"Say, why don't I take you for that bowl of ramen I promised you way back?"

Naruto's ears perk like a dog who has just spotted a squirrel. It seems he'd forgotten about it and is just now remembering. A large smile starts to grow on his face before it suddenly fades.

"Uh," Naruto mutters, standing awkwardly as he tries not to glare at my stomach. I've decided not to hide it under loose clothing anymore. Word's gonna get out eventually, right? "Are you sure you should be eating right now, Aya-Sensei? I mean, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you're getting pretty fat... Maybe you should hold off on the ramen for a little while..."

I can't hold back the laughter that escapes adamantly from my lungs. I clutch my round stomach as I bend over in heavy laughter, the type I haven't experienced in such a long time. I can barely speak, sputtering words out whenever I can manage a breath. "Fat-" I snort, covering my mouth before exploding in giggles again. When I finally somewhat compose myself, I place a hand on the yellow-haired genin's head. "I'm not fat, silly. I'm pregnant."

Naruto's eyes go wide and his face turns red in realization and embarrassment.

"Hey, don't sweat it, kid. Let's go eat, yeah?"

He nods subtly, keeping his head down as we walk to Ichiraku's. I try to hold back, for his sake, but still snicker as we walk, murmuring things under my breath, "Pfft, you crack me up, Naruto."

When we arrive, it seems Naruto has already moved on from his embarrassing moment a few minutes ago as he orders an extra large bowl of miso chashu pork ramen with extra pork and gulps it down faster than I can comprehend. What a kid. 

He orders another bowl while I'm still working on my first.

"So have you thought much about the chunin exams?" I ask the boy as he slurps up the noodles like an actual vacuum. He stops, gulping down a large mouthful, before turning to me and nodding.

"Of course, dattebayo! I'm gonna take the exam and become a chunin, and then I'll be one step closer to becoming Hokage!"

I smirk before taking another slurp of my ramen.

"Good," I say, telling Naruto the same thing I told to Sasuke. "I'm glad."

Naruto returns his attention to his food and finishes his second bowl, promptly ordering a third. Dear lord, I can't wait to pay this bill. 

Later that day, I run into Sakura outside her house. She's leaving and running down the stairs to her front door, calling goodbye to her parents. 

"Oh, Sakura!" I exclaim, waving and stopping her in her tracks.

"Ayame-Sensei!" she says with a kind smile. "I was just heading to train for-" Sakura stops mid-sentence as she stares down at my baby bump. "When did that happen?" she mutters bluntly.

I feel myself go red as I watch the intelligent genin infer. Sakura has always been the smart one of the bunch and I'm sure she's putting two and two together.

"Oh!" I say, laughing with a closed eye smile. "Uhh well, I'm just about 4 months along..."

"Who's the father?" she asks in blunt curiosity. Thank god, I think as I laugh awkwardly. She's smart but she hasn't picked up on it yet. Or maybe she has, and this is just her confirming her suspicions. That seems like the logical thing to do in this situation- "Gomen..." Sakura says shamefully, "That's really none of my business. Forget I asked."

"Maa, it's okay," and now for some reason, I'm the one who feels bad. I don't answer her question directly, because doing so would mean lying to her. Of course, I won't tell her it belongs to an ex-boyfriend. But I also won't lie to her by telling her it's Kakashi's. I'll let people assume that, yes, but I won't straight up lie to their faces. That doesn't feel right. 

So, despite the fact that Kakashi and I have both agreed to keep our engagement a secret for now, the words slip out because it's the only thing that seems right in this situation. "Kakashi and I are engaged," I whisper. "But it's a secret. Can you promise you won't tell right away?"

Sakura's eyes go wide and a huge smile spreads across her lips and to her soft, green eyes. "No way!" she exclaims. "That's great news! I won't tell, I promise."

I smile, showing my gratitude to my little pink pupil. "Say, now I'd like you to tell me something, just between us."

We start to walk and she peers up at me with her glowing, curious eyes. "What is it?"

"Are you gonna participate in the chunin exams?"

Immediately her expression drops and she starts staring at her feet as we walk, and I frown. 

"I see," I mutter. Damn it! So close. I knew Sakura would be the deciding factor. Shit...

"I hope you're not disappointed..." she mutters, fumbling with the flap on her weapons pouch. "I thought about it a lot, but I think I'd just end up being more of a burden to Naruto and Sasuke than anything... they've both improved so much, while I'm always just watching them from behind."

An idea hits me and it's literally like a light bulb has turned on in my head. I'm sure that my eyes are glowing as I glare down at my pupil.

"What if I train you?" I ask.

She's silent for a moment, pink brows furrowed. "You mean..."

"I will work with you, one on one, while Kakashi takes on the boys. There's still a month until the exams, we have time."

I feel the spark of hope turn to a flame as her expression changes. She's considering it. I just hope she takes it.

"Do you really think I have a chance, Ayame-Sensei?" she asks, voice sad but also curious. I nod, drawing her into a side hug. Her head barely reaches my shoulder and I'm reminded just how tiny these genin are. To think that they will be competing to become chunin...

"Of course," I chime. "It's not all just about physical skill, Sakura. There's a written test involved, too."

I see her eyes light up at this. I know she's good at book-stuff. She was top of the class, along with Sasuke, and always excelled in academics.

And then she speaks and I can finally bask in my excitement, having worked my plan out perfectly. "Okay, I'll do it."

Mission complete, I think as we head to the training grounds. May as well start now, we've got a lot to work on.

We train long and hard, though I'm careful not to exert myself.

Sakura falls down, panting and sweating. I toss her my canteen which is filled with cold water and she drinks it eagerly.

"You're intense Sensei, even when you're pregnant," she remarks, wiping the sweat off her forehead. We've been sparring so that she can become better at hand-to-hand combat. I've been using my knuckle blades and she's used a kunai, but I've gone easy on her, of course. She's steadily improving, though. She's a quick learner.

* * *

Before we know it, the exams are fast approaching. In the one month, Sakura and I have managed to up her chakra control a bit more and get her taijutsu skills improved significantly. Though, she's still got a long way to go. It's clear weaponry isn't her thing, but she's got a lot of arm strength. I even struggled to push her kunai back whenever our weapons locked. 

I also taught her the basics of genjutsu, though I'm not adept at it myself. We focused mainly on escaping a genjutsu, should you ever find yourself trapped in one. Being so good at controlling her chakra, she was very good at it. Though, once again, I am no genjutsu expert and the ones I could cast on her were not very good to begin with. 

I'm sure Kakashi would be much better, with his sharingan and all, but he's busy working with Naruto and Sasuke. I haven't seen him much, except on the odd evening when I'll stop by his place to say hi. We've both been incredibly busy, trying to prepare our rookie genin for a difficult exam. 

I get to Kakashi's just as the sun is setting and knock three times. The door opens and I step inside, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. He doesn't bother with the mask while he's home alone and when I'm with him.

The first place I go to is the fridge, and I grab what little there is and try to put something together. "You really should keep more food, you know. There's barely enough to make a sandwich."

He comes up behind and wraps his arms around my waist, resting his hands on my round tummy as he speaks softy into my ear. 

"I guess you're right," he says. "Especially since you're eating for two."

I turn around and kiss him on the lips softly, which he returns just as delicately. When we pull away, I see his smile and feel warmth fill me from head to toe. 

"I'll finish the sandwich, go sit down. You've been exerting yourself enough with Sakura," he says, kissing my forehead. 

"Yes sir," I say jokingly, pushing past and waddling over to the couch. I fall into the soft cushions and stick my feet up on his coffee table. "So, how is it going with the boys?"

He grunts as he searches his very empty kitchen for a butter knife. Seriously, this guy needs to get more stuff for his kitchen. "They're rivals, so I barely need to train them. They spur each other on so I basically just get to read my book."

I snort, turning my nose up at the mere mention of that damn book of his. He spots this and grins.

Finally, he makes his way over and joins me on the couch, handing me the sandwich and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. The other hand rests on my thigh.

I put my head into his shoulder, feeling a wave of relaxation fall over me. I guess I have been working hard lately, and being pregnant doesn't help. It makes every task two times more exhausting.

I sigh, already dreading the walk home tonight. 

Then he speaks so suddenly, I nearly jump out of my skin. Yet his words are soft, delicate. I can feel his breath on my ear.

"Move in with me."

I'm not so tired after that. In fact, Kakashi's words have woken me right up. I perk my head up, eyes wide as I glare at Kakashi who remains unmoved, a sure look looming in that grey eye of his. "What did you say?" I ask, to be sure my tired brain isn't imagining things.

"Move in with me. You're super pregnant, and we're getting married soon anyways. May as well."

I look back to my swollen feet and blink a few times, trying to process this sudden request.

"Plus, I'm apparently in need of some new kitchen utensils."

I laugh at this, laying my head back on his shoulder. "Okay then," I sigh, nuzzling my face into his neck. "Let's move in together..."

* * *

With the chunin exams less than a week away, Kakashi orders me to rest. However much I wish I could keep training Sakura to the last minute, I know that he's right. I come home completely exhausted every day. 

The night before the exams, Kakashi decides to head over to my apartment and pack all of my stuff up for me.

"Sakura will be fine," Kakashi assures me, bringing in the last box from my apartment and setting it on his kitchen table. "And you need to relax a little."

"You're right," I sigh, walking over and opening a box, intending to unpack it. 

"If I'm right, then go sit down," he says accusingly, but with a slight smirk.

I groan and return to the couch, though I am thankful for all Kakashi's help lately. Being 5 months along is not easy. I can't imagine what I'll feel like to be 8 months. I'm already sore and exhausted and my feet are the size of an elephant's.

"Everything is arranged that I'll be the one summoned to tend to the genin if anything goes wrong during the exams," Kakashi continues, pulling items out of the boxes and setting them all over the place. I don't have a lot of stuff, but certainly more than Kakashi does. "And I'll update you as often as I can. When, rather if, they make it to the final matches, you can watch from the stands. Oh, and I've already spoken to Hokage-Sama and he's agreed to give Yugao some time off from ANBU so she can come spend some time with you..."

"Kakashi... that's really not necessary... I'll be fine on my own."

But he walks over and leans down, kissing my forehead before taking my face in his hands and giving me a stern yet loving look, "I know, but I'll feel better knowing someone's here with you." He gets down to his knee and kisses my jutting stomach too, before returning to the boxes and continuing to unpack them.

I watch him sheepishly, feeling glad this man is in my life. Even though I am perfectly capable of being independent, even when I'm pregnant. But I'll do it, just because I know it puts his mind at ease. 

In the morning when I wake, Kakashi is already gone. What time is it? I roll over and look at the clock and realize it's almost noon. I haven't slept in this long in years, though I must admit I feel very refreshed. Rolling out of bed, I throw on a robe and walk out to the kitchen.

I start digging through boxes of stuff that are still needing to be unpacked, searching for my frying pan. 

"Shit," I mutter, holding my lower back as I lean over. I must look pitiful right now, struggling to dig through boxes with a fat, jutting stomach. I feel like an old lady. I'm glad nobody is here to see me in this condition.

Finally, I find the pan and pull it out, placing it on the stove and lighting it. Luckily, Kakashi always has eggs in his fridge. Maybe I'll go get some groceries today... surely, Kakashi wouldn't mind if I did that. It's not like I'll be doing any heavy lifting—

"Yo!" someone exclaims from across the room, and I jump, cracking an egg on the floor in the process. I whip around to see a purple haired woman sitting on the couch in the living area. How the hell did I not spot her there before?

"Y-Yugao!" I exclaim, turning off the stove before something catches fire. "I didn't see you there."

"It's been so long, Ayame! How have you been? I've been so busy with ANBU stuff, I meant to visit you, but then Kakashi-Senpai said you weren't accepting visitors... that was a couple of months ago, you know. But anyways, it's so good to see you! I see you're doing well," she says, peering down at my bump.

"Hai, hai," I mutter through awkward laughter. "Been alright, I suppose. Best I can be, in this condition." I take the opportunity to point to my large, round stomach and we both laugh a little.

I manage to convince Yugao to come to the grocery store with me. She obliges, calling it her 'mission'. She says she doesn't get many exciting missions outside of ANBU, most of her missions are the 'same old, same old' where she assassinates someone or captures them, or interrogates, or spies... "I actually miss the lighthearted missions, you know? ANBU gets old after so long."

"Mhm," I say, going along with everything she says but not really listening. She's talking like she's never talked before. Usually, on our missions, she was the quiet one. I guess I never talked much with her outside of ANBU training and missions and the occasional outing with the team. "And how is Hataye?"

She flushes pink and smiles sheepishly, "He's great. Actually, he's proctoring some of the chunin exams."

"Oh? That's great," I say, grabbing milk and bread and other basic items. Yugao follows behind me with a basket as I fill it. I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on these exams. I'd like more than anything to sit with the other Jonin instructors and watch the genin on the TV screens in the Forest of Death, but Kakashi was adamant that I stay home. He claimed I might get too worked up and disturb the baby. I let a sigh escape my lips as Yugao and I walk the aisles of the small grocery store.

"How are you and Kakashi-Senpai getting along? I mean, clearly pretty well," she mutters suggestively, nodding to my stomach. I flush with color and simply nod. "I still remember when we were all just young ANBU, early 20s. Now look at us, settling down, having kids..." she trails off but I stop listening, my mind drifting elsewhere.

Kakashi and I are gonna have to tell people that the child is not his, right? Or maybe we don't. But what if it doesn't look anything like him? Will people be suspicious? At least it'll have some of my features, right? Oh god, I hope it ends up looking like me. What if it comes out with raven-black hair? What are people gonna think?

My hand has found my stomach subconsciously and Yugao has stopped talking. There are tears forming in the corners of my eyes and she sets the basket down, approaching me tentatively. 

"Is everything okay?" she asks. I nod, lying, saying everything's fine. We finish the grocery shopping in silence and she helps me carry the bags back to the apartment. 

"Hey, I'm... pretty tired. I think I'll go lie down for a while," I mutter after putting the groceries away. Yugao nods, eyebrows furrowed, and I head into the bedroom and shut the door. Relieved to finally be alone, I fall into the bed and pull the covers up and over my chin.

Is this what it's gonna be like, having this child? Am I even suited to have a child? I don't know anything about babies. I don't know anything about what a proper childhood should look like, either. I never really had a proper childhood, to be honest. I mean, Hiruzen did the best that he could while balancing his duties as the Hokage and as a father to Asuma as well, but there's only so much the very busy man could manage...

Asuma didn't seem bothered by it. He turned out just fine. Maybe it's only me... am I the messed up one?

I guess my mother and father are pretty messed up too... 

I clutch my stomach, holding back the tears that push in the corners of my eyes. I want this child to have the best life possible, but I just don't know how to give that to them.

Before long, Kakashi comes home. I know it's him because I recognize his voice. He and Yugao exchange some muffled words before Yugao leaves for the night. When Kakashi comes into the room, I pretend to be asleep. He sighs softly and heads to the bathroom and I hear the shower turn on. Finally, I fall asleep for real and when I wake in the morning, Kakashi is once again already gone.

* * *

Hey Wonderful Readers!

What are your thoughts so far? Don't be afraid to comment. Love you guys!! So grateful for all the support thus far.

~R