Chapter 72

Anko Interlude

Yuki Haku was… not traditional shinobi material.

He could fight just fine, academically speaking he was already Tokubetsu level in taijutsu and that didn't include his ninjutsu and genjutsu abilities. No, what she meant was that he simply was not mentally strong enough to survive in their world for long. Not without cracking.

Oh he tried. There was no denying it that he tried to be a good soldier but it was clearly killing him inside to learn about the interrogation techniques as well as more ways to kill someone. What the hell had Zabuza been thinking? Picking up a stray was not that uncommon, but one that would be so clearly broken by their occupation?

The purple haired Jounin sighed and bit down on another Dango while she contemplated how to proceed with her newest chick. Haku was clearly talented and that ice release was terrifying once unleashed but still there was no reason in sending the boy on missions and into combat only to have him crack a few years later. Kiri may work like that but Konoha didn't.

Sighing again she let her eyes wander to the window below her a group of Academy students passed by, classes had to be over then. That reminded her that she still had to pick up those self study materials Konoha provided for shinobi that joined the village later in life.

Hhm.

Didn't Iruka complain about the fact that they had so few shinobi who were actually genuinely interested in teaching? Anko didn't know how Haku was with kids but it couldn't hurt to grab a D-rank that would get her brats in contact with the younger academy classes and let the ice user think about that possibility. Anko knew that Tsukiko had a bit of experience with younger kids after growing up in an orphanage so at least she would know what to do. Sai would hopefully benefit from that experience too, though he sure as hell wasn't cut out for teaching as far as she was aware. Still, it would do him some good to observe how children at that age acted. His infiltration disguises could use some more fleshing out.

…

Then Anko slumped over the table and groaned out loud. She had totally forgotten that the Danzo fiasco had increased the demands on the shinobi that wanted to teach. Not only did they need to shadow an actual sensei for at least a year but one crucial requirement to get into the program was four years of shinobi service. Not to mention the annual psychological exams and further education on shinobi child rearing they were now put through…

What would she do with her little pretty boy for four years? Anko was known to be one of the most volatile T&I specialists in Konoha and normally got missions corresponding to her personality. Sai and even Tsukiko would easily get used to those but Haku?

Damn and she already knew that she wouldn't let go of the boy, no matter how reluctant she had been only three days ago. The kid triggered every protective instinct that she possessed. Hell she hadn't even known that she had something like protective instincts until Haku came along and made her want to smother him in hugs and affection until he wasn't so sad anymore.

So what were her other options?

With a sigh Anko reached for Haku's profile and let her eyes fly over the information once more… and then there on the end, just hastily added in Inoichi's nearly illegible chicken scratch stood something useful.

Rudimental healing knowledge…

Hhm.

Well medics were always needed and they didn't HAVE to leave the village if they didn't want to, the Konoha Hospital was understaffed on a good day. And hadn't Kakashi mentioned something in passing about his pink haired kunoichi?

That… could actually work…

Shiori Interlude

Shiori had a hard time suppressing her giggles while Kakashi kissed alongside her neckline and gave her playful bites now and then.

"Ka… Kakashi! Not that I don't appreciate the atten… ah… attention but…"

Shiori couldn't finish the sentence because suddenly her husband's mouth was placed on hers and he gently nibbled on her lower lip. Kakashi had ambushed her while she was preparing some Bento boxes for him and his students should they grow hungry while she was at Mariko's. With an exasperated sigh she finally gave up on discouraging Kakashi's attention, relaxed against the kitchen counter and even tilted her head to give him easier access. She didn't actually want him to stop to anyway.

A pleased rumble escaped Kakashi while he encircled her tighter with his arms and lifted her up so that she sat on the counter for better access, legs bracketing his trim waist.

A strange noise from somewhere behind Kakashi let Shiori look up. She just caught a glimpse of three horrified looking Genin that were hastily leaving with a confused Hinako in tow.

There was a moment of pause while she processed what had just happened before she burst into giggles and buried her face in Kakashi's neck.

"I think we just got caught making out like teenagers by your Genin Team…"

"Ugh," Was Kakashi's only reply but the annoyed noise was negated by the fact that Shiori could feel him smirk against her neck, "Looks like it."

"You are enjoying that!"

"Maybe a little bit… my poor kids, walking in on their sensei making out. They will be traumatized for life." Kakashi lamented, though he certainly didn't sound sorry.

Shiori burst into another fit of giggles, "Do you think they will be able to look us in the eyes later on."

Kakashi just smirked at her sadistically "Depending on how bashful they react I will tease them with this incident for the next few weeks… anyway I probably should check up on them."

Shiori's shoulders shook in silent laugher while she returned to what she was doing before she had been ambushed by her husband, poor Team Seven.

Kakashi Interlude

"Why did we leave, I thought we were getting snacks?" Hina-chan asked confused from her perch on the garden table.

"Well…" Naruto hummed while he scratched the back of his head embarrassed and his cheeks turned red.

"Yes, why did you leave?" Kakashi couldn't help but repeat amused.

"Kakashi-sensei!" came the squeaky shouts from Naruto and Sakura.

Sasuke just hovered at the edge of the table and stared into the bushes, his cheeks were slightly pink and he had a vaguely disturbed expression on his face. Aw their reactions just made him want to orchestrate more of such situations! Their embarrassment was so cute!

"Ahahaha… well ugh, we didn't… I mean…" Naruto tried to explain.

Kakashi couldn't help himself, he chuckled and then plugged Hinako off the table.

"What those three mean is that they saw me and your mother kiss and they didn't want to disturb us."

"But why? You kiss all the time. Mummy said that you do that because you love each other." Hinako asked confused.

"That's right Hinako-chan but this kind of affection sometimes makes people uncomfortable. Look how red my cute little students are? They are embarrassed." Kakashi explained before he sent his Team a teasing glance.

"Sensei," Naruto whined, "Stop talking, please!"

"Aww…" Kakashi replied before chuckling once more and moving Hinako to his hip "You wanted to get some snacks?"

Hinako's eyes lit up at that and she nodded with a bright smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That night when they had finished with eating Kakashi cleared his throat, "So… Shiori and I have to tell you something."

All four of the children in the room looked up with various expressions of interest. Hina-chan broke into a happy smile; she of course already knew what he was going to say. They had taken her aside the day after his return to explain to her that she would be a big sister in a few months. Kakashi was relieved that it didn't elicited a temper tantrum or feelings of insecurity as that child rearing book had warned him about. He just knew that she would be a great older sister.

"We are having another baby." He finally said after a moment of dragging out the anticipation.

The three teenagers' eyes popped out of their sockets before their heads whipped around and they stared at Shiori.

Naruto went beat red before he stuttered out, "C-congratulations!"

"Thanks, Naruto-kun." Shiori beamed in reply.

She looked radiant and clearly dazzled his blonde student with the smile she gave him. Poor kid, hormones were going to suck for Naruto if a smile alone could get him that red in the face.

"Yes congratulations Shiori-san!" Sakura gushed with big eyes and a smile, "How far are you along?"

Sasuke just hummed in agreement, looking curious himself.

"About a month and a half."

"Oh… isn't that a bit early to announce?" Sakura asked with worry in her voice.

"You are not wrong Sakura-chan but we decided to tell you now and warn you about Kakashi's increase protective instincts." Shiori explained.

At that all three Genin looked wide eyed at him. Inwardly Kakashi sighed happily, his brats were really cute when they had this blindsided, unsure expression on their faces. It just made him want to tease them even more… forcefully Kakashi called himself to order, this was important.

"My clan has been summoning dogs for generations now and there are certain… aspects of my bloodline that can be dangerous if triggered."

All three of them looked worried, though Sakura had also a fascinated look on her face.

"So what do you mean by your protective instincts? Are you going to be territorial? Should we meet on the normal training grounds while Shiori-san is pregnant?" the pinkette asked and was just taking in some air to continue her barrage of questions when Kakashi stopped her with a short chuckle.

The silver haired Jounin then smiled wryly while he answered her, "I can't actually tell you how I will react to you guys. We will have to wait and see but I don't think that it will be a problem. You are young enough that you register as pups to my instincts. This is just to give you heads up should my behavior change."

"When I was pregnant with Hinako-chan your sensei was very possessive and overprotective. Even his friends had to watch themselves around me." Shiori explained while she poured herself another glass of cold ginger tea.

He had already noticed that her stomach was a lot more sensitive than the last time she was pregnant.

His Genin team nodded thoughtfully, for a few moments nobody said anything before Sakura turned her head to Shiori.

"What are you hoping for Shiori-san? A boy or a girl."

Shiori laughed at that "I don't actually care, just as long as they are healthy."

"Ah." Sasuke said with a nod and an understanding expression on his face.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked confused.

His black haired brat swallowed before he sigh and said, "Having Clan children is different. It's a lot more dangerous for both mother and child."

Naruto stopped eating at that and looked worried at Shiori, "Is Sasuke right?"

Hinako too looked at her mother but more confused than actually worried.

Kakashi sighed inwardly; better to get the explanation for that out of the way but before he could say anything Shiori took over.

"Clan children have bigger chakra reserves than civilian born ones and they take that chakra from the mother which leads to them having chakra exhaustion. For a civilian like me it is even worse. I have never trained my chakra coils in my youth and need special chakra supplements to keep up with the demand of my child. If the baby doesn't get enough chakra during the pregnancy it will hurt its development and can lead to its death." Shiori explained seriously.

All three Genin looked stunned at the news but while Sakura and Naruto simply were horrified of the prospect that there was such a big risk for both her and their child, Sasuke was more confused.

"Chakra pills? And that helps? I only know that my cousins were discouraged from marrying civilians because the babies were either stillborns or killed their mothers most of the time."

"Yes. The pills were only discovered for prenatal care in the last ten years or so and are only becoming popular now that they have been adapted for expecting mothers specifically." Shiori explained.

"I had no idea that having shinobi children was this dangerous." Sakura muttered out concerned.

"Every pregnancy has its risk Sakura-chan. But you shouldn't worry; Konoha has some of the finest medics in the world. I'm in good hands."

All three nodded at that but still sent worried glances now and then at Shiori. Well that could have gone better.

Omake: Team Anko meets Team 7 – it won't happen like that in the story

Kakashi Interlude

The training had been going for about an hour now.

Haku and Sai clearly were the most experienced fighters of their group of six but the other three Genin kept up admirably. It also gave Kakashi a fresh perspective of his kids' skills. Beside him Anko nodded in approval at the last combo attack between Tsukiko and Sakura. Their teams seemed to get along alright.

Or it seemed that way until in a moment between the individual fights they were now having Sai walked over to where Team Seven had sprawled out on the grass surrounding Shiori.

"I have read that nicknames are a sign of affection between friends and acquaintances, so I decided to give each one of you one… Dickless, Ice Princess and Ugly." Sai said with a well practiced smile.

All three of his brats froze up in disbelief and Kakashi had to use all of his ANBU training to not burst into laughter. God, Anko's Root brat was hilarious.

Then Sai turned to Shiori and was about to open his mouth when a panicked looking Anko materialized right beside him laughing desperately and clamped her hand above his mouth.

"Don't you dare insult Shiori; Kakashi would make mince meat out of you and after that probably me!" Anko hissed while she dragged the oblivious teenager away from the pregnant woman.

Shiori hid her giggle behind her hand while she watched the ongoing standoff between Team Anko and Team Kakashi with amusement; she was clearly entertained by the whole situation.

So Kakashi relaxed against his tree and simply watched. Anko was right, he would have cut the idiot down former Root or not if he had insulted Shiori. The boy should have long since learned about self-preservation and insulting his pregnant wife was definitely not beneficial for Sai's continued health.