On My Mind

"I have some important news for you," On the training ground on which Team Eleven usually met stood their sensei, Uzumaki Kushina, with a wide smile. "I'm expecting!"

The first to react to the news was Chihiro, on whose face a huge smile began to blossom. Softly, the strawberry-blond began to coe, letting out an excited "Congratulations!". After his reaction followed Sen, who congratulated her sensei softly, a gesture the redhead appreciated deeply.

Izumi, meanwhile, kept quiet and tilted her head in confusion, attempting to understand what the woman meant and what the fuss of her teammates was about. "Expecting what?"

"Oh Kami, Izumi," Sen had to resist the urge to slap her friend. "She's pregnant, you idiot."

"Oh," Izumi let out a gasp at the news. When her uncle had told her about her aunt's pregnancy, he hadn't told her in code. "Congratulations, sensei!"

"Thank you, you three," Kushina gave her students an appreciative smile before her expression dropped suddenly, turning into more of a frown. "But that also means I won't be able to train you any more soon. At least not properly anymore."

Simultaneously, her student's expressions began to mirror her own, their delight fizzling out. "What? Sensei!"

Kushina let out a chuckle, the sound taking on both a happy and nostalgic tone. "I think that we have reached a part where we are past sensei now, y'know. Nee-san is just fine." 

The change of honorifics felt oddly intimate, almost as though they were breaching a line they had crossed long ago, a line that defined them as way more than a team, but as a family. And if all four of them were honest with themselves, they didn't mind, not at all.

━━━━

Afterward, Kushina-sensei, now Kushina-nee, had invited her three students to eat lunch with herself and Minato in order to celebrate the joyous occasion. It was how they found themselves seated at the dinner table of the quaint home of the couple, alongside Hatake Kakashi.

When Izumi had first laid her eyes upon the silver-haired, the expression he wore, no matter how minuscule, was the first thing she was carefully inspecting in an attempt to read what he was feeling. Different from the last time they saw each other, that is how she thought he looked. And when their gazes met, the charcoal she found so beautiful caught her cerulean, Kakashi appeared more relaxed, his muscles not tensed like they were when he lay on the grass. Overall, he looked better. The realization made Izumi smile. 

The redheaded woman had told them to hold still for a moment before she left the dining room to 'prepare some ramen' and 'welcome Minato once he got home'. She ended up leaving the students to their own devices, silence engulfing the space between them. Idly and as told, they sat at the table, simply waiting.

"When I'm older, I also want children." said Chihiro suddenly, smiling widely as he spoke. His conversation starter broke the ice, all eyes on him now while he rested his chin on his arms, which were placed comfortably on the table before him.

Izumi tilted her head in curiosity, glancing at the boy from the peripheral of her vision. "How many do you want?"

"Many," He replied. "Of course, I would also want to cooperate with my partner's wishes. So I don't mind how many exactly."

"I think you will be a good father, Chiro, no matter how many children you will have."

Chihiro startled a little, a flush spreading across his cheeks. "Oh, ah, thank you, 'Zumi," Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck, "The same goes for you.*

"When I'm older," Izumi begins, smiling. "I want to have at least two kids. A girl and a boy, I think."

Kakashi turned to look at her, now curious about the conversation. "Two?"

"Ah, maybe three." She corrected herself. Where the thought came from, Izumi wasn't sure, but she knew she wanted it.

At the same time she also found herself growing curious about what Kakashi had to say about the topic, but refused to put him on the spot like that. His comfort was her priority, after all.

"Three?" It was almost comical to her how wide his eyes had gotten, surprise shining in them.

Izumi was unsure what to make of his reaction, so she nodded. "Uh huh."

Sen snorted a little, finding the conversation amusing. "If you and Chiro continue like that, you can have your own Genin teams made up of just your children."

"Thanks for the idea, Sen!" grinned Izumi.

"Oh kami, please no." She had meant for the idea to be a joke, not to be taken seriously!

"Please no what?" In the entryway to the dining room stood Kushina now, curiosity lingering in her gaze. The heads of the four snapped to her quickly, surprised by her sudden reappearance. She inspected each of the students carefully, before repeating her question when she got no immediate answer.

"Izumi and Chihiro want so many kids that they can create several Genin teams." explained Sen.

Kushina grinned at that, ecstatic over the idea. "What a great thought! Absolutely genius, y'know!"

Sen sweatdropped at that. "Why did I end up with the three fanatics?"

"Hey!" yelled out the three supposed 'fanatics' in question simultaneously. "We aren't fanatics!"

"Sure, sure. That's what they would say."

"It takes one to recognize one, wouldn't you say so, Sen?" asked Kakashi slyly, a single eyebrow raised in question.

The fact was, as lazy as the raven-haired was, Sen was also easy to rile up. "Of course, the comment against me comes from you."

Kakashi only shrugged in response.

"They say two great minds think alike, but maybe they tend to argue more." commented Minato, joining the conversation. His eyes wandered over the children sitting in the chairs, a smile blossoming on his features as he did so. An amused smile tugged at his lips. He placed himself behind Kushina, pecking on the cheek in greeting.

Sen looked up at the man, greeting him respectively. "Hello, Hokage-sama." She even stood up as she did so, getting ready to bow respectfully.

Kakashi followed shortly after, repeating the raven-haired's words and actions in greeting.

Before the other two children in the room could repeat the exact same words yet another time, Minato waved them off, letting out a small laugh.

"No need to use honorifics. We are past 'sensei' or 'Hokage-sama' now."

The reaction to his dismissal was immediate.

"Okay, Minato-nii," blurted out Izumi, who flushed after having spoken the words, already having stood up from her chair. "Wait, can I even call you that?"

Minato smiled gently at the brunette. "Of course, you can if you want."

Izumi grinned at the man. “Okay, nii-san.”

Chihiro frantically looked between the blond and brunette, now standing beside the latter. “Can I too?”

“Yes, you can.”

Chihiro, too, began to grin before reaching out with his hand in order to high-five his brunette friend. Both radiated delight, their eyes crinkling from the size of their smiles.

“Now, that we have put honorifics behind us, we have something to tell you,” Minato placed his arm around Kushina’s shoulder, pulling her into his side by doing so. “We’re getting married soon.”

Before total mayhem could erupt, Kushina shushed the students by placing her finger on her lips after having waved her arms around frantically for a good minute.

“You haven’t even heard the best of it,” Kushina began. “I want all of you to be our flower children!" She clapped her hands together in excitement, releasing herself from Minaro’s grip with a huge grin blossoming on her features. Unconsciously, she leaned closer to the group of Shinobi.

The reactions were rather mixed, to say the least.

Two of the Shinobi, namely Izumi and Chihiro reacted with obvious delight, taking on a similar expression to their sensei's. "Of course!" They immediately agreed, turning towards their friends expectantly.

Those two meanwhile had their arms crossed over their chest in defiance, a pointed look sent in the direction of both the senseis and teammates. "No." Their lack of enthusiasm was practically written on their faces.

At their dismissal, Kushina almost began to cry, tears gathering in her violet eyes as she gazed at them. "Please?"

Minato meanwhile stood behind his fiancé, awkwardly patting her back in order to bring some comfort to the emotionally distressed woman. 

Chihiro and Izumi on the other hand chose to glare at their respective friend, giving them pointed looks to get them to agree to this just for their sensei.

Both Sen and Kakashi let out a sigh of reluctance, uncrossing their arms as they resigned to the pleading. "Fine." said both at the same time, giving each other annoyed looks at the simultaneous action.

"Oh, thank you two!" Faster than Izumi had ever seen the woman move, Kushina reached out to the two students and engulfed them in a tight embrace, one they couldn't escape.

"Sensei," Sen tapped the back of the redhead. "Can't breath."

Kakashi could only nod in agreement, cheek squished against the shoulder of the redhead.

"Sorry!" Kushina quickly separated herself from the two, giving them the much-needed space to breathe.

The action made Izumi and Chihiro snicker, both of them attempting to hide their reaction behind their hand, to no avail. Their laughs echoed through the room as the two of them continued, their shoulders moving from the force of their laughs. They began to lean against each other, using the other as support.

Sen on the other hand found the situation anything but funny.

"Stop laughing, you two complacent idiots. You are encouraging her."

They were maybe idiots, but they were her idiots. And just maybe, this was the birth of a family, a peculiar one at that.