"Every time he speaks it's like a lottery where we'll find out if he's going to be insulting or complimenting someone. When you told me you were dating him I cringed. But there's nothing he wouldn't do for you. And sometimes it's obvious he knows what he's about to say shouldn't be said, but he says it anyway so you'll scold him, because when you do your attention's only on him and he loves that. And the day he'll get you pregnant, I won't be surprised when he turns out to be an amazing father. But I didn't just find that out: I learned it through years of watching him – of watching the two of you together," Shikamaru paused at this, eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to gather his thoughts.
Ino sat up straighter at this, slightly leaning towards him as she eagerly awaited his point.
"I'm not saying Sasuke should be given the boyfriend of the year award. But we don't know him anymore – we never really did to begin with, even when we were kids. Sakura's obviously not miserable – and it's been a long time since she's needed you to protect her, now she just needs you. So straighten up, swallow your words, and just be there, or you'll end up not speaking to one of your best friends for another few years." Silence followed his words, and he smiled softly as Kiba grinned at him proudly.
Ino remained quiet, eyes glazed and mouth moving as though thinking on his words, and finally she nodded slowly. "You're right…this isn't about me. Other people in the village will likely give her a hard time so she doesn't need me to add to it! If this is what she wants, I'll be happy about it – for her," she finished as she looked back up at them, mind made up.
"Right! And in the meantime, you and Sai just need to work twice as hard to get your own!" Kiba teased her playfully, easily avoiding the cushion she half-heartedly threw at him.
"Hey…did you really mean that about Sai being an amazing father?" Ino asked softly with a pleased blush as she looked up at Shikamaru.
"He'll likely spoil the kid rotten. But if you have a boy, for everyone's peace of mind, just suck it up and tell him about sex yourself," was his deadpan reply.
"Sai knows his stuff on the matter," the sensor protested with a frown.
"I don't doubt it, but would he know how to explain it to a kid?" Shikamaru asked back with a raised eyebrow as Kiba snorted in amusement.
"…I hate it when you're right like that," she accused with a pout.
"Story of my life," was his modest reply.
The next time they saw Sakura, they politely pretended not to know about her good news, and simply congratulated her. If she noticed their mixed feelings on the matter, she didn't comment. A month later, she left the village with Sasuke. Ino ended up on their couch once more, but with Sai this time, although Shikamaru wasn't there.
As planned, he'd accompanied Kakashi and Naruto to the Kages' meeting in Kumo, and he was glad, because exceptionally, Kankuro would replace his brother as Suna's representative. They'd gotten word that Darami had gone into labor shortly before the Kazekage's party was scheduled to leave, and so Gaara had understandably elected to stay behind – but only after his siblings had repeatedly assured him he was allowed to be selfish for once and no one would hold it against him.
So by the time Kankuro made it to Kumo, he was once again an uncle, to a little boy they called Shinki. Shikamaru felt somewhat proud that the puppeteer only let him see how moved he truly was – in front of everyone else, he was a model of restraint and a perfect proxy for his brother the Kazekage.
But seriously…as if they needed even more reasons to want to go to Suna!
Much as he tried, Shikamaru wasn't the one who managed to completely cheer up Ino after Sakura's departure.
Karui was.
And all she had to do was grab Ino's hand and put it on her stomach before declaring, "Team Ino-Shika-Cho version 3 is now officially in the making on the 'Cho' part!"
It was entirely to her credit that she accepted Ino's happy – and emotional – hug after that, seeing as the Cloud kunoichi really wasn't big on the touchy-feely-affectionate front, as she called it.
"Okay, okay, enough with the hugging!" Karui said with a fake gruff tone as she pretended to push the sensor away. "Chouji, take over for me on the hugging front!" she ordered her husband playfully.
Chouji didn't need to be told twice, and Ino squeezed the living daylights out of him while Sai politely congratulated them.
"We're currently endeavoring to do our part to the best of our abilities," he assured them solemnly, not reacting much when Ino and Chouji blushed – or perhaps he was just being aggravating on purpose, something he enjoyed doing and had actually become really good at.
Kiba laughed out loud at this while Akamaru rolled on the ground – for some reason, he was very partial to Sai's humor. "Man, the pressure!" he declared easily.
Oh, Shino was going to love this – future mini Karui in his classroom? The stuff of legends!
Shikamaru joined in on the general teasing, however backing up his best friend when he sent him a pleading look. They had a celebratory meal, because what else are you supposed to expect from an Akimichi? And then they returned home, managing to make it inside before the snow started falling even more heavily.
Lee and Temari were already parents – not together of course, as funny as the thought sounded. So were Gaara and Darami. Hinata was due in little less than two months, with Naruto going crazy with anticipation – never before had they seen anyone nesting so badly, but they all understood that he only wanted to give his child everything he'd never had and always dreamed of. Sakura was traveling around with Sasuke, bearing his child. Now Karui and Chouji were expecting. And it wouldn't be long before Ino and Sai would give them similar news, they knew they'd been trying even before Sai had reaffirmed it a couple of hours ago.
'Cho' was underway and 'Ino' would be taken care of, sooner rather than later. But 'Shika'…well, it was a bit more difficult on that front.
Not that they'd ever figured it would be easy, but adoption was not a simplified process. Their case was also special as apparently there was no precedent in Konoha for same-gender couples adopting a child when neither of the two was said child's biological parent. Suna would've been easier in that regard, but what was done was done, they were home and there was no use regretting anything – not that they did.
And not that they were about to give up – certainly not. It was just…slightly discouraging to have all their friends nearly simultaneously becoming parents seemingly so easily while administrative red tape held them back.
But nothing worth having was so simply gained, was it?
Dinner at Hana and Aoba's had always been a somewhat regular occurrence, even before they'd moved to Suna. But since their return, and their acquisition of the Nara house, the roles of hosts and guests were regularly reversed. What remained rare was seeing the two without Kao.
"Where's Kao?" Kiba wondered as he couldn't even smell her or Aomaru around – but little Shisen was peacefully playing with his mother's hair.
"With Genma and Raido," Aoba replied as he stretched his arms over his head as though to express his freedom for the evening.
"Seriously? Those two are your back-up babysitters?" Shikamaru wondered in amusement with a raised eyebrow, getting a funny mental image of the duo running after the Inuzuka offspring and her nin-dog.
Hana laughed at this, waving a hand about to reassure him. "Genma's good with dogs and Raido's good with kids – they're the perfect combo!" she assured him easily.
"Sure, if you say so…"
"I say so," she confirmed smugly as she dropped down on the couch with Shisen in her lap.
The other three exchanged glances but eventually moved after her. Small talk, dinner, and then more small talk followed as usual, with the conversation lulling slightly when they got to talking about all their friends becoming parents.
"Look, we sort of had ulterior motives leaving Kao behind tonight," Hana started quietly, expression serious. "The thing is, if all that administrative hassle hasn't discouraged you and you're still serious about having a kid, Aoba and I have discussed it and there's an alternative we'd like to offer you."
"You'll lend us Kao?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow. "Shisen, maybe?"
Aoba chuckled at this before shaking his head. "Oh, anytime, you know that! But we were thinking something more…permanent – so not with Kao or Shisen, obviously," he informed them.
Hana nodded as she spoke once more. "I didn't have any issues during my pregnancies – in fact, I felt great, both times! So what we're saying is that if you're up to it, then we'd be willing for me to have a child for the two of you – with you, Shikamaru," she finally told them.
In any other circumstances, she'd have been proud and amused to have found a way to shock them both into silence like that.
From their side, the nin-dogs had raised their heads to look at them all expectantly.
"Not that you'd sleep with her," Aoba specified despite himself, just to clear that up.
"Oh, no – definitely not! You'd do your thing and I'd do mine!" Hana agreed with a chuckle before looking at her brother whose eyes were wide as he still hadn't uttered a word. "Kiba, I know that biologically it would make you the uncle, but I promise you that I will be the aunt – and that way, you can have a child who'll take after the both of you!"
"Plus, as we understand it, then it wouldn't be overly complicated for you to adopt Shikamaru's child, since you're married," Aoba added, holding up a finger.
Shikamaru frowned as he looked at them in turn, barely able to register what they were saying, in effect. "But you'd…really be okay with that, Aoba?" he asked the other man levelly.
"You wouldn't sleep with her," the sensor repeated with a nod. "And we've discussed this together. We're family, and family helps each other out, right? If our roles were reversed I have no doubt that you'd offer to do the same," he said honestly.
Kiba seemed to finally snap out of his thoughts at that, reaching for his sister's hands. "Hana…are you sure? I mean—really really sure?"
"I know what I'm offering, Kiba, and I'm not offering it lightly," she assured him as she held his look. "And it's not like I'd never see the kid again, right? Of course it won't be easy. Sometimes it might feel impossible, and impossibly hard. Now whether that's worth it, well that's up to you to decide, because if we commit, it's all four of us, all the way," she finished resolutely.
"What about Kao?" Shikamaru wondered with a frown. "Haven't you been training her and Aomaru?"
"Nothing too difficult yet," Hana replied with a shake of her head. "She's still learning the basics at the academy, and it'll be at least another year until Aomaru is strong enough to really start our clan training. Until then they won't be doing anything that I can't direct without demonstrating, so now would actually be a good time," she explained. "If really necessary, you could teach her for a while, Kiba."
"And Shisen? He's still young enough that he keeps you really busy," Kiba asked them worriedly, eying his nephew who clearly had no notion of how serious the conversation going on around him really was.
"Compared to Kao he's a dream – and besides, it really is a lot easier the second time around!" Aoba noted with a shrug. "We're not expecting an answer right this instant," he then tempered. "Think about it, talk about it, and then let us know."
They nodded back, and after that it wasn't long before the Inuzuka couple left. Yet silence remained for a while longer even after the door was closed behind them. Akamaru walked from one to the other, rubbing his head encouragingly along their backs.
"I want to do it," Kiba blurted out once he was done thinking.
Shikamaru looked up at him at this, frowning slightly. "Are you sure you won't mind?"
"Mind what?" Kiba wondered with a confused frown.
"That I'm the father…that you're the uncle…" Shikamaru replied with a shrug.
The tracker hummed in thoughts at this, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well…there might be days when I feel left out, I suppose…but think about it: a child we can both be related to – how amazing would that be?"
"Sounds a bit too good to be true," Shikamaru admitted with a chuckle. "What if for whatever reason it sours our relationship with Hana and Aoba? I don't want you to lose your family – I don't want to lose them either, for that matter, they're my family too by now…" he admitted.
Kiba sighed heavily at this, running a hand through his hair to mess it up, before shaking his head helplessly. "If anything could cut the ties between us so easily, they wouldn't have offered to do this – at least that's the way I see it," he said earnestly before stepping closer and reaching for his hands. "We don't have to decide right now. Let's give it some time to think it over properly – the way you like to do it, right?" he offered with a small grin.
Shikamaru chuckled and leaned in to kiss him at this. It sounded too good to be true, he believed that. Too perfect, too easy, too obvious. Did things ever really happen like that?
Then again, Kiba had made him feel like that before, so it wasn't entirely out of the question, he just wondered if it could happen more than once in a lifetime.
But if so…then only an idiot would complain about it, right?
And he liked to think that he wasn't an idiot, and neither was Kiba.
TBC
When I decided I wanted to write about them all having kids, and started actually writing about it, I realized that since they all had kids the same age, then I was going to find myself in a situation where most of the girls were pregnant at the same time! I didn't think it'd be that interesting writing about it all in details, thus this chapter might've come across as a bit fast-paced in its overview, but then again...now you can guess which pregnancy might actually be the most important one, no? :)
Was this always my endgame? Yes, right from the start. The next chapter should be the last, and then we'll have (likely) three epilogue chapters.
And about Lee...I'm purposefully not giving any details on who the mother of his kid might be - I think it's more fun like that: how progressive indeed! :)