Chapter 99: Engraved Invitation
"Shikaku?" The old man questioned the last of the assembled jōnin.
"Ugh. Those civilian kids are... extremely troublesome, but they have some semblance of teamwork. I can't fail the three with my conscience clear. So yeah, they pass as well." the disgruntled man with two scars on the right side of his face reluctantly nodded his head.
"Ha! Hahaha!" Hokage laughed out hoarsely, Twenty-seven out of twenty-seven, if she was here, I would kiss Kana-chan - her plan worked, haha *cough-cough*. It's the first time in history I have more than ten teams on active duty. Maybe now I can empty out my cabinets from all these D-rank missions!" Hiruzen rumbled.
"Or keeping all those teams' documents will give you even more work, old man." Asuma smiled at him.
"Not now, Asuma-kun. Let Hokage-sama dream about his perfect life." Kurenai admonished him.
"Hmph, nothing either of you says will spoil my mood today. Nine new teams in a single year, Konoha will be rich, hahaha!"
"Hey, Jiji, everyone." Kaname's head upside-down popped from the top of the office's window, "It's time for the game to start. I'm four months pregnant."
"Ugh, and the moment passed..." Hokage grumbled.
-----
[Next day's morning]
"Hokage-Jiji! Give us a mission! Team Six is ready for everything!" a bubbling with happiness blonde laughed out.
"Good morning, Naruto, Team Six." the old man put his trusted pipe on his desk.
"I can't wait, what will we have to do? Save a princess of a different country? No, destroy a bandit camp? Or maybe, destroy a bandit camp to save a princess?" Naruto's happiness was infectious for the Hokage as his wrinkled face smiled at the boy.
"Hokage-sama. Is the beast on the loose again? I believe Team Six would be happy to hunt it down."
"Hmm, hunting down a beast for the first mission. Not bad." Sasuke nodded.
"Yes, Kakashi, ANBU reported that Tora-chan has 'run away' once again from the ever-watchful gaze of Madam Shijimi. Are you sure your team wants this mission? It's not easy for new teams."
"We will accomplish the duty, Hokage-sama." jōnin bowed his head.
-----
"Hehehe, you like it here, Hami-chan?" Kaname scratched the enormous dog under her chin, making the border collie's back paw twitch uncontrollably in gratitude, "Cute..."
"I like Hami-chan as well, and I'm not saying she isn't acting like it, but how could you call a horse-sized wolf cute?" Utakata deadpanned walking out of the bathroom.
"Go get him, girl!" she laughed out, pointing at her boyfriend, "Show him who is the cutest dog!"
*Woof!*
Utakata heard a glass-shattering bark had a touch of amusement in it. He took a step back as the floor trembled beneath Hamimaru's paws, "No-no, wait!" he put his hands in front of his face just a moment before a small hill of meat and fur jumped on him.
The duo fell on the floor with a loud *thud* and Kaname's laughter on the side. Hamimaru started to lick all over Utakata's face, "St-stop it! Hahaha, stop it, Hamimaru!" the man laughed, trying to protect his face from the overzealous dog's tongue.
"Okay, I'm sorry, Hamimaru, yes, yes - you are cute." his admission stopped the attack.
"*Woof*!" the dog barked, her white tail happily waving behind the back.
Crawling from under the lush white-black fur, Utakata wiped the spit with his palm, "Ugh... Problematic females."
"Hahaha-" Kaname's laugh was stopped when a brown cat jumped on her lap, "Oof... Tora-chan? What are you doing here?"
"*Nyaa~*" the overweight cat meowed, fawning over Kaname's belly by brushing its body around it. The noticeable flick of the tail, Kaname translated as demand for Tora's cuddle-time was followed by the cat rolling back on its back and revealing the underbelly.
Shrugging her arms, Kaname slowly scratched the cat, making it purr under her hand. Within just a moment, Hamimaru put it's snout on Kaname's shoulder and whined, looking at the brown cat on her human's lap.
"Hehe, are you jealous?" the woman chuckled, stopping cuddling the cat and prickling the border collie under her jaw.
Tora hissed, hooking on and pulling down the end of Kaname's shirt sleeve.
"*Growl*" the sudden end of a pleasurable scratching on her under the neck, made the ninken angry at the oversized cat.
"Utakata, is it just me, or the two are fighting over me?"
"Hahaha, you are an animal magnet, Kana-chan. You can't fight it."
Kaname snapped her fingers, pointing her free hand at Utakata, "That explains everything, you're the Snail Boy!"
"Pfft." Utakata snorted.
"Tora-chan is here!" Naruto shouted out, jumping into the room and charging towards Kaname. Six deep scratches adorned his face.
"Okay, stop right here." Utakata caught the blonde by his ankle before he headbutted into Kaname, "Why are you looking for the cat Naruto?"
"Ah, right, I'm sorry, Sis, Utakata! Hehe, I got enthusiastic about catching this stupid cat already ~dattebayo." The cat hissed at Naruto.
"Hello, Nee-san." Two black-haired teens entered the room - Sasuke had crisscross shaped gashes on his cheek, and Hinata shyly hid her hands behind her back.
"*Sigh* I see, a Tora mission?" Kaname questioned.
"Wait, Nee-san. You want to say this cat is constantly running away from the Daimyo's wife?" Sasuke mumbled.
"It's a she, Lil' Duckling. And saying that she is 'constantly running away' is a little too much. Madam Shijimi is a very wealthy noble with an unhealthy fixation on her Tora-chan. Jiji is just making sure Daimyo's wife stays in Konoha for a while longer and uses her bottomless purse in paying for genins' D-rank missions and keeping the Konoha's budget out of the red." Kaname explained, petting two glaring at each other animals.
"Ugh, I lost you at the bottomless purse, Sis. Whatever, you caught the stupid cat, can you hand it over ~ttebayo?"
"You three are doing it all wrong. You can't hunt Tora-chan down like some kind of animal - she will fight back. It's something that Koji-kun found out."
"Can you explain it to us, Nee-san?"
"Hina-chan, do you think Tora-chan is a normal cat? She is a freaking royalty among cats, even you, as a shinobi clan's princess, do not have the luxuries Tora-chan has. I'm sure your monthly food expenses cost less than Tora's simple dish. Haa..." Kaname stopped to take a long breath, "I heard that back in the Fire City, there is an entire palace wing waiting for her to come back to."
"Now that you said it, Nee-san..." the boy dressed in black clothing nodded his head in understanding.
"Yep, my team had a way of dealing with Tora-chan's missions... Prepare some milk and a large pillow - a red one would be best, it's the color Tora-chan is most comfortable with. She will come with you out of her own free will."
"Hehehe, Sis, can I throw Tora at Scarecrow-sensei's face ~ttebayo? We wanted a good first mission, and he has forced us on a cat hunt."
"Naruto-kun..." Hinata murmured.
"You should get used to it, Naru-chan." Kaname sighed, sounding fatigued, "You won't get any dangerous missions for at least four to five months."
"No way... What about kicking the asses of some bandits? You said it was your first mission Sis ~dattebayo!"
"That... were different and dangerous times, Naru-chan. I'm happy that now you have enough time to get used to working in a team."
"Ugh. It's going to be even harder to catch up with you. Ah!" Naruto shouted out, lifting his arms into the air, "It's not important. I can't just give up! Just you wait, Sis, someday I will be even stronger than ten of you!"
"Heh," Kaname smiled sincerely, "I... know... you will."
"Nee-san, are you okay? You sound ill." the girl asked worriedly.
Utakata clapped his hands loudly, "Okay, kids, Kana-chan is tired today. Take the cat away, and let her rest. Now, chop-chop."
Team six unwillingly left the house, especially Naruto had to be assured several times that Kaname is alright. After five minutes, they all left.
"*Sigh* I'm sorry," Kaname replied.
"You shouldn't be." Utakata sat next to her and lightly kissed her cheek, "The dizziness caught you again?"
"Yeah..." she leaned her head on his shoulder and gasped comfortably, "It hit me like a ton of bricks - I held back not to worry the kids, but I was this close to fainting."
"I see. Are you sure everything is alright, Kana-chan? I can call for Izumi-chan or maybe your mother."
"It's just the stress after keeping all my plans in motion. Don't bother my mom about it - I just need to rest. And Izumi-chan has a much more important job right now."
"If you say so. But I want you to do a thing for me, Kana-chan."
"Hmm~?"
"I know how much you do. I want you to delegate your jobs and let your mind and body rest - you have a sizeable group of friends that would help you without batting an eye. Sleep for now. I will call for Torune and Koji - the three of us will help you with the most stressful parts. I will arrange the rest of the helpers later."
"Oka~," Kaname's voice drifted off as she has fallen asleep cuddling Utakata's arm.
"Heh," Utakata chuckled, slowly taking Kaname in a princess hold and carrying her to the bedroom.
-----
"I'm sorry, can you repeat that, Uchiha-san?"
"Hmm? Ah, I'm sorry, Yakushi-san, I may have spoken a bit too fast. Kaname-sensei is pregnant - she is in her fourth month now." Izumi whispered to the ash-grey haired bespectacled teen in front of her, "But don't speak about it - it's a secret."
"And, pray tell, why did she not inform Konoha hospital administration about her pregnancy? Kaname-sensei missed several important checks and injections." Kabuto grunted out, turning his back on Izumi and walking towards the nurse's desk, hiding the slow movement of his hand towards the hidden kunai.
"Yeah, I said it to her as well, but you know how she is, Yakushi-san. No arguments will reach her once she settles on something - Kaname-sensei has the thickest skin of them all."
*Bump*
After reciting a word for word of Kabuto's bragging when he thought his team caught her teacher so many years ago, the spy tripped over his own feet. [UB chapter 68] Izumi was barely able to contain the laughter that almost slipped through her lips, "Oh my, are you okay, Yakushi-san?"
"Did- did she say it herself?" he turned his head, watching the kunoichi behind his arm with his narrowed onyx-eyes.
"Hmm? No? By that, I meant Kaname-sensei is completely sure of her own assumptions without consulting with anyone. Is anything wrong with what I have said? You know how she is." Izumi replied, lightly tipping her head to the side and completely ignoring the half-hidden bloodlust the teen in front of her released.
"... No, not at all, Uchiha-san. Can you ask Kaname-sensei to speak with the hospital administration to discuss all the aspects of her pregnancy? As it goes, they do not even know when do they need to prepare the medical staff."
"That won't be a problem, Yakushi-san. Kaname-sensei won't be here. You see, we're going to another country for safety reasons."
"You said she is in her fourth month?" Izumi nodded her head without commitment, "Hmm, from what I know, it's dangerous for a pregnant woman and her unborn baby to travel long distances. Can you tell me where?" he fished for information.
"Truly? I do not know myself. I heard something about Hot Water Country, but it seemed to be a bust."
"That's... problematic." the teen replied, fixing the position of his glasses with his middle finger.
"Yeah... I missed my onsen again." the girl replied glumly. [Tl: health resort/spa]
--------
"Hi, Kana-chan! I heard congratulations are in order?"
"Heh, thanks Jiraya-san."
"Sensei told me you need my help. I came as fast as possible."
"Yeah, thanks to your early info, we know that your late teammate-"
"Snake bastard." Jiraya interrupted her.
"-Will attack Konoha during the chūnin exams. I want to show you something." Kaname snorted, pulling out a kunai with a seal on its end from a hidden drawer.
"This is?" the white-haired sannin inquired.
"A gift from Orochimaru." Jiraya reflexively dropped the blade on the floor, "Hahaha, it's not poisoned, Jiraya-san, don't worry."
"Ugh, you never can be too sure with that bastard..."
"Yep. Now, I have a question for you. If Orochimaru could resurrect a corpse, who would he choose to destroy Konoha?"
------
"Itachi-kun, what are we doing here?" the two walked calmly with their arms intertwined.
"It's rare when I'm in Konoha, Izumi-chan. I want to visit my late best friend's grave," he replied, leading her to the graveyard's entrance.
"You mean Shisui-senpai? I know of him from Kaname-sensei's tales."
"Yes." Itachi nodded. Looking across the cemetery, he noticed at least three genin teams swiping through the leftover leaves across the graveyard. Observing the far off Shisui's resting place, Itachi saw two men tending over it.
"That's weird. Why are there so many teams in here?" Izumi questioned.
"Hmm. Let's go." Itachi murmured, walking further into the graveyard.
"Wait. Torune? Koji? What the heck are you doing here?" the girl noticed her teammates.
"Ugh, don't even ask, Izumi." the monkey-faced young man replied.
"We were asked by Utakata to help Sensei with her weekly chores around the Village. It's uncanny how much she did across the Konoha without anyone the wiser."
"And the kids?" she pointed at the genin teams.
"That was my idea, Izumi-chan." Koji replied, "We would stay here all-the-way to the evening before we swiped all these leaves off from here. I designed a new D-rank mission paid out of my own pocket, and Hokage approved it without any difficulty."
"Affirmative, Koji secured us a lot more time for different duties."
"I'm scared to even ask. What did Kaname-sensei do without us knowing?"
"Bring Yakiniku Q lunches to all of the Village gate guards." Koji listed out.
"Weed out the terrain next to the walls and inspect said Village's protection." the masked Aburame continued.
"Negotiate with some potential Konoha's clients. Most of the missions' details in this Village went through Sensei's fingers all along..."
"Koji, don't forget about the Academy. It's staggering how many documents she receives there daily."
"Ugh... Okay, stop it, you two!" Izumi massaged her temples, "You want to say Sensei does all of it all by herself monthly?"
"Pft, you wish, Izumi-chan." Koji snorted, "Most of it is her daily regime. I'm freaking exhausted, and it's just noon. I believe she abuses her shadow clones to do all of it and have enough time for training and research."
Itachi left the trio of teammates conversing with each other and walked towards the grave. The grey stone slab remained in perfect condition - it must have been recently polished as the granite gleamed, reflecting the late fall sunlight. In front of the stone slab, lied a piece of neatly folded paper. As Itachi reached out with his hand to pick it up, he heard a voice from behind him.
"It's an engraved invitation Sensei asked us to put here. Sensei said she promised to give it to Shisui-san a couple of years ago. [UB chapter 65]" Koji explained.
"Can I?" Itachi asked.
"Sure. It's funny in its own way." the young man with curly hair shrugged his shoulders.
Reading through the letter, Itachi burst out laughing, "Hahaha, I can't wait. I must be here to see their faces."
-----
"Yess~? What iss~ it, Kabuto-chan?"
"Orochimaru-sama, I received urgent information that is crucial for your plans. Kaname Uchiha is pregnant, and she won't be present in Konoha during the chūnin exams." he kneeled in front of the Snake Sannin.
"Fu-fufu-hahaha! Perfect! I will crussh~ Konoha - Kana-chan will losse~ her home and gain an enormouss~, glaring weakness~ at the ssame~ time."
"Orochimaru-sama, if I could, I wouldn't underestimate Kaname Uchiha, she is... very crafty."
"I know of that." he hissed at his underling, "The plan considerss~ Kana-chan pressent~ in Konoha, Kabuto-chan. Without her, Konoha stands no chance to survive the onslaught."
"Is our little world-hopping fool still in this lab, Orochimaru-sama?"
"Fufufu. Yess~, I gave him ssome~ half-dead tesst~ subjectss~ to play with. He iss~ of no concern to uss~, a usseful~ tool at mosst~."
"And his Rinnegan?" Kabuto inquired, intrigued about the most powerful bloodline in the world.
"Fufufu, all the preparations are made. Once he does his job, my seal will claim his eyes. I will need you to transplant them, Kabuto. With them, I will become immortal."
"But what about Akatsuki? They will look unfavorably at you if you take - Ugh!" Kabuto's body instantly got trapped by several thick white snakes. He felt his bones creaking under the pressure of the reptiles muscles.
"Don't ever quesstion~ my motivess~ again, Kabuto. The next time you will, I will end you."
"Of course..." Kabuto grunted, "That was not ever my intention, Orochimaru-sama."
"Good. Prepare your contactss~ in Sunagakure. I need to sspeak~ with Rasa in private." he released Kabuto from his summons.
"*Gasp* I will, Orochimaru-sama."
The two did not notice a small hairy black spider hiding in the deep shadow of the underground chamber. It's eight purple eyes were closely watching their little argument.
'Huhu, good. Everything is going according to canon from this side. I just have to steamroll this bitch with superior technology, and everything will be much easier to control from the shadows. How could those stupid sheep think they could control someone like me? The imbecile play always works on the bad guys. Huhu, and getting some p*ssy while waiting never hurt anybody.' His purple eyes smiled at the broken and rap*d women on his bed.
-----
[Two months later]
Utakata's bedding fluttered on the cold wind, "*Brr* What the?" the man woked up, seeing that Kaname wasn't at his side, he turned his head to open verandah doors. Fighting off the crippling cold of the Konoha's mild winter, he put on a warm robe and walked outside. There she sat, looking calmly on the bright moon, her belly the size of a watermelon, Kaname's breath was visibly condensing on a cold night.
Quickly pulling a blanket from the bedroom, Utakata covered her body, "Hi." she weakly smiled when he sat next to her, "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"
"What has happened, Kana-chan?"
"I couldn't sleep - it was just too hot inside. I thought of cooling down a bit." Kaname dropped her head.
"And the tear trail that froze on your cheek?" Utakata hugged her.
"Damn, I thought you wouldn't notice that."
"So what are you worried about, Kana-chan?"
"I had a nightmare and was debating if I'm- we're ready. I don't want to have a repeat of Naruto's birth."
"Kana-chan, you are not a jinchūriki." Kaname incredulously stared back at him, "Okay, you have something worse, but I believe you have a plan for that as well."
"Only partial one, if worst comes to worst, I will have to sacrifice my life to end it once and for all."
"Yeah, that's not happening." Utakata snorted, "You're stronger than that. Now, what are you worried about? Truly."
"Ugh... I-"
"Heh, you checked, didn't you? Now that's a cat out of the bag, tell me."
"You're not angry? We talked about not checking the baby's sex until birth."
"It was only a matter of time, Kana-chan. I knew you wouldn't be able to hold back your curiosity. So, how is she?" Utakata hugged the woman closer.
"How? I never said-"
"Heh, you wouldn't be worried that much if it was a boy you had to take care of. You raised Naruto, and he is the best kid I know. I just want to know if she is healthy." he put his hand on Kaname's belly, just a moment before he felt a small kick from the inside. This tiny kick put a big grin on Utakata's face.
"Ugh... Yeah, and she kicks like a mule. But-"
"That's all I wanted to know, Kana-chan. Both of your health is what matters the most." Utakata interrupted, giving her a chaste kiss on the forehead, "Come, I will let you sleep on my side of the bed - it should be closer to the doors." he lightly pulled her back to her feet.
"Wait, Utakata."
"Hmm?"
"I now know why the dizziness still hits me so fervently. This light-headedness should leave me months ago, but..." Kaname's voice trailed off, "There are two babies." she murmured.
"I'm sorry, what?!"
"I'm talking about twins, you dimwit. A baby boy and a gir-." Kaname wasn't able to finish before her lips were taken in a deep kiss.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
dahnik
dahnik Hope you liked this 3,4k words chapter :-) I'm waiting for your comments and ideas :-). I have a name for the boy in my mind, but I'm still deliberating about the name for the girl - the author needs your input :-) Rmbr to put some PSes for the story to cheer your author's creative side :-)
I will most likely put a 'bonus' story (one very long and raunchy chapter as of yet) on this website Monday/Tuesday evening. Jiraya approved of it :-P
If you found any mistakes, please inform me :-) I don't like mistakes :-)