Chapter 43
ANBU surrounded them, all weapons drawn. Naruto didn't like this, but he wasn't leaving without Kakashi sensei. If they had to fight they would. Grandma Tsunade's scowl deepened, while the Pervy Sage laughed sheepishly.
"C'mon, we're just here to pick up our favourite Omega!" Pervy Sage said cheerily. "We've missed him."
"Not that it matters to me." An unfamiliar voice said, walking through the ANBU who opened up a space in the circle for him. The man was dressed in expensive robes, and stank of smugness like so many nobles Naruto had seen. It made his nose wrinkle. The guy wore some fancy blue mask, and it was so annoying! "Kakashi Hatake is my mate now, and the mother of my child. I'm keeping them both here where it is safe."
"You kidnapped him during an invasion," Grandma Tsunade growled. "That invasion has been dealt with, so you can return him to us and we'll take him home without any fuss."
"Dealt with?" The masked guy chuckled. "Really? Isn't the man who orchestrated the entire plan still running lose? And is still after your youngest Uchiha? I don't see that as dealt with."
"Maybe not to you, but we already took care of that problem. Orochimaru won't be able to do anything to harm anyone for a long time," Grandma Tsunade insisted.
"Yeah, we kicked his ass!" Naruto snapped. "So give me my sensei back!"
"As if you did anything to help," the masked man mocked. "A little kid like you? What could you possibly do but get in the way?"
Naruto bristled. "I helped a lot!"
"Easy, Naruto," Jiraiya hushed. "He's just trying to rile you up-"
"And shouldn't you be writing some crappy book somewhere?" Masked guy asked dryly.
"MY BOOKS AREN'T CRAPPY!" Jiraiya yelled.
"He's just trying to rile you up," Tsunade reminded.
"And of course you should be letting someone bleed out somewhere."
"What did you just say?!" Naruto snarled, bring up his fists. "I'll show you-"
"No, Naruto!" Grandma Tsunade snapped, then turned to the masked guy. "And you seem to know an awful lot of things."
"That's easy information to discover," Masked guy said coldly. "Would you like me to tell you more interesting things?"
"Oh, I would love to know!" An elderly man's voice cut in, and they all froze. It sounded soft, the words carefully pronounced.
Naruto blinked. Where did the old man come from? And why was Shizune holding his arm, looking absolutely horrified, while Pakkun laughed at her feet.
"K-Kakashi?" Masked guy choked.
The elderly man wobbled, his hand shaking on his walking stick, and he laughed softly. It looked like a stiff wind could glow him over if he wasn't clutching Shizune's arm so tightly with his other arm.
The old man smiled warmly. "Yes, my favourite food is dango with tomato sauce, and strawberry ice cream. I am ninety-seven years old, and have travelled many places. I would also love a freshly brewed cup of tea."
"HOW THE HELL IS THAT KAKASHI SENSEI?!" Naruto yelled.
What the hell was wrong with this guy? This old grandpa was no way in hell Kakashi sensei. Shizune was obviously confused too, but why was she helping the old guy out? Was he in danger or something?
"He's still able to change himself into any disguise without a henge?" Jiraiya blinked.
"Shizune, why did you bring him here?" Tsunade bristled.
"He refused to leave the other way!" Shizune whined.
"Because I don't appreciate being kidnapped." The old man's voice was smooth and lazy, instead of soft and shaky. Naruto froze. That sounded exactly like Kakashi sensei's voice-
HOW THE HELL WAS THAT POSSIBLE?!
"KAKASHI SENSEI?!" Naruto choked.
"Hi." Kakashi waved, then he turned to the masked guy. "I'm leaving, by the way. Thanks for the nice room service, but I want to go home now."
"I could just have you locked up in your room again." Masked guy gestured to the ANBU. "While they distract your friends."
"You could," Kakashi said, still cheerful. "But the problem with that is I'm a bit of a worry wart. I'll absolutely panic over them being attacked by all these ANBU and wonder if they're dead or not, and completely and utterly blame myself for the attack. That would definitely put a lot of stress on me and the baby when you could have just let me go home and carry on the rest of my pregnancy there."
Naruto blanked.
Masked guy groaned. "Bloody hell."
Kakashi sensei laughed sheepishly. "A bit of a dilemma, huh?"
"You're ruthless," Pervy Sage muttered.
"How could you say all that while sounding so cheerful?" Shizune squealed.
Masked guy sighed. HA! He couldn't beat Kakashi sensei that easily. No way. Kakashi always had a plan hidden up his sleeve, and apparently this time it was to blackmail the masked guy using his health and the baby's. Naruto grinned. Now they were finally going to get Kakashi sensei home!
Team 7 would finally be back together again.
"I see," Masked guy chuckled. "How irritating, Kakashi Hatake. I suppose it wouldn't matter even despite all that, considering you had already came up with a new plan to escape your room." Masked guy sighed. "Fine then." He disappeared, then reappeared right next to Kakashi sensei, leaning in close.
Kakashi put up a hand, gesturing them all to stay back while Masked Guy muttered something in Kakashi's ear. Kakashi softened, glanced down at his stomach, then frowned back up at the masked guy who finally pulled back.
"You will all leave quietly," Masked guy said sharply to the rest of them. "And if you endanger Kakashi during your trip back to Konoha I will personally deal with you."
"Thanks, Mr. Kidnapper," Kakashi said cheerfully.
"Stay safe, Kakashi. Otherwise I'll be back for you again."
Kakashi chuckled. "Such a worry wart."
"Disperse." Masked guy gestured to the ANBU, and altogether they left. Naruto cried out happily and rushed to Kakashi's side, hugging him, but paused when something moved in his stomach, then kicked.
"Whoa!" Naruto startled. "Your stomach's moving."
"That's the baby kicking." Kakashi smiled. "And for once its not my bladder."
Jiraiya frowned, staring at Kakashi. "What did he say to you, Kakashi?"
Kakashi softened. "I haven't had much to do during my stay here, apart from plotting my escape attempts, so I wrote down names I like for the kid." Kakashi's smile grew warmer. "He finally told me his favourite. Which, ironically, is my favourite too."
Naruto paused. "Wait, he was actually treating you nicely?"
"Yeah."
Naruto grinned. "I'm glad. Otherwise I'd have to kick his ass!"
Kakashi ruffled his hair. "It might take a few more years, but maybe you will then."
"Kakashi!" Tsunade marched to his side, her hands glowing with chakra. "Let me see you and the baby."
"Sure." Kakashi shrugged, and let her examine away. It sent a shiver through him, her chakra pouring into him, and Naruto made a confused noise as the baby kicked again.
"I have to admit," Grandma Tsunade murmured. "I'm surprised to see you pregnant, since your mate..." She eyed Naruto, who frowned.
"Kakashi sensei has met his mate?" Naruto blinked. He had assumed they hadn't met yet, it wasn't unusual, Iruka sensei hadn't met his either. "So where are they? I thought they'd come help you fight off this masked creep!"
Kakashi sighed, lowering his head. "My mate died a long time ago, Naruto."
Naruto froze. Kakashi sensei's mate was dead? No way, that can't be true. Kakashi couldn't be alone-
No. Not alone. He had Team 7. Naruto was right here. Sakura and Sasuke were waiting in Konoha too! Kakashi sensei's crazy dogs were here too and Guy sensei was waiting back in Konoha with Izumi. Kakashi sensei wasn't alone. Naruto latched on to Kakashi sensei again, hugging him tight.
"Well I'm here for you. Me, Sakura, Sasuke, we're all with you." Naruto clutched him tighter. "I'll make sure the baby gets plenty of ramen and Sakura can teach them girly stuff if they're a girl and Sasuke will hopefully stop brooding so much."
Kakashi sensei sweat dropped. "My baby can't survive off ramen, Naruto, but thanks anyway."
Naruto grinned. "We're gonna be such an awesome pack!"
Kakashi ruffled his hair again. "Maybe one day, but first." Kakashi poked his nose. "Let's go home, Naruto."
"Yeah, we might want to stop somewhere so you can get all that make up off," Pakkun said.
"That would be nice," Kakashi chuckled.
"So..." Naruto stared up at Kakashi sensei's face, amazed. "I've finally gotten to see your face then?"
"Pfft," Kakashi cackled. "Nope."
"What does that mean? You're showing me your face right now!"
"Smothered in so much make up that I look like I'm in my nineties. The wrinkles aren't real, Naruto. And I look nothing like this on a normal day."
Naruto groaned.
.::.
This was so bloody annoying. Obito hadn't wanted to let him go. He wouldn't have either, if Kakashi hadn't been in the middle of his potential fight with the Sannin. But trying to keep Kakashi prisoner was (borrowing a page from the Nara Clan) troublesome. The little shit still had escape attempts plotted away despite his sealed chakra, locked in a suite and guarded by what was supposed to be the best set of guards in the Land of Water.
Best guards his ass.
Well, it didn't matter now. He'd keep an eye on Kakashi as he always did, and if he was endanger again he'd be right back where he belonged.
Obito would keep him and their child alive until the dream world was ready.
That was a promise.
.::.
Shikaku wanted to bang his head off the desk repeatedly. The amount of bastards who had been squabbling over the open seats on the council were doing his head in considering half of Konoha still hadn't even been rebuilt yet. Shikamaru warily poured tea, for both Shikaku and Lady Tsunade who now sat on the Hokage's chair.
Thank goodness for that. Shikaku wanted to boot that thing out of the window.
"I'm really glad you're back, Lady Tsunade," Shikaku grumbled.
"You look ready to commit murder." Tsunade winced, then eyed Shikamaru. "So, this is your pup?"
Shikaku glowered. He knew she was trying to distract him with his son, but Shikaku had to admit, it was working. Shikamaru was his pup after all, and as lazy as Shikamaru was he was proud of his pup. Shikamaru was an amazing kid.
"Yeah." Shikaku ruffled Shikamaru's hair, earning a half hearted complaint. "This is Shikamaru."
"An Omega pup too. How unusual for a Nara. You mainly seem to be Alphas or Betas, but now there's the both of you," Tsunade mused.
"It's such a drag," Shikamaru complained. "Especially since my mate is outside of Konoha."
Shikaku watched Tsunade's reaction carefully. It was a mix of a painful wince and anger that flickered in her eyes, making her hands clench into fists. Good, hopefully, because he would not hesitate to let another Hokage get assassinated if it meant protecting Shikamaru from that damn breeding cave.
"That's one thing I'm getting ready to put a stop to, kid." Tsunade's face hardened. "Those damn caves. The breeding grounds are a damn joke! And all these Omegas that have been forced into pregnancy like Kakashi-" She growled. "The contraception pills are being looked at, because according to his files he was on them-"
"Yeah," Shikaku grunted, petting Shikamaru's hair, trying to sooth his Omega who whined within him. "About those, the council made the Omegas from ninja clans fake contraceptives-"
Tsunade stilled. "What?"
Shikamaru blinked slowly at that and tilted his head.
"I looked into it after I noticed an oddity in some pregnancies through Omega clan ninjas. A lot of them complained about having been on the contraception pills, but still ended up pregnant." He didn't include himself. No, at least not in front of Shikamaru. He didn't want his son to feel like he was unwanted. That was cruel.
"Damn them!" Tsunade snarled, slamming her fist off the table, smashing it to pieces. Shikaku barely saved their teas, and Shikamaru actually flinched against him. His Omega purred inside him, and he couldn't help but wrap an arm around his son's shoulders, hugging him close. "I swear if those old bastards had survived Orochimaru's attack I would be wringing their necks right now."
"Lady Tsunade-" Shizune whined.
"But I guess that's impossible now," Tsunade growled. "My grandfather would weep if he had been around to hear this. You better write me up a report about all this, including who else knows about the fake pills. Meanwhile I'm going to sort out the hospital. Those damn examination rooms have straps in the pregnancy wards and I'm going to fix that."
Shikaku sweat dropped. The hospital was going to be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up if Tsunade had her way.
"But before that we better get to the hospital," Shizune said softly. "Might Guy's student is still suffering from the poison effects despite being given the antidote."
"It sounds like he might have had a bad reaction to the antidote then," Tsunade mused.
"You also told Kakashi to meet you there for a mandatory appointment to see how his pregnancy has been developing," Shizune reminded. "There was something about you 'taking over' the examinations."
"Ah, yeah, then lets go." Tsunade stood up. "I've got a lot to do."
"And I can finally go for a nap," Shikaku said, stretching out his legs. "C'mon, Shikamaru. Let's go home and get some sleep."
They could nap together until his wife woke them up.
Shikamaru nodded, smothering a yawn. "Sounds good."
.::.
Kakashi sat on the edge of Lee's bed. Guy was sobbing, happy sobs, which was a good sign, but Lee looked exhausted, which was very unusual for him, he coughed roughly into his hand, shaking. Tenten neatened up the flowers she brought on the bedside table, while Neji scowled, handing Lee some water once his coughs settled.
"He's going to be fine, Guy sensei!" Neji scolded. "So stop crying and let him sleep!"
"I'M SO HAPPY!"
Lee smiled weakly.
"So what happened exactly?" Kakashi frowned. "Gaara gave you the antidote, but you got worse while I was away?"
"Yeah, he began to get better, but then grew worse off as the days went by," Tenten grumbled, crossing her arms. "Lady Tsunade said the poison managed to linger in his organs and it began to spread to his muscles to tear them apart again."
"The poison had spread too much, so when Gaara gave him the antidote it treated the main body of it," Neji said, sighing. "But it didn't treat all of the poison, which is why he got worse again."
"It explains all the pain..." Lee mumbled, burying his head in the pillows.
"So Lady Tsunade is putting him through multiple operations to remove the poison from his organs, one by one, then his muscles," Tenten explained. "But it'll take time. How about you, Kakashi sensei? You were unharmed even after your kidnapping? You and the baby?"
"We're fine. Lady Tsunade's had a long examination and caught up on all my files. She's satisfied, so I'm not being held captive in hospital anymore."
"KAKASHI SENSEI!"
Kakashi sighed. "There's the screeching goblin again."
"The medics are going to kill him." Tenten winced.
"Might shut him up for once," Neji grumbled.
Naruto slammed the door open, grinning. "Finally found you! C'mon, we want to treat you to lunch."
"We?" Kakashi blinked.
"Me, Sakura and Sasuke. I told them I got you back home safe and sound since you haven't seen them yet. They don't believe me."
"Technically it was a team effort. Lady Tsunade and Master Jiraiya did help too, as did Shizune and Pakkun," Kakashi reminded. "I also escaped and made it easier on them."
"Nah, I saved you. C'mon!" Naruto rushed forward and grabbed his wrist. "Let's go!"
"As hyper as ever," Kakashi groaned. "Get better soon, Lee."
"Yeah, Bushy brow!" Naruto cheered. "Feel better soon!"
"Enjoy your lunch, Kakashi sensei." Tenten waved.
"E-Enjoy your youthful meal!" Guy hiccupped.