Yuto felt like he was moving through a dense fog. One moment he was in the hospital, the next he was mechanically leading Kushina and Mikoto back to his apartment, his mind struggling to process the reality of the situation. It all felt surreal, like a vivid dream.
That hazy feeling shattered the moment the front door clicked shut behind them. Kushina immediately spun on her heel, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and began hauling him toward the bedroom.
"Whoa, hey! Sis? What are you—?"
"Mikoto got what she wanted," Kushina declared, her voice brimming with fierce determination. "Now it's my turn!"
"I feel like this isn't the kind of thing you should rush!" Yuto protested, digging his heels into the floor.
"We have to seize the moment!"
"What moment? We're not animals! Hold on—you're ripping my shirt!"
"Then take it off yourself!" she shot back, undeterred.
"Can we just… pump the brakes for a second?" he pleaded, a note of desperation creeping into his voice.
Her face fell instantly, her expression shifting to one of sharp suspicion.
"You don't want to." It wasn't a question. Her eyes narrowed. "Is that it? You're not into it?"
"What? No!" Yuto denied, shaking his head.
"Do you love me?" she demanded, stepping right into his personal space.
"Yes!"
"Then prove it! Physically! Now!"
"Kushina, it's the middle of the day," Mikoto interjected from the sofa, her voice laced with secondhand embarrassment.
"So? Babies don't just magically appear after dark!" Kushina snapped, not even bothering to look at her.
"That's not what I meant. I just think you could afford to be a little less… intense about it."
"Oh, easy for you to say! You're about to be a mom—of three! You're not the one on a deadline here!"
"That's not fair."
"I don't care! I'm scoring today, no matter what!" She turned her laser-focused gaze back on Yuto.
He finally understood the true meaning of that old saying, "like a hungry wolf" Her eyes were practically glowing with predatory intent.
Just as he was fumbling with his clothes, the doorbell rang.
A deep, shuddering inhale came from Kushina.
"I'm going to murder whoever that is," she growled through clenched teeth before stomping off to answer it.
Yuto seized the opportunity to frantically straighten his disheveled clothes. He looked a complete mess.
"Konan?" he heard Kushina say, her voice shifting from homicidal to strained politeness in an instant.
You simply couldn't stay mad at Konan; she was the family's impartial hall monitor, and no one wanted her disciplinary attention focused on them.
"I came to check on Mikoto," Konan's soft, measured voice floated into the room. She entered the living room, her expression serene. "And the baby."
"She, uh, just found out. There's not much to see yet," Kushina mumbled, but she gestured for Konan to follow her to the bedroom anyway.
"Konan, hello," Mikoto said, beginning to rise from the couch.
"Please, don't get up," Konan said, gently resting a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Her expression was as placid as a still lake. "Is the baby here? May I touch it?"
Mikoto froze. Kushina coughed violently, trying to disguise a sudden burst of laughter.
Yuto, now looking somewhat presentable, stepped in to explain. "It's… it's still really early. Just a little flicker of a heartbeat on a screen. There's no baby to touch yet."
Konan nodded slowly, absorbing this information. Then she turned her unnervingly calm gaze to him.
"You should be careful. Mikoto needs her rest. Perhaps you should move into my place for a while."
There was a beat of stunned silence.
"Absolutely not!" Kushina blurted out. "No way! Why would that be necessary?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Konan asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I can take care of her! And him!" Kushina insisted, waving a hand toward Yuto. "Right here! It's fine!"
"You will provide adequate care?" Konan asked, her tone perfectly neutral.
"Yes! Obviously! Don't you look down on me!"
"I will stop by to supervise. Regularly." Without another word, Konan gave a formal nod and simply left.
"'Supervise'?" Kushina sputtered after the door closed. "She doesn't trust me! She thinks I'm irresponsible!"
"I mean," Mikoto said with a light shrug, "you don't always project an aura of responsibility."
"That's just me having fun!" Kushina huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "When I'm serious, my wifely skills are top-tier!"
"You're almost never serious."
"Ugh, whatever! I don't have time for this." She zeroed in on Yuto again, a familiar, dangerous glint returning to her eye. "Now, where were we? I believe you were about to—"
Ding-dong.
Kushina's eye twitched. A low, guttural sound of pure frustration escaped her throat. "You have GOT to be kidding me."
"Maybe… maybe it's a sign," Yuto offered weakly, placing a placating hand on her shoulder. "Let's just… table this for tonight. I promise I'll do whatever you want."
That got her full attention.
"Really?" she asked, her anger momentarily forgotten. "Whatever I want?"
"Yeah."
"...Even the… you know. The 'Blue Rose'?"
"You want to play on that hardcore?"
"Is it a yes or no?"
"...It's a yes."
A triumphant, wicked smile spread across her face.
"Heh!" She practically bounced to the door this time, her mood completely transformed.
It was Uzumaki Rina, armed with enough vitamins and health supplements to stock a small clinic. She proceeded to fuss over Mikoto's diet and well-being for twenty solid minutes before finally taking her leave.
And then the parade didn't stop.
Shizune dropped by with medical advice. Then Pakura and Hanabi showed up bearing a ridiculously elaborate fruit basket.
Even Sasuke made a gruff, awkward appearance, nodded once in silent acknowledgment, and left. Yuto was starting to wonder if Tsunade had taken out a full-page announcement in the Land of Waves newspaper or hired a skywriter.
By the time the last well-wisher had departed, Yuto was drained. He slumped onto the couch, utterly spent, every ounce of energy sapped from his body.
His mysterious communicator buzzed on the coffee table.
It was a message from his favorite, anonymously clueless pen pal.
[Magical Girl]: hey. what u doin
[Dumb Snack]: Surviving an open house. My place is Grand Central Station today.
[Magical Girl]: ??
[Dumb Snack]: My wife's pregnant. The whole village decided to come by and say congrats.
[Magical Girl]: U HAVE A WIFE???
[Dumb Snack]: Is that so hard to believe?
[Magical Girl]: I just thought you were single. Just a kid.
[Dumb Snack]: Buddy, I've lived two full lives. Combined, I'm pushing forty, okay!
[Magical Girl]: My bad. Congrats
[Dumb Snack]: thanks. So what's up?
[Magical Girl]: how do u beat Uchiha Itachi
[Dumb Snack]: ??
[Magical Girl]: in the game. You made him stupidly OP. its bullshit. Do you do this on purpose?
[Dumb Snack]: Seriously, man! You're in the middle of a war! How are you back to obsessing over video games?
[Magical Girl]: war is boring. This is important. how do I beat him
[Dumb Snack]: He twitches his left hand right before he uses that killer combo. Just dodge when you see the twitch. If you don't, you're toast. But it's an easy dodge once you spot it.
[Magical Girl]: what twitch
[Dumb Snack]: The hand twitch! You don't see the little hand twitching??
[Magical Girl]: … oh that thing.
[Dumb Snack]: Seriously though. You really think you're gonna win this thing? Against the Waves? Doesn't sound like it's going great from where I'm sitting.
[Magical Girl]: SHUT UP ABOUT THE WAR. I told u I got this. we have a reanimated army, remember? we can literally drown them with bodies if we have to.
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