Ashina: Hello all! (winks happily) We are back! Be prepared to watch the marriage between Sasuke and Naruto meet all sorts of problems – children, cousins, and various other crazies!

Misaki: I hope you all enjoy it.

Ashina: Ah! I almost forgot to mention the fact that Mirai-sama's older brother has come to join us! They're twins… which creeps the hell out of me because there are times when I feel like he reports everything I do to her…

Misaki: (nods discretely)

Mirai: Why in the world would you think I have him do that, Ashina-chan? I would never… (crosses fingers behind back)

Misaki: (under breath) Liar…

Ashina: (oblivious) STOREE!

Crimson-chan: (pops in) Geez Uchiha-chan, way to introduce the latest member of the team! I'm Crimson-chan, the pom-pom waving cheerleader/beta/little kid with a pointy stick poking a bear. I get to crack the whip now. Be afraid. Be very afraid. (evil laughter) Ahem. On with the show, ne?

Disclaimer: Naruto is not owned by me. Damn it.

Warnings: Yaoi, male pregnancy, prejudice against halfbloods. And if you have not read "Ashes" then this is probably not going to make the slightest bit of sense. Please go and read that first. This is set roughly about five to six weeks after "Ashes" ends. ^^ I remembered after posting "Ashes" that they're in LA and not Japan, therefore, any Japanese that was used in the former story has been corrected to English and any Japanese that may have been in here has been changed to English as well. Except for those few phrases that you just can't live without… :D

-U R Darkest's Pawn-

Words

The blonde rolled over, groaning in discomfort. The sudden chill that swept over his bare back caused him to shiver and snuggle deeper into the warmth he'd found at his side. However, the inviting heat didn't seem to agree with him as a protesting noise came forth and it scooted farther away from him.

"If you don't want me to cuddle with you, bastard, then give me the freaking covers." Naruto grumbled, bleary eyes fluttering open to glare weakly at his fiancé.

Rather than answer, pale arms snaked around his waist and pulled him closer before throwing the down bedding over him. The prince's face nestled into his sunshine hair and he breathed in the strong scent of the smaller man. "Shut up, dobe. It's too early."

The kit, fully intent on arguing against the raven's slothful attempt to avoid his part in the argument, stopped himself short upon feeling contention within his gut as his stomach rolled fiercely. He took a deep breath, trying to comfort and still the disagreement within him, but felt no such relief as it continued to bubble forth and make itself known.

Surprising the raven-haired man, he sprung from the bed and threw the door open in his haste to get to the restroom. Falling to his knees in front of the porcelain bowl, he emptied the thin remnants that had once resided in his stomach, in a flurry of unpleasant smelling slop. The retching noises of the youngest Uzumaki greeted the household and acted as an unpleasant alarm clock of sorts.

Kushina, as she'd turned out to be in the past few days, became the flustering mother hen and began rubbing her son's back as he continued to be violently sick.

Minato, who had joined wife and son in the cramped bathroom, began to eye down the elder boy who had placed himself just outside the doorframe with a nonchalant, yet somehow concerned, expression pasted on his face. Minato was torn between bristling at the Uchiha's casual look, and sighing in frustration at the painful sounding choking and gasping coming from his only son. Suspicion and the tiniest bit of fear clawed and wriggled at the back of his mind, though he tried to bury it, to deny it. A darker image of his son's own visage continued to tear apart the illustration of the Underworld prince.

Minato quickly resigned himself; to say that he wasn't suspicious would have been the blackest lie towards Heaven itself.

He had been in a position similar to his son's in his youth, though perhaps with not so many side effects, while he'd continued to live in that blissful world. He had been offered the chance to procreate with the crown prince of the realm, but had refused for the sake of his own interests. Though there were those who'd called him foolish for skipping out on the chance, he was decidedly attracted to females and they were unavailable in that realm. Whoever had decided to create the first demon had been slightly biased, in his opinion. Therefore, he left the Underworld.

It wasn't against any sort of rules to have demons frequently cross the boundaries between the two worlds. In fact, it was quite common to encounter the people—though it was never by their knowledge—that were by some small fraction a demon as well.

The only difference was that, which happened to be largely effective to any demon that set foot into the mortal world, was that their time began moving forward again. They began to age at what was considered to be a mortal pace.

In the Underworld, time meant little. Whatever magic had set itself upon them when they entered the Underworld kept the time from continuing once reaching an age of maturity, thus keeping the Kings, Princes and alike looking youthful and beautiful.

This caused Minato to go off on a bit of a tangent, seeing as his new son-in-law was one of the crown princes of the Underworld. Lucky him, he though sardonically, his son brought home a piece of his past that he very much would have liked to keep past. He had hoped his son would stay out of the tangled web the Uchiha clan had spun but it seemed that the Uchihas were as alluring as ever…

Though he prayed in his heart that his suspicions were only that, baseless and unnecessary uncertainties, it did little to reassure him.

And he knew for certain, at the very least in this situation, that he couldn't be too sure of anything.

After mumbling what sounded like "kill the asshole", Naruto slumped into his mother's awaiting arms, wearied from emptying his stomach.

The lone woman of the house glanced at her husband with concern, not knowing what could have possibly made her child ill. Needing reassurance, she received none, as her spouse was locked deep in contemplation for facing the possibilities he'd neglected.

"Naruto, I think we should take you to the doctor. You haven't been sick since you were six." Kushina worried, stroking her offspring's golden locks. "I want to make sure that this won't possibly turn out to be something that could be critical to your health."

A look of apprehension crossed the observing raven's face, but he controlled it with finesse so as not to alert the guardians of his fiancé.

It did not, however, manage to slip under the register of his future father-in-law.

-U R Darkest's Pawn-

The crinkling of paper continued under the weight of one lively, and bored out of his mind, blonde. Despite his insistence that the nausea had passed as instantaneously as it had appeared, his mother had the last say in the matter and refused to relinquish him until she'd gotten a professional opinion. How convenient that the kit's paternal grandmother, who was married to the money and sex-loving owner of the bar in which he was employed, just so happened to be a doctor.

The reason Kushina had gotten along so well with her mother-in-law was indicative in her personality and demeanor: they were both violent creatures when agitated and preferred to use said method as opposed to words.

Tsunade, though nearing the age of nearly sixty-five, looked as youthful as a woman in her early thirties. She'd never had plastic surgery in her entire life, and swore that she never would. Some mythical secret she kept locked tight within her mind kept her looking so young, something that she'd claimed had been passed down within their family since the time of the samurai and ninja in the original Japan.

The aforementioned woman stepped through the doorway to the room, and with one glance to her grandson, immediately stopped the incessant clamor and the nervous twitching of Naruto's restless limbs.

"So, brat, what are you here for? Hitting your head can't make you any more stupid than you already are." she asked in an uninterested, and mocking, tone.

"Is that why I'm here? Hmm, well, I guess that might have affected my eyesight too. It would explain why you look like an old, wrinkled hag, granny." He retorted, a trying smirk crossing his face.

Honey-colored eyes grasped his gaze and threatened a long and painful death.

He sighed, resigning the battle first. "Mom thinks that there might be something wrong with me. I threw up this morning, and since I haven't been sick since I was a kid, she's afraid it might be something serious. But I promise you, I feel fine right now."

The elder blonde woman observed the room and its occupants; her grandson, son and daughter-in-law, and some handsome boy with dark hair; odd…

"Whatever. Kushina, I can promise you that it's most likely nothing serious." she said in assurance to the redheaded woman who sat waiting.

After going through the routine checking of the kit's ears, eyes, nose, and throat, she'd determined that it wasn't an infection of any such regions.

"Okay, so explain to me what the symptoms are, again."

"There aren't any! I just got nauseous and threw up this morning. That's it. Now I'm fine. And kinda hungry." He mentioned offhandedly.

"Have you been throwing up lately?"

"Uh, well, it happened a little bit last week, but I figured it was just because I'd eaten too much for dinner the night before."

"Just let me do a quick once over."

She let her experienced hands test the pressure of his lymphnodes, moving on after seeing that the smaller boy neither flinched nor complained of pain, then to his chest where she employed the use of the stethoscope, the natural beating of his heart and breathing uninhibited, and finally had him lie down to check his abdomen to check for tenderness. That could possibly have implied appendicitis or some other ailment if it seemed tender. (A/N: I'm no doctor, so I don't know for certain what the procedure would be.)

All the usual procedures had been filtered through, and her medical training told her that it was most likely just a little virus, probably just the 24-hour flu. However, her grandma-senses were tingling and setting off alarm bells in her mind; her instincts knew that it was something more than just the flu.

She hailed a wayward nurse from the corridor and ordered a urine test, telling the nurse to prepare a blood test in the event that the urine test failed to show up anything. The nurse nodded and hurried to get the necessary supplies. Tsunade waited impatiently for the young girl to return with a container for Naruto's urine and a large syringe and vial for the blood test. Tsunade thanked her, as her mind drifted uncertainly; there had to be something that she'd overlooked or that wouldn't show itself without a specialized test. Naruto excused himself and produced what Gai-sensei (his gym teacher) would surely call a fine, upstanding specimen indicative of his youthful vibrance. Naruto shook his head; it was just pee.

The results came back in record time (she was the head doctor; they had better get their asses moving in high gear if they didn't want her yelling their ears off) and provided the woman with something that she failed to even understand. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the results, she looked up to see her grandson gazing at the ceiling in hopes of finding something interesting. She could feel the paper crinkle underneath her tensing fingers, quickly she calmed the wild indignation and surprise running rampant through her as she took several calming breaths. The other occupants of the room noticed and tensed reflexively, so Tsunade did her best to reassure them with a calm smile. Rather than make something so blasphemous into a big deal, she took another deep breath and went into auto-pilot with her usual questioning.

"Naruto," she said in a stern voice, calling forth her grandson's wandering attention, "I know this might be a little uncomfortable for you, but I've got a few questions that I need you to answer honestly. Can you do that for me, please?"

"S-Sure, granny." He replied, caught off guard by her tone and the tense atmosphere that had settled around the room.

"Are you sexually active?"

"Yeah, but you've known that since I started working for gramps." He flinched, however, after answering. Somehow, it seemed worse to be saying these things in front of his mother.

"When was the most recent time you had intercourse?"

"A month ago, maybe?" he flushed darkly, eyes cast downwards.

Amber eyes gazed surreptitiously at the raven-haired boy in the room before focusing back on the patient.

"And you said that you've had morn—you were sick this morning?" She corrected herself—it just wasn't possible! Tsunade received a nod in affirmation and pressed on. "Have you noticed anything else different with you? Any strange cravings, skin pigmentation, weight gain, mood swings…?"

Kushina's eyes widened. She recalled these very same questions being asked of her a mere seventeen years ago when she had conceived…

"Not really. Why?"

Breathing deeply, she prepared herself to expel news that she was much more familiar with when it came to female patients.

"Well, due to what I've gathered, and this is going to sound completely ridiculous, but you might very well be—"

"Pregnant."

All eyes flashed to Sasuke as he'd finished her sentence for her. Though why, of all people, he should be so calm about it was imperceptible to Tsunade despite all her years of training.

What surprised her more than the raven's impassive attitude was the groan she heard from her grandson in response to that news.

"No way!" Naruto lamented, his hand encountering the skin of his forehead with a loud 'SLAP.'

"I told you there was a chance, dobe." the raven-haired boy countered, one hand under his chin, as if he were deep in thought.

"Yeah, well I was hoping it was just a chance. I should have guessed that with my brilliant fortune I'd actually get pregnant on the first try." The blonde rolled his eyes, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"It wasn't like we knew this was going to happen, usuratonkachi."

Tsunade felt as though she'd been struck by lightening. It all made sense now.

Though Minato was not her birth son, as that child had died in infancy, she thought of him still as though she'd brought him into the world. Finding the blonde at her doorstep asking politely for just a night in her home, watching the weary and thankful smile she was graced with in saying 'yes', hearing about his blood family's disapproval in his choice of future, adopting him into her family without hesitation… she knew quite a number of intimate secrets about him that the general public did not have the fortune of knowing.

Like the fact that he was a demon.

And that his son, though conceived with a mortal woman, inherited his demon blood.

So that Asiatic-looking child was…?

"Who exactly are you?" she asked belatedly, putting the information together in her head that it was quite unusual for anyone outside of the family to be in the room to begin with.

"Uchiha Sasuke." the raven replied evenly. "Second prince of the Underworld and Naruto's fiancé. Hn. I guess that I'm also now the father of his child."

While processing that information, said prince felt his heartbeat suddenly pick up.

Father of his child.

Father.

Father.

That term placed an insurmountable sum of joy and unrestrained happiness into his very core being. He was going to have a child with the one he loved, and not someone he'd been forced to marry. This was turning out quite to his advantage. He smirked visibly, it becoming much more pronounced when he heard his lover's complaint.

"Get over yourself, bastard. Just be happy that you aren't the one who's going to be carrying this thing for the next year." Naruto grumbled.

"There was a time when that was quite possible, dobe. I had the same chance as you of getting pregnant. Thank god I didn't…" he shuddered at the all-too-real possibility of having to carry Suigetsu's child.

"No way. You were the uke in a relationship?" the blonde squawked in disbelief.

"Yes, I was, dobe." the prince supplied reluctantly, a pale pink crossing his facial features. How embarrassing to have the one you dominate so fully know that at one point you were playing the submissive role… so much for the assurance of his bastard-like attitude. He wished he'd kept his mouth shut.

"Who would have thought the haughty Uchiha bastard would serve his ass up for someone else?" the kit continued, giggling at regular intervals, his embarrassment at having his parents in the room as he discussed aspects of his sexuality obviously having subsided.

"Shut up. I don't think it really matters anymore, considering that you're the one pregnant and I'm not." Sasuke shot back, dark eyes narrowing in his lover's direction.

Tsunade, who had been trapped in her world of thoughts, shook her head in an attempt to clear it from the obstructive cloudiness. Then she turned towards the raven, intent to pry out every single detail she possibly could, whether or not it left the man alive.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'fiancé?' I wasn't aware that my seventeen-year-old grandson was going to get married anytime soon." Honey eyes locked onto the prince, daggers tearing though his stoic expression. A small frown settled on his face, as much emotion as his pride would allow, in response to the silent threat.

"My father sent me here about a month and a half ago to find myself a suitable wife." Obsidian eyes raked wolfishly over his fiancé's body. "That was simply the story until I met Naruto at the club… and the rest from there is history."

The arrogant smirk crossed his face again.

The elder lady felt her temper begin to get the better of her. If the brat wasn't a demon prince, oh the things she would dare inflict on him with her knowledge of the human body…

"I'm not okay with this, Uchiha…" she said, trying to control the anger that tempted her so seductively. 'It'll be okay… just a little snip and the problem could be solved for all time.' She thought to herself as she began to write a list of prenatal vitamins and care that her grandson would need to be aware of for the following nine months.

-U R Darkest's Pawn-

The blonde who'd been lying on his back resting lazily on the bed felt the mattress dip under the weight of the person who'd settled next to him. He leaned up to see Sasuke staring at him with an unfathomable expression.

"What?" he asked. He lifted his head off the blankets and rested on his elbows, only slightly raised.

Without a word, a pale hand laid to rest on his firm stomach. Then the Uchiha spoke. "Are you really okay with being pregnant?"

"Why are you asking that?" the kit responded, eyeing the prince owlishly. His own tanned hands folded over his lover's as he lay back down.

"We've known each other for hardly two months. You've agreed to marry me without hesitation and now you're carrying my child. Are you really okay with that?" A rare show of concern flashed onto his face in the form of his crumpled brow.

When Naruto didn't answer right away, he grew frightened and that fear tightened in his stomach. Could this possibly be the end of their love? Yes, he'd known that there was a very big possibility that this was becoming too much for the younger boy to handle, but that didn't mean that he was truly prepared to hear the words that would end their relationship. Then he thought of their child caused the fear to tighten again to an even more painful degree.

The blonde could very easily march right back to his grandmother and ask her for an abortion. He could kill that small bit of life that their love and attraction had created… and he could do it without emotion. They hadn't met their child yet, but the question was would he be able to kill an innocent life, just like that? For the general public, it was okay to kill "the thing" because it wasn't human, not fully developed nothing more than cells at this point… and not seeing it made it less real.

If at all possible, Sasuke would settle for taking their child. Naruto would only have to deal with him for a little while longer. Then he would take their offspring back to the Underworld with him. His father would be satisfied, his daddy would most likely just look at him sadly but understandingly, and he would have their child…

But he knew that he wouldn't be satisfied. He'd lie awake at night thinking of cerulean eyes to rival the skies, of skin the color of the richest caramel, of maize-colored hair to match the rays of the sun…

"Yes."

"Huh?" onyx eyes refocused on him, a cute frown marring his beautiful face and his eyebrows furrowing father in his incapability to comprehend.

"Yes, I'm okay with being pregnant and wedded. This is what I want, maybe a little earlier than expected, hell, I've still got to finish out the next two years and all, but by then I'll have my diploma and we can go to the Underworld to finally get married. And just so you know, bastard, I am not wearing a dress. I repeat I am not wearing a dress. I'm going to wear a suit, and you're going to wear a suit. Hmm… do you think we could somehow put some orange into this all? I mean, like, I'd suffice with an orange flower or something, but we have to have orange in this! And I think we should have an outdoor—"

"Stop, dobe!"

Surprised by the shocking outburst of the man of few words, he shut up immediately. Sasuke was showing a seriousness that he wasn't familiar with, and it made him slightly apprehensive.

"Why would you be okay with this? It doesn't make any sense!" he protested. He couldn't possibly even begin to understand how the blonde interpreted things in his mind. Sasuke ran a shaky hand through his black hair frustratedly.

Why would Naruto so willingly take on this burden asked of him?

"I love you. That's why." And before Sasuke could call him a fool or ask another question with a blatant answer, he continued. "I believe that our love can bring us through anything."

The blonde leaned up to kiss the Uchiha in assurance.

How could he have known that it wouldn't turn out the way he wanted it to?

-U R Darkest's Pawn-

Ashina: Hooray for drama!

Crimson-chan: While this is no Young and the Restless, your ominous foreshadowing is quite dramatic.

Mirai: You know nothing of drama, sweetie. All the crap that happened with your friend and her boyfriend… even that was not enough drama.

Ashina: Explanation! I had a crush on this guy when I was a freshman in high school and I asked him out; he said he wanted to focus on his studies. I totally respect that, seeing as I'm the same type of hardworking person and probably would have done the same thing. So that's all cool and whatnot; we got to be really close friends, but my crush never really faded. Then my (supposed, backstabbing, self-centered, bitch of a) friend decided that she had coincidentally liked him the entire time I was spewing my feelings about him, and when she told me that she had liked a different one of our friends she had actually liked the same guy I did. FML – they started dating. So I'm the type of person who believes that making out in public is trashy (Disclaimer: This is just my opinion and if you do it, whatever. That's your decision.), and previous to them getting together she had agreed too. Then all hell broke loose as situational morals became a part of her daily life. So we've had a stressed relationship since. They broke up, and him and I are just as close as we were back then. But I don't really want to be with him like I did then… I realized that he has absolutely no backbone and what we have is more brother/sister than anything else… But she apparently feels that I'm such a threat that she blocked me on Facebook. I think that's plenty drama-y.

Misaki: You know nothing, dude. Believe me. There was this one time when Mirai— (gets mouth covered by Mirai)

Mirai: (glares) You say another word, big brother, and you die.

Misaki: (mumbles)

Mirai: (completely changes topic) So all of you out there review so this lazy ass will update.

Ashina: Hey, I'm the only one allowed to make myself sound like a review wh*re!