So this has been sitting on my computer untouched for a long time, jeez. Sorry about that guys. I've noticed some new followers and so I wanted to say welcome and thank you for having faith even though it's been so long since I've updated! Since I don't have much else to do during this whole quarantine thing, I thought I may as well go back and do my best to continue this story which I do love so much! I'll also point out, that an update went up on the companion to this, Little Lights. I make no promises except that I will do my best! Now enjoy 3

I huff as I reach the top of the stairs and it pisses me off. I see the door opening and I straighten up and put a hand on my back.

"Sensei…can I help you to wherever you're going?" Raiden asks and I contemplate for a moment. Am I angry at his offer for help? Or am I happy that he doesn't seem incredibly anxious to get away.

"Yeah, I'm headed to my father-in-law's office." I say and he takes the take out bag from me and opens the door. "Sorry to be a pain. Being pregnant is literally the worst."

"Haruka's told me about how much you enjoy it." He says and that brings a smile to my face. We're walking towards Shikaku's office now, he's going at my pace, being watchful of me. "So what are you doing here?"

"I can't go into too much detail because my husband has almost as many eyes and ears as I do, but it's in regard to my teammate's condition. Allegedly I shouldn't concern myself with it right now because apparently when I'm pregnant, I haven't lived my entire life dealing with garbage fires." I say with a shrug.

"I'm conflicted on how to react to that…because on one hand it's serious and I know you should avoid stress and on the other hand, you're still my same sensei and my loyalties are with you." He says in a way that makes me feel emotional, but I conceal it well.

"Your loyalties are appreciated. I know his heart is in the right place and I get it, but reading a file isn't going to cause anything to hurt the baby." I say with a shake of my head. I sense my husband's chakra then and I press my back against the wall and pull Raiden in such a way as to try and hide myself from view…that's when Shikamaru absolutely loses it.

"I wonder who that belly belongs to. Surely it's not my pregnant wife trying to sneak around." He says and if looks could kill, he would be a dead man.

"Well, it was nice working with you Shikamaru. I'll be sure to light some incense at your grave." A shinobi, whose name I can't remember right now, says as he pokes his head out of a door. I take the takeout bag from my student.

"Thank you for your help, Raiden. I'll see you around." I say as I offer him a kind look before I put back on the steely look before I start walking again. Shikamaru falls into step with me. "I thought you weren't going to be here today."

"You're not the only one with eyes and ears everywhere and I know to keep an eye on my dad too. The two of you are sneaky." He says and I shoot a look at him. "I really did have work to do here today, I wasn't just checking up on you."

"Implying that part of what you're doing here is checking up on me." I say and then I step into his father's office and go to close the door, but he sticks his foot in. "Shikaku, I thought you raised your son well enough not to laugh at his pregnant wife."

"Not cool, son." The man says as he looks up from the paper he'd been reading. Shikamaru closes the door after he gets inside. "Was it at least worth dying over?"

"Considering I look up and see her belly poking out from beside her former student, I don't think I could have helped myself." He says and Shikaku has to chuckle at that.

"It could have been anyone's pregnant belly, you weirdo." I say sit down in the chair across from the desk and set the takeout bag down. "I brought you lunch as thanks for getting the file."

"Thank you." My father-in-law says and then he unlocks a drawer behind his desk and produces a file for me.

"What is this about?" Shikamaru asks as he leans against the wall. I shoot him a look. "If you're sneaking around behind my back when you're this pregnant, I think I deserve to know."

"It's Jun's file." I say as I shift my eyes back to the file before me. Shikaku goes about taking the food out of the bag. "You can have mine, Shikamaru. I'm not hungry right now." There's a knock on the door then. Shikamaru opens it.

"Oh, you're actually who I was looking for…can one or both of you come to the school?" The chunin asks and my heart drops into the pit of my stomach. "The children are fine…there's just been an incident."

"Oh god." I say as I look up at the ceiling. I hand the file back to Shikaku. "I'm coming." I glare at Shikamaru as he moves to help me and we follow. I'm very thankful for the close proximity, as I am disguising the fact that I'm out of breath as we enter the classroom. It is currently the children's break time. What I'm surprised to see is not one, but both of my children sitting at the desks as well as Inojin.

"Thank you, Haru." Iruka says as he stands up from his desk chair. Ino then walks in as well. The chunin leaves.

"I can't say that I didn't expect this at some point." I say as I look at my children. "But I am shocked that it's both of them…and Inojin."

"Would any of you care to explain to your parents why I asked them to come here?" He asks and they exchange looks. Miyuki looks nervous for a moment before a look of determination fills her expression and she stands up.

"Iruka-sensei called you here because I beat the crap out of Arata for making fun of Chocho. Then when his friends tried to attack me when my back was turned, Shikadai and Inojin defended me. I will not apologize and I accept full responsibility for our actions." She says quite diplomatically and Iruka sighs again.

"You can't just go and accept full responsibility!" Inojin exclaims as he stands up and faces her. Typically he is very chill, but Miyuki has a way of bringing out everyone's rambunctious side, I guess. Shikadai looks between the two of them. "You're my best friend, I'm not just going to let some dumb kid hit you."

"Look guys, we went about this the complete wrong way." Shikadai says as he stands and holds out his hands in an attempt to calm his sister. "Let's listen to what Iruka-sensei has to say."

"I'm conflicted, to be completely honest." My former teacher says as he comes out from behind the desk and faces us. "Fighting outside of training is against the rules…and since there were bloody noses involved, I have to send the three of them home."

"Those are the rules, so that's more than fair." Ino agrees and I sigh as I rest a hand on my stomach. Iruka turns back to the children.

"And tomorrow, you all have to sit in here during break. While I am proud of your desire to look after your friends, it is important to follow the rules. Next time, go to another sensei for help if something like this happens again. Alright?"

"Yes, Sensei." The three of them say at the same time. Miyuki looks from him to me a couple of times.

"Alright, you are dismissed." He says and they collect their belongings before they come to us.

"Next time we'll visit on better terms." I offer a wave before I gesture for them to go. They look to the ground as we leave the building. Ino sticks with us. "Well…Shikadai said it the best. You all went about this the wrong way." Miyuki is standing firm, but I sense her distress.

"Yeah, you guys." Ino says as she puts her hands on her hips. "I know it seems like all shinobi do is just fight people, but there's so much more to it than that."

"It's important to remember that while your team is important, following rules is necessary as well." Shikamaru adds. "Personally…I'm not upset with any of you. In fact, thank you for defending Miyuki, Inojin."

"Yes, my two, there will be no further reprimanding than what you have received from your teachers." I say and Miyuki lets out a breath. With some effort I kneel on the ground and I hold out my arms and they immediately hug me. "Always love with your entire heart but stop and use your smart brains too. You don't want to end up like Uncle Sasuke." They can't help but giggle. I open my arm again and gesture to Inojin who steps forward and receives his hug. "You guys are going to be great shinobi someday. I have no doubts."

"Thanks Aunt Mina." He says and I smile before I let go of them. He looks up at his mother. "Am I in any more trouble?"

"Your Auntie Mina and Uncle Shikamaru said basically how I feel about it. But I am proud of you for defending Miyuki." She says and then she looks at me. "Honey…do you need help up?"

"Either one of you touches me and I'm breaking your hands." I mutter darkly and Miyuki giggles. Shikadai and Inojin look incredibly concerned.

"No you aren't." Shikamaru says and then he hesitates. "Ino…would you mind taking that risk?"

"Oh no, what dumb thing did you say this time?" She asks as she helps me stand up. The twins take either one of my hands and I start walking.

"I may or may not have laughed at her when she tried to hide behind Raiden." He says and Ino snickers. I whip my head around and see him miming the belly.

"Shikamaru, you sure know how to dig a hole, don't you?" Raiden asks as he walks up. "I came to make sure everything was okay. I saw you…hurrying to get here?"

"Yes, only my little hellions inciting rebellions." I say as I smooth back Miyuki's hair. "Guys, this is Raiden. He was one of my students as well, part of Ruka's team. Rai, meet Miyuki and Shikadai."

"Hey guys, it's nice to meet you." He says as he crouches down to their level. He looks between the two of them. "So which one of you started the rebellion?"

"It wasn't a rebellion." Miyuki scoffs. "Some jerk was making fun of my friend so I beat the crap out of him and then these two got involved when his friends tried to hit me."

"Did he cry at least?" He asks and her eyes dart to me before she gives a single nod. "Then I don't think they deserve to strict of a punishment, if I can say so, Sensei."

"We commended them on their team work, but not so much in their execution." Shikamaru says and I successfully maintain a straight face.

"There's a time and a place. There was this one time that a guy was being…rude to Haruka. She was tired from training with your mom, so I socked him to the moon for her." He mimes the motion as he speaks, causing Miyuki to giggle.

"I can't imagine Ruka being too tired to do anything. She's so much fun to play with." She says and then she looks up at me and back at him again. "Do you want to come over and play with us sometime too? The three of us and Shinji and Goro play ninja."

"I'd love to." He says and then he stands up. "Dinner is still at the same time?" He asks me and I smile and nod. "I have a mission to go on right now, but sometime this week I'll stop by."

"Yay!" Miyuki exclaims as she jumps up. "I can't wait! I know Haruka will be excited too! Oh! Auntie Ino! Can Inojin come too!? Then we can have a three on three match!"

"If he wants too." She says with a shrug. "It's been a while since we've all gotten together." This is almost too much for me to handle emotionally right now.

I sit still as Miyuki braids my hair while Sarada leans against me making a flower crown. Chocho is seated nearby as well. When Sarada finishes she stands up and goes over to Chocho.

"Here, I made this for you." She says with a bright smile. Chocho offers a bright smile before she bows her head and lets Sarada place it on her head.

"It's so pretty! Thank you!" She says and then she looks at the piles of flowers. "Can you teach me how to make them?"

"Sure!" Sarada says as she sits down again. "Uh…Auntie Mina, can you remind me how to start it?"

"Of course." I say and both girls scoot closer to me. I take two of the flowers and I show them slowly. "You know…I didn't learn how to make these until Auntie Ino taught me when I was fifteen."

"No way, really?" Sarada asks as she looks up at me. "How come?" I continue the pattern as I contemplate how to put it.

"Well…your grandfather, Fugaku, had a lot of expectations and I wanted to make him proud, so I always focused my energy on doing the best that I could to learn all that I could." I smile as Miyuki comes and sits in front of me as well. "When you get a little older you'll start having kunoichi classes where you'll learn about many different skills that kunoichi should have or things that they should know about. It was fun enough, but I always liked playing ninja when I could. And training with my brothers, of course."

"That's all the stories I hear about you, Momma. You never played when you were little?" Miyuki asks and I think on that.

"Well…sort of. At first, Uncle Itachi didn't like the idea of training me and so I always tried to make it out to be a game. Looking back, he probably always knew, but I think since I was so creative in how I went about trying to get him to teach me things, he went along with it." I smile. "He was a pretty great older brother."

"Shikadai said that he was going to ask him how to be the best older brother for Kanako." Sarada says with a small smile.

"I know that you'll all do your best to help Kanako learn and grow." I say and then I look up as Inojin and Shikadai run up.

"Hey, we need you guys." Inojin says, looking pretty serious. "We've got to prove that we're the best team around."

"Bring it on!" Miyuki exclaims as she jumps up. Then she holds her hands out to Chocho and Sarada. "Come on, it's time to show these boys how it's done!"

"Yeah!" Sarada exclaims as she takes her hand. The five children run off and I smooth a hand over my stomach as I have a false contraction.

"Minako, is everything alright?" Choji asks as he carries one of the picnic baskets over. I smile up at him.

"Yeah. 'Practice contractions'." I use air quotes and roll my eyes. "It doesn't hurt, but it's uncomfortable."

"Shikamaru said you've been especially uncomfortable the last week. I'll bet you're getting more and more excited for your due date, huh?" He asks and I give an exasperated look.

"I've been counting the moments since I found out." I sigh. The rest of our group returns then and I shift to a kneeling position and begin unpacking the picnic.

"Would you let me do that? Jeez." Ino says as she bats my hands away. "Sit there and look like a fertility goddess some more."

"The flowers in your braid really add to the overall look." Karui nods appreciatively as she begins helping.

"The girls were all sitting with me until a moment ago. I guess Shikadai and Inojin bit off more than they could chew when they challenged Sasuke to a game of ninja, so they had to call in reinforcements." I say and then I turn my head as Shikamaru leans in to press a kiss to my forehead.

"He can be such a big kid sometimes, it's great." Sakura says with a soft smile. "I guess I'd better go and round them all up." That's when we spot Sasuke walking up with the kids all hanging off of him. Miyuki and Chocho are each hanging onto his legs while Shikadai and Inojin hang from his arms. Sarada is on his back.

"Uncle Sasuke tried to play distract the Nara, but we flipped it on him." Miyuki explains from her position.

"I can see from how artfully you captured your prisoner." I say with an appreciative nod. "Good work, you saved your Aunt Sakura from having to try and find you all."

"Yeah, lunch is here. Everybody come sit down." Karui says and the kids all come over and everyone gets their food. Shikamaru puts an arm around my shoulders and I lean back against his chest.

"So you forgave Dad, Momma?" Miyuki asks which causes Ino to choke on the rice she just ate. I chuckle.

"Yeah, but it just goes to show that sometimes you shouldn't laugh at something. Even if it's funny." I say sagely.

"When moms have babies, it can make them a little silly sometimes." Ino offers and I hum.

"Even when he's a butt head, I still love him though. So you don't need to worry about it. I'll always forgive him." I say and she smiles and sighs a content sigh.

"I'm so glad we're all a family together." She says and that brings tears to my eyes. "Momma?"

"It's okay." I say as I fan my face. "That was just very sweet and I'm very happy that you're happy."

"I think it's one of the ways that moms are made silly when they're having babies." Shikadai says to comfort his sister.

"We're glad that we all get to be a big family together too." Choji says as he looks at our group. "It's a lot of fun to spend time together like this, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Chocho agrees and then she hugs her father. I look to the sky and blink rapidly. No need to scare the children any more than I already have.

"Aunt Mina…you said you liked playing ninja sometimes when you were a kid. Were you any good?" Sarada asks and that brings an almost smirk to my face.

"Ask your dad about just how good I was." I say and my brother groans and flops back on the blanket. "These three guys and Naruto are the only ones who didn't complain whenever I would play too. All the other boys hated it because I was so much better than they were."

"Maybe after Kanako is born, you can play ninja with us too." She says brightly and I smile. "Miyuki, Chocho, and I could be on a team with you. Then the boys can be with Dad."

"Hey, how is that fair? There would be four of you and only three of us." Inojin says and she gets a sassy look that makes me proud to be her aunt.

"Oh, but we're just girls." She says and Miyuki high fives her. "I've heard some cool stories about Aunt Mina. You wouldn't have a chance."

"We really won't." Shikadai says and that makes me laugh. "She knows literally everything."

"Not everything, but I'm good at finding things out." I say and the twins have the decency to look sheepish at that point.

"I have the feeling like I'm missing something." Shikamaru says as he looks between the three of us.

"Just as I don't know the terms of your accord, there are some things that you don't know between the three of us." I shrug. "Asking a shinobi to reveal all of their secrets isn't very nice."

"I have a sneaky wife and sneaky children…hopefully Kanako will be on my side at least." He says dryly, which makes Miyuki giggle.

"I'm on your side, Dad. Mom is the only one who makes the cookies though." She says gravely.

"We'll see about that." He says and I give him a dubious look. "I've been married to you for a while now. I know how to make cookies."

"So you're not just staring at Mom's butt while she's cooking?" Shikadai asks and I actually spit out the water I'd taken a drink of and cough as I laugh. Shikamaru makes me sit up straight and he pats my back.

"No, I'm not just staring at Mom's butt." My husband says dryly. "I don't know why you guys think that."

"At any rate, I'm sure that he can follow a recipe just fine." I say supportively as I lean back and kiss his cheek.

"I don't know…you and Sasuke lived under the same roof for how long and he still didn't learn a thing until we started dating." Sakura says and I allow that.

"But Shikamaru didn't have to share his genes with anyone else. Sasuke stole the tall genes and I stole the common sense genes." I say and my brother rolls his eyes at me. "My babies are lucky, they both got the pretty genes." I reach over and pinch their cheeks. They make faces.

"You're out of luck, kids. She still pinches your dad's cheeks and he could technically stop her." Ino says and they sigh.

"I'm going to start hiding behind Inojin." Miyuki says and the boy scoffs. "What? So you'll punch a kid in the face for me, but you won't defend this beautiful face from my mom?"

"Don't glorify the fighting." Sasuke chastises, though I know for a fact he commended Shikadai. He doesn't know that I know, but I do. "You guys should focus more on talking things out."

"I told them to shut their mouths or I was going to shut it for them." She says simply. This is news.

"You guys don't need to get into fights like that…it doesn't bother me." Chocho says and I smile.

"If there's anything my mom has taught me, it's that you always show up for your friends no matter what. It may have gone really really bad, but one day we're going to be on a team together someday and so I've got to be ready to show up for you guys." Shikadai says and that brings tears to my eyes again. There's no hope of holding back these tears.

"That's right. Always." Sakura agrees with a smile. "My friends are the reason I became as strong as I did. All of you are so close, I have no doubt you'll be even stronger than any of us could ever even hope to be."

"I'm going to be the Hokage someday." Sarada says with a look of determination. "So I don't have a choice but to become strong!"

"You'll be the best Hokage ever, Sarada!" Chocho exclaims and my niece grins, reminding me a little of myself. "What are you going to do, Miyuki?"

"I think…hmmm…" She looks around. "I think I'll just be like my mom." She shrugs and Shikamaru hangs his head. "What's wrong, Dad? Ruka says that Mom does a little of everything and I think that's a good way to support Shikadai."

"Sometimes I scare Daddy, it's okay." I say with a smile. "While I'm happy you want to be like me, I think that you should try to be more like a Miyuki."

"What even is a Miyuki?" She asks exasperatedly and I hold out my hand to her. She makes her way over to me.

"A Miyuki is a strong, independent person who does their very best and follows their heart." I say as I hug her. "So basically, same as a Shikadai, a Sarada, a Chocho, or an Inojin."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Choji says with a nod. "That's all we want out of any of you kids, for you to do your best."

"Shikamaru." I say as I step into our home office. He looks up at me from the desk. "Go ahead and finish up the report you're working on, but once you're finished we need to go to the hospital. I'm in labor." He looks at me for a moment as he processes this information before he gives me the most incredulous look and he shoves his things into one of the drawers and locks it.

"I'm not working if you're in labor." He says like it's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard of. I'm still laughing as I head out into the living room. Haruka makes her way down the stairs with the hospital bag.

"I already sent Shinji to tell your parents and I'll bring the kids by in the morning. Don't worry about a thing." She says as she presses the bag into his hands.

"I don't trust just any asshole with my kids." I say and she rolls her eyes at me. Then another contraction hits and it's a bad one. "There's only one, it'll be easy. It's only one." Haruka is at my side checking me over.

"Everything looks fine, but you probably shouldn't wait too much longer to go." She says and Shikamaru nods. "Good luck."

"Thanks." I say and then we leave. Shikamaru carries me to the hospital much like he did last time. Only this time it's June. Once I'm checked in, examined, and we're left to our own devices for the time being, I let out a hefty sigh. "Are you going to yell at me this time?"

"I'm going to do my best." Shikamaru says as he lays a kiss on my forehead. "What was all that crap about me finishing the report I was working on?"

"Well, she defied expectations of coming early. I figured it would be okay for a while and it is." I wave a hand in dismissal. "You've got a family to support, you can't just drop everything when I go into labor."

"Really Minako?" He asks as he sits in the bed beside me. I grab his hand as another contraction hits and he rubs my back. "You ready for this?"

"Bring it the fuck on." I say and he kisses the top of my head. "I swear if you ever get me pregnant again, I will castrate you."

"And so it begins." A nurse says as she enters the room with a chuckle. She lays an extra blanket on the couch off to the side of the room. It's always fun when I meet a medical type who doesn't know me by sight. "Is this your first time?"

"It was twins last time." I say with a sigh. "I'm less intimidated, but she's my child and so she's not going to do as we expect her too. Last time they came relatively quickly, so I'm calling it now. I'm going to be in labor for fourteen hours."

"At least you'll be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't take that long." Shikamaru shakes his head.

"You think she's going to be your little princess and I'm telling you that's absolutely not going to be the case." My expression is very serious.

"Well my name is Tomiko and I'm going to be on duty for the rest of the night, Mrs.—" She glances at my chart. "Nara, if you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you." I smile and she leaves. "It's refreshing when people don't recognize me. I used to strike fear into the hearts of people here."

"I'm sure you'll get your zest back once the kids are all in school." He says and I shrug. Yoshino comes into the room followed by Sakura.

"We were having a quiet evening, reading with Sarada when Sasuke started having labor pains." My sister-in-law says as she comes over and checks me out. "Everything looks good."

"I'm projecting fourteen hour labor. Shikamaru wants her to be his princess, so she's going to do the opposite." I smooth a hand over my stomach and Yoshino chuckles.

"At least you'll be pleasantly surprised if it takes less time than that." Yoshino says optimistically.

"I'm not looking forward to if it takes longer than that." Shikamaru says and I turn my head slowly to look at him.

"You can leave." He rolls his eyes at my tone. "You got off easy last time. If you want me to be mean, I can be mean. I swear, you'll wear pink underwear for the rest of your life."

"That's already a less savage threat than your last one." He says and I smile a sweet, disconcerting smile.

"Thanks for the constructive criticism, I'll do better." I say and Yoshino shakes her head. "I'll do the creepy whisper threats that I used to do. I promise you." There's another contraction and I lay my head back.

"Just breathe." Sakura reminds me gently. I keep my eyes closed as I breathe through the contraction. "You're doing great." I open my eyes and look at her. She covers her mouth to try and stop her laughter. "You just looked exactly like Sasuke."

"Not that I regret my children, but you did marry the wrong Uchiha. That's not an every day look for me." I say with a chuckle.

"No, no. Everyone knows that if you didn't marry Shikamaru, you would have married Ino." She says sagely. I laugh again which turns into a noise of pain and a swear as a big contraction hits.

I wake up with a gasp and my eyes immediately search the room. I tear my arm out of the grip of whoever grabbed me before Shikamaru comes into view.

"Relax. Relax." He says in a gentle voice. "It's okay, Kana is fine." I take several calming breaths as I sit back. "You were right…she's never going to do what we expect of her. Fifteen hours of labor."

"Where is she?" I ask and then I search for a clock. Not that I recall what time I lost consciousness, but it will give me some semblance of an idea.

"She's having the routine tests done." He's still using the calming voice that reminds me of when he's talking to the children around the deer. "Don't worry, you had skin to skin before you passed out."

"Then they gave me something to make me sleep, didn't they." I don't hide my annoyance.

"After all you went through, you needed to sleep. You would have tried to stay up with her and we both know that wouldn't have done either of you any good." He's sounding more like his usual self now. I guess he's decided I've calmed down enough. A nurse wheels the bassinet in and Shikamaru stops me from getting up before he goes over and picks up our daughter. "Thank you."

"Of course." She says with a smile. "I'll go and grab something for you to eat, Mrs. Nara."

"Thanks." I offer a small smile and she leaves. Shikamaru brings Kanako over to me and I take her into my arms. She looks up at me with my eyes and I lay a kiss on her forehead. "Mommy's sorry for sleeping so long." Then I look up as Haruka walks in with the twins holding her hands. Miyuki has tears in her eyes. "What's the matter, Yuki?" She runs around and hugs Shikamaru's legs.

"She's a little scared to see you in the hospital." Haruka says gently. "But it's okay. Your mom is just fine." She lifts Shikadai up onto the bed.

"Do you want to meet your sister?" Shikamaru asks as he crouches and hugs her. She nods and he lifts her up onto the bed as well. I smile as they look at her, some wonder in their eyes. "Can you believe that you were this small once?"

"It's weird." Shikadai says, but I see as a tear slips down his cheek. "Hi Kana…" He reaches out to her and she grabs onto one of his fingers.

"That's Shikadai, he's kind of a drag." Miyuki says after a moment of apprehension. "I'm Miyuki…" Kanako smiles and makes a happy noise. Miyuki's eyes widen and she looks up at me.

"She recognizes your voices." I smile brightly at them. "I know for sure she already loves her big brother and her big sister very much."

"How do you know?" Shikadai as he looks up at me as well. Nobody really understands the level of awareness I had and they definitely won't at this age.

"Because even before she got here, the two of you were already doing your best to be the best older siblings you could for her." I explain gently. "She knows that we're her family."

"Oh, okay." He allows and then he crawls to my other side and snuggles up to me. "Can we stay here for a while?"

"Yes." I say with a nod and Miyuki snuggles up on the side she was seated on. "And your Daddy needs to go home and get some rest."

"I'm fine, I slept off and on last night." He says with a roll of his eyes. "I am going to take a walk while Haruka is here though."

"Okay, don't get lost. You have three precious gifts now." I say and he leans over and gives me a kiss before he kisses the top of Miyuki's head and ruffles Shikadai's hair. Then he goes.

"You actually look well-rested." Haruka notes as she moves a chair over and sits down. I make a face.

"Momma has been playing the game for a long time, but the medical staff has been playing even longer." I say and Miyuki giggles.

"They made you go to sleep like you make us sometimes?" She asks and I hum. "Maybe if you didn't do that to us so often, they wouldn't have done it to you."

"Maybe. Sometimes we deserve a taste of our own medicine." I allow, which makes them laugh. "Sleep is very important…Momma's just always had weird sleep."

"Weird sleep is the worst." Shikadai says and I hum my agreement. "So when are you and Kana going to get to come home?"

"I'm not sure." I say honestly, then I use my medical ninjutsu to check over my daughter. "I don't think we'll be here for very long though, but Momma is going to take some time to heal."

"Kinda like when Dad came home from that one mission?" He asks and I hum. "We'll take care of you."

"I know you will." I smile. "The two of you have been so well-behaved throughout this. I'm very proud of you."

"Ruka said that she and Shinji were going to take us out for ice cream since we've been so good." Miyuki says and that makes my smile grow.

"That's awesome. You guys definitely deserve it." I nod, then I look up as Shikaku enters the room. "Hey. I'd offer a more specific greeting, but your son made me lose time."

"Good morning." He offers and then I realize that I must have slept through the night, because if I was in labor for fifteen hours, that means that Kanako was born at five last evening.

"So five 'o' clock on June fifth." I hum as I stroke Kana's cheek gently with my finger. "And your brother and sister were born at five in the morning. All these fives…our lives are going to be filled with so many changes."

"Changes?" Miyuki asks as she looks up at me with some fear in her eyes. "How do you know that?"

"It's just a thing that fives are associated with, but don't be scared. Changes are good…scary sometimes, but if things didn't change, we wouldn't have butterflies…the two of you wouldn't grow up and accomplish your dreams." I lean over and kiss the top of her head.

"And what do you mean how does she know? Momma knows everything." Shikadai says, causing Shikaku to chuckle.

"Not everything, but she's good at finding things out as you know." He says as he comes over to the bed and looks down at his newest grandchild. "I wondered about that. It seems as though she's got more Uchiha features than Nara."

"She's got Shikamaru's nose." I say fondly as I gently run the backs of my knuckles across her cheeks. "But yes, both of my daughters are going to break a lot of hearts."

"Yuck." Miyuki says and I laugh. "What does that even mean? Breaking a lot of hearts? It sounds weird."

"You're so intelligent and so beautiful. Your dad and brother are going to have a hard time keeping other boys away from you when you're older." I say and she makes a face.

"Gross, I'll just pretend to be in love with Inojin. People won't want to mess with him." She says and I look to the sky.

"Careful, Miyu. That's how your parents fell in love." Shikaku says and she looks at me again.

"It didn't help any." I say and that makes him laugh. "You, of course, won't need your dad and brother to look after you."

"But I will. I'm not going to let anybody be weird with you." Shikadai says as he makes a face at the idea. "Man, what a drag." Haruka laughs.

"You'll have to be careful too, Shikadai. I sometimes had to keep girls from being weird with your Uncle Sasuke." I say and Miyuki makes a fake gagging noise. "People used to think we were beautiful people."

"Well you're the most beautiful lady in the world, Momma." Miyuki says and that makes me smile.

"Thank you, my baby." I say and then I sigh. "People are going to make assumptions since you guys are cute, but don't try to live up to them. Always be your own person."

"Okay…but Mom, I was thinking. You call Miyuki and I your babies. What are you going to call Kanako?" Shikadai asks and I hum as I look at her. I've thought about this a little bit, but really you don't know until you see them.

"What if…I call her Sweetness?" I ask as I look between the two of them. "What do you think of that?"

"She looks like a Sweetness." Miyuki nods. "Are you ever going to call Shika and I anything else?"

"Well I call you Shika and Miyu sometimes, don't I? You even get called Yuki sometimes too." I say and she allows that. I smile. "You guys will always be my babies. Even when you're forty-five years old."

"It's true. Your dad is still my cute son and you see how old he is." Shikaku says and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I'm older than he is by a few months. What's that say about me?" I ask and that has Haruka laughing again. "We're only twenty-three."

"Not that either of you looks old, but you definitely could pass for a teenager." She says and I shake my head.

"And if I ever did get worried about it, I could always ask Lady Tsunade to teach me her ways." I say thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, Momma? Lady Tsunade reminds me of Aunt Kurenai." Miyuki says and I chuckle.

"Lady Tsunade is older than Grandpa." I say and both of their eyes bug out which makes me laugh harder. Kanako lets out a squeaky cry and I rock her gently.

"It's okay, Kana. Momma laughs a lot. It's not scary, it's a happy noise." Shikadai says soothingly and that brings some tears to my eyes.

"Yeah, she's usually laughing at Daddy being silly. Or Uncle Sasuke." Miyuki agrees and then she looks thoughtful. "You know? We have a lot of uncles, don't we?"

"We have a big family, only some are made up by friends who are more like family." I explain. "Momma's a big weirdo and I adopted a bunch of people."

"You've got that right." Haruka says and I stick my tongue out at her. A nurse enters the room then with a tray of food.

"I'll take care of Kanako while you eat." Shikaku says as he comes over and takes her from me.

"Thank you." I say and then I put my arms around my other two children. "You guys may have to help me, that looks like a lot of food." The nurse chuckles as she sets the tray down slides the table into place.

"Absolutely, I'll be back in a little while to check on you and Ms. Kanako. In the meantime, let me know if you need anything." She says and I smile.

"Thank you." I say again and she leaves. "Let's see what we have here." I take the cover off of the plate and set it aside. It doesn't look awful. It's definitely something light, but full of nutrients. "I can't wait to get home and cook us a big family dinner."

"Take it easy." Haruka warns me. "What? You think just because you've had her I'm not going to stick around? I'm capable of helping with the meals while you heal and you guys all get used to each other. The Babies can help me out too, right?"

"Right." They chime in a determined way that brings a big smile to my face. I pick up the chop sticks and cut off a piece of the chicken. I take a bite and it's not horrible. Itachi enters along with Emiko then and they gasp. He's been gone for a month now. The last long mission until after Emiko gives birth at least. I'm certain there will short ones between now and the third trimester.

"Uncle Itachi!" Miyuki exclaims as she jumps down, runs over and hugs him. Shikadai stays at my side.

"Good morning everyone." He says with a serene smile as he places a hand on top of Miyuki's head. "I saw your Uncle Sasuke stopping by a bakery while we were on our way here. What do you suppose he was there for?"

"Cookies for the cookie fiend." I say with a disapproving shake of my head. I take a bite of my rice. "Itachi and Emiko, Kanako. Kanako, your Uncle Itachi and Aunt Emiko." I introduce lamely.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kanako. Has your mother already talked to you about school?" He asks as he picks Miyuki up and goes over to Shikaku and holds out a finger to my youngest daughter. She smiles at him.

"Here, would you like to hold her?" He asks and Itachi looks between his nieces before he hums.

"I think I'm going to need some help. Miyuki, would you be so kind as to help me?" My brother asks and Miyuki gives a solemn nod. The three of them head over to a chair and Itachi sits with Miyuki in his lap before Shikaku hands Kanako over.

"Don't mind me." Emiko says as she turns her back to us and fans her face. I offer a sympathetic look. She sighs before she walks closer to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I gave birth…eleven hours ago?" I say as I glance at the clock I'd located again. "I got a taste of my own medicine and they made me sleep, so I suppose that helped." My tone is begrudging.

"Did I actually hear you speak positively about sleep?" Shikamaru asks as he walks back into the room. Luckily it's a fairly large room, because Sasuke, Sakura, and Sarada are with him. My niece pokes her head out from behind Sakura. She looks curious as she walks over to Itachi, Miyuki, and Kanako. I ignore Shikamaru in favor of watching them.

"Kanako, this is our cousin Sarada." Miyuki introduces her and that makes me smile. "She's the best." Shikadai makes a face and I kiss the top of his head.

"Don't worry, she doesn't really think you're a drag." I whisper and he looks up at me. "Trust me, as big of a pain in the ass your Uncle Sasuke has been to me literally my entire life, I still love him very much. Same goes for your Uncle Itachi. Sisters just have to knock their brothers down a peg sometimes because society tries to knock them down. It balances out." I wave a hand dismissively.

"Such a healthy ideology." Sasuke says sarcastically. Then he brings the small pink box over to the table. "And here I was being nice." He opens the box to reveal a piece of strawberry shortcake as well as some cookies. He goes to take it away and I grab his wrist with my chopsticks and toss his hand away.

"Take the box and you lose the hand." Sakura laughs at my threat. I finish up my rice and vegetables before I slice off a bite of cake and hold it up to Shikadai. He takes the bite and I smile. It's our favorite dessert. "There's a cookie for you girls whenever you're done holding Kana." I inform them.

"Those are for you and Yuki, Auntie Mina." Sarada says as she looks over at me and I offer her a smile. Her cheeks flush. "Okay." I look around the room at my family and I feel overwhelmed with love. Shikadai picks up the chopsticks then and he slices off a bite before he holds it to my mouth. I look at it for a moment before I smile and take the bite. He smiles and I hug him close. I would do anything for these kids.

I enter the interrogation room and take a seat across from Junichi. He doesn't do a good job of hiding his surprise.

"You look like you expected me to be dead or something." I say as I lean my chin in my hand.

"There you go again, acting like you're so much superior than I am." He says and I raise my eyebrows ever so slightly. Something I've done to him countless times. "It's amazing you're still alive, how many times you've smarted off to enemies."

"You mean the times I didn't let them make me feel inferior?" I ask and his eyebrows furrow. "That's why I always try to break the egos of my friends. Because if they don't have fragile egos, they aren't likely to get pissed off and make a sloppy mistake. Remember our first bad mission?"

"Where you almost got Izanagi killed? How could I forget?" He asks, his words are laced with venom, but it doesn't have any impact on me. "You were an idiot."

"I agree with you. I was a pissed off little kid and so after that, I began to learn how to control my temper and here we are...god…eleven years later? If you want a humbling experience, try convincing two five-year-olds to go to bed when their dad is due back from a mission that night." I shake my head.

"What are their names?" He asks and I don't see the same malice in his eyes. "Your kids…what are their names?"

"The twins are Shikadai and Miyuki. Then a couple of months ago I gave birth to another little girl, Kanako." I say and his eyebrows raise.

"You definitely don't look like you just had another kid." He says and I have to laugh at that.

"Why thank you." I notice the superior look then. "And what's that look? Like you have the upper hand?"

"It's foolish of you to so willingly give up their names like that. What if I'm somehow in contact with Lord Orochi-" He stops as I make a face. "What?"

"We only refer to him as the Scary Man or Snake Fucker in my household." I say and he makes a face like he used to when we were kids and it makes me laugh. "So let's say you're somehow in contact with Snake Fucker. I was paranoid before he even knew I existed, so if he thinks that I don't have eyes and ears everywhere in this god forsaken world, then he is even more of a fool than I've given him credit for."

"So you intend to kill him?" He sounds amused by this idea. "And how do you plan to accomplish that?"

"You should remember that planning things out has never really been my thing. I'll get the orders to act in the best interest of the village and I'll decide how I'll carry it out on the way. It'll drive my husband crazy, but he's the one who asked me to marry him. So that's his fault." I shrug. "You don't think I can do it?"

"Admittedly, I don't know what you're capable of." He says and I rest my hands on the table as I lean forward again.

"Exactly." My tone hangs heavy on the air. "He will be defeated and the world will heal from the atrocities that he has committed." I'm not sure where that came from, but it has Junichi sitting back in his seat. I stand up from my seat then. "This meeting is over." I move to the door and it opens before I step out.

"So, as you can see, there appear to be moments where he is…less under the influence of the technique." Ibiki says and I nod. "Also, I can assure you, there is no way he is in contact with anyone."

"I'm not concerned. He never could lie to me." I shrug. "Keep me posted on how he does as far as those moments of…clarity, I guess?"

"I'll do that." He agrees and I sigh as I look through the window again. I can't dwell on these feelings. "This file is for you. I don't need to tell you to keep it confidential." I take the folder and seal it into a scroll before I place it in my pouch again. "He was right though. You look like you're ready to go back out into the field."

"You can't defend the child you just birthed if you sit on your ass and eat bonbons." I say and he chuckles. "Always a pleasure, Ibiki." I offer a wave and then I head out. I head to the market and purchase the groceries for tonight's dinner before I head home. Shikamaru looks up from where he's seated on the couch when I enter and I smile.

"How did it go?" He asks as he stands up and puts a sleeping Kanako into her bassinet. I hum as I head into the kitchen.

"He's in there, we just need to figure out how to break the technique…" I set the bags on the counter and begin putting their contents away.

"We will." He says before he comes over and takes me into his arms. "So…I was thinking…"

"That sounds dangerous." I say as I place my hands on his chest and look up at him. "What were you thinking about?"

"What if we did have anoth—" He doesn't get to finish. I push off of him, breaking out of his arms and making it across the kitchen. "I didn't even finish the sentence."

"No matter how good you look holding a baby, My Babies and Sweetness are it." I say as I point at him. "I mean it, Shikamaru."

"Okay, okay." He holds out his hands in surrender. "Take it easy." My mind is working though…

"Are you just trying to keep me from facing Snake Fucker?" I ask and his eyes move immediately back to mine.

"Absolutely not." I know that he's telling the truth and that relieves some of my tension. "Of all the ways I could potentially try to do that, making you have kids isn't one of them."

"I have ways of making sure that never happens." I'm amused by how nervous he looks at that idea. "It's not a matter of if I face him or not, you know. It's when I face him."

"I know." He makes his way over to me and I sigh as I hug him. "We'll face it together and then come home and be a family again."

"In approximately four years, I guess." I say and he hums. I tilt my head back and look up at him. "We need to get these put away, it'll be time to go and get the kids soon."

"I'll take care of it." He says and I stand up on my toes and kiss him. "I like this whole being home thing."

"Me too." I say and then I step out of his arms and smack his butt before I dash out of the kitchen. I've been making a point of getting back at him for all the times he's done the same thing to me. I head into our office and lock the file on Junichi away in my drawer before I head upstairs and change into more civilian-like clothes. It's not like the twins don't know that I'm a shinobi, but I want them to have that serene image in their minds when they think of me. Like the memories I have of my own mother. I grab the baby sarong from the nursey before I head downstairs again. Shikamaru is finishing up changing Kanako's diaper.

"There's Momma." He says fondly. "Alright, now we've got to go and pick up the other two. You think you can hold the fort down?"

"You're so funny." I say as I put on the sarong. He chuckles before he helps slide her in. She immediately lays her head down on my chest. "Let's go." We head out of the house and he puts his arm around my shoulders as we walk. "She was in a mood this morning, I'll bet Iruka's going to want to talk to us about something Yuki did today."

"You're on." He says and I chuckle. The rest of our walk to the school is quiet. We wait with the rest of the parents and when the children begin exiting the building, I see Iruka walking with the twins. Shikamaru sighs and I smile.

"Daddy should know better than to bet against Momma." I say as I take Kana's hand to keep her from pulling my hair. "Good afternoon, Iruka."

"Good afternoon, it's good to see the three of you out and about." He says with a smile and then he lets out a sigh. "There was almost another fight today during lunch time."

"Alright, we'll have a talk about it tonight." I say with a nod. "So it shouldn't be a problem for at least a week."

"At least." He agrees and then he crouches down to their height. "I'm really glad to see that you want to protect your friends, but there's a right and a wrong way to do it."

"Yes, Sensei." Miyuki says dutifully, but I know better. She's going to have a problem controlling her temper and I'm going to have to start doing a better job of working with her now.

"Great, I'll see you guys in class tomorrow. Have a great afternoon." Iruka smiles before he stands up. I offer a wave before the five of us begin heading towards home.

"What happened?" I ask and we pause briefly as our eldest daughter holds out her arms to her father. He picks her up and she lays her head on his shoulder. I take Shikadai's hand and we continue walking.

"The same jerk was making fun of Inojin's drawings. I told him to shut up and he told me to make him." She explains and I guess I can't exactly fault her there.

"And he wasn't prepared for you to actually make him." I say with understanding. "I understand that it's frustrating when people do things to try and hurt the ones you care about, but there's a time and a place for fighting. While Arata is a big jerk and you'd like to punch his stupid face, he is still your comrade. Someday, the two of you could be on a team together, so right now it's best to try and work things out peacefully. I know it's hard, but you've got a ton of pretty alright adults around you to help you figure it out."

"Momma's right." Shikamaru says as he kisses the top of her head. "I can think of a million times where I know that she would have preferred to just duke it out with someone, but if she of all people can learn the time and place. I know that we can help you guys just fine."

"Excuse me? Me of all people?" I ask and that makes her giggle. I roll my eyes and then I notice Kankuro and Temari…why are they here so much?

"I was hoping we'd get to meet the newest little Nara." Kankuro says with a big grin as they approach us. He gets a look at her. "Whoa, she looks just like you."

"She's got Shikamaru's nose at least." I say with a light shrug and then I smile when I see that she's smiling. "But unfortunately, she does look a lot like me."

"Why is that unfortunate? You're probably the prettiest woman in the world." Shikadai says and I place a hand on top of his head with a fond smile.

"Your mom probably means that when you guys get older, you're probably going to have to beat up a bunch of people for bothering your sisters." Kankuro says with a shrug.

"That is if they don't beat them up first." Temari says and I offer a 'fair enough' look. Had anyone actually bothered me, I probably would have.

"I don't need Shikadai to defend me." My eldest daughter scoffs. "Momma taught me what to do if anyone gets weird with me."

"Oh did she?" Shikamaru asks and I look up and away innocently. "What did she tell you to do?"

"It's one of our girl secrets, Dad. You wouldn't understand." She says and I die laughing. Temari actually chuckles as well.

"Yes, our girl secrets." I say with a laugh. "I don't think it surprises anyone that Momma rules around our parts."

"Yeah and our temporary ceasefire with Dad is off since Kana is here now." Shikadai says thoughtfully.

"I'd forgotten about that!" Miyuki says and then she gets a scheming look on her face and my husband looks to the sky and he sighs. She kisses his cheek. "I still love you, Dad."

"I don't know if I envy you or not, Shikamaru." Kankuro says as he rubs the back of his neck.

"We need a fourth, just so there's at least a chance of balancing things out with another boy." My husband says and I shoot him a look of daggers that makes his mother look tame and he actually takes a step back, subtly shifting Miyuki away on instinct. I didn't mean to be that intimidating necessarily, but he really needs to drop this fourth kid idea. That's twice in a day. "I was joking."

"There's nothing I love more than my children. So much love must be balanced out by the amount of distaste I have for being pregnant." I explain as I look to…well technically they're friends, I guess. I'm okay with Kankuro at least. "I get fat and I can't move and it is uncomfortable." I shake my head. "But anyway, when are you guys leaving for home? We would love to have you over for dinner if you can make it."

"We actually have to leave as soon as we have our meeting with the Hokage." Temari informs us. "But really, thank you for the offer."

"Of course. There's always next time." I say and she looks at me for a moment before she smiles.

"There is." She agrees and then she looks to the kids. "It was nice meeting you two again." Her eyes shift to Shikadai, like she thinks he won't notice.

"It was nice seeing you again too, Miss Temari." He says, laying on the respect a little thick, but I think this might be his way of indirectly apologizing for last time. Not that I ever thought he should apologize.

"We'll plan more time for us to have dinner next time." Kankuro says with a wave. "Try not to give your dad too much grief."

"If he can't handle us, should he really call himself a shinobi?" Miyuki asks and I look away innocently again.

"That's it." Shikamaru says and then he's tickling her. She's giggling, trying to escape him.

"Have a good meeting." I offer with a wave before the two continue on to the tower. I look down at Shikadai. "That was very mature of you."

"She wasn't mean to you." He says with a shrug. I give his hand a squeeze before we start walking again. "I wonder what changed."

"Well…I think there comes a point when you care for something that all that really matters to you is that they're happy." I say and he looks at Shikamaru, who is still tickling Miyuki who is using him as a jungle gym at this point.

"Hey Dad, are you happy?" He asks and Shikamaru looks between the two of us. I don't know why he's so put off by that question.

"I am…what has you worrying about that?" He asks as he essentially puts our oldest daughter on as a backpack.

"Mom was saying that when you care about someone, there comes a point when all you care is that they're happy. That's probably why Temari wasn't mean to her this time." My son says with a shrug. "Love is weird."

"Love is weird." I agree with a nod. "But your dad is especially weird about love." This part is said dryly.

"Am I? Well you're one to talk." My husband says and I raise my eyebrows at him. "I should know better by now."

"Should being the operative word." I sigh wistfully. "You guys have such a silly Daddy." Miyuki giggles.

"Someone at school said that Dad is whipped for you." She says and I raise my eyebrows again. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It's a rather silly idea that he would do whatever I said because he's afraid of me or of losing me." I explain.

"It couldn't be further from the truth though. Your Mom and I collaborate, we don't order each other around. If it seems like I'm following her orders, it's because her ideas are good and I think it's reasonable to follow them." Shikamaru shrugs. "I've never really care what anyone thought of me. Gossip is such a drag though because people get dumb ideas about things or people."

"It was probably that person's father fearing for his masculinity. It's like I was telling Shikadai about society trying to knock girls down a peg." I shrug and Shikadai looks up at me. "You're only as good as the work you put in."

"Right." He and Miyuki agree at the same time and that makes me smile. "But Mom, boys are different from girls. I mean, you're a lot smaller than Dad."

"That doesn't mean anything. In a fight, she and I are pretty evenly matched. And she was actually a jonin before me." Shikamaru says and the twins both look at me and I chuckle. "It's not about the size of the shinobi, but how they use their skills. I still remember how hard she trained even when she was your guys' age."

"Well, you also have to take into consideration how different my father wanted to raise Sasuke and I." I defend naturally.

"What do you mean?" Shikadai asks and I smile as I squeeze his hand lightly. "You never really talk about Grandpa Fugaku."

"It's all a little complicated, but I promise I'll explain when you're older." I say and I see both of them nod. "Now, when we get home, I want the two of you to do some meditation and reflect on the choices you made today."

"Yes, ma'am." They say and I smile. We arrive at home and my husband leads them to set up in the living room for their meditation. I lay Kana, who has since fallen asleep, back into her bassinet before I go to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner.

"God…how do you even begin to explain what happened?" I ask Shikamaru as he walks in, speaking quietly so the kids don't overhear.

"I knew that was going to bug you for the rest of the month at least." He says as he pulls me into his arms. "Delicately is the short, unhelpful answer…it won't be easy, but it's just something that we'll all face as a family."

"I know…I just don't want them to be afraid of Itachi." My voice sounds small. I can't help but think of the terror-filled nights where I would lay awake, thinking that every sound was my older brother coming to finish the job he started. "I mean…even I still have dreams sometimes."

"I know…" He says as he rubs my back. "I think we need to have more faith in them understanding that it's a complicated situation."

"It's that cognitive dissonance thing where I want to protect them from all forms of discomfort, but I know that it's impossible to protect them from everything. They'll find out one way or another and I'd rather control when they do." I say and he hums. "Why couldn't I have had a normal life? It would make being a parent so much easier."

"That's not necessarily true. If it wasn't this, it'd be something else. It's all relative, I think." He says and I groan quietly. "Oh, come on. We can do this…we can even start planning now. Talk with Sasuke and Itachi about how they think we should approach it."

"You're right." I sigh. "So about fifteen minutes of meditation and then help them get started on homework?"

"That sounds good to me." He says and I smile as I lean back. He leans in and kisses me. "And I'm sorry for bringing up a fourth kid so much…I just…look at them."

"I know. We have literally the cutest kids in the world." I shake my head. "Something else I was thinking about…it really doesn't bother you that people think you're whipped?"

"Oh no, I agree with my wife, what has the world come to?" He asks sarcastically. "The idea of being whipped is what toxically masculine men use to rationalize being inconsiderate to women."

"Stop talking like that. We have things to do and you know how hard it is for me to focus when you say smart things like that." I say and he smirks.

"I love you." He says before he presses another kiss to my lips. "Thanks for being such a great partner." He then smacks my ass before he dashes out of the kitchen, narrowly avoiding the onion I throw at him.