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We arrived at Sekkei's home town around noon the next day. He made a great show of praising the gods that he was safe, running through the gates with his hands in the air, singing praises. Nobody else was particularly impressed; Miyoshi shot me an amused look, looking like she was trying desperately not to laugh.
"Will you stay here a while?" Sekkei asked. "I'd be more than happy to organise some rooms for you."
"Thank you." Miyoshi bowed gratefully. "We'll only need to stay one night."
We spent the day walking around the town. It was big, very big, so in the hours we spent looking around, I doubt we saw even a fraction of what the area had to offer. Still, we were on a mission not a sightseeing tour, and we wouldn't be off duty until we were back at Konoha. I didn't feel too bad about not having done much as we went to the hotel Sekkei had booked for us.
"Alright, boys, you're sharing," Miyoshi said after getting the three room keys we'd been given.
"What! No way, I'm not sharing with the idiot!" Damaru exclaimed.
"I don't wanna share with Icy, I'll freeze in the night or something!" Iko argued.
Miyoshi glared at them both. "You will share a room and you will not complain. You're teammates, you have to learn to get along. If it ends up happening the hard way, we'll do it the hard way."
Damaru and Iko glared at each other, but didn't dare to argue with Miyoshi. She gave them a key and sent them off to their room.
"Shizuka, you get your own room," she said, handing the girl another key.
"Thank you, sensei." Shizuka bowed.
"Hey, no need to be so formal." Miyoshi grinned and put a hand on her student's head. "We're friends, yeah?"
Shizuka's mouth twitched into a tiny smile. "Yeah."
"That kid." Miyoshi sighed as Shizuka disappeared. "She's so cute, but I really think there's something going on that I don't know about."
I nodded. "Have you noticed the fidget?"
"Yeah. Definitely some sort of nervous habit."
"That's what I thought too. Do you think it's something going on at home?"
"Her father does seem overbearing," Miyoshi admitted. "But he lost his wife in the war right as his only daughter graduated into the very same job. I wouldn't blame any parent for being protective after something like that."
"She might just be grieving still," I suggested. "I get the impression that she was very close to her mother."
"Maybe," Miyoshi agreed. "Anyway, it's getting late. Let's get to our room."
The room we'd been given was spacious and well furnished. There was a king-sized bed in the middle facing a television screen, with a large ensuite bathroom. It was a fairly typical hotel room, in all honesty. It would do for the night.
Miyoshi flopped down on the bed with a loud groan. I smiled. "What, was it really that difficult?"
"It's just... agh. The boys arguing all the way here, Sekkei complaining, and my head kills. I just need to sleep, I think." She sighed.
"Okay. Get some rest. Let me know if you feel better in the morning." I kissed the top of her head and went to the ensuite to shower while she settled down to sleep. By the time I came out and went to bed myself, she was already asleep. She did seem exhausted.
When I woke up the next morning, I was confused to find the bed empty. It took me a moment to realise that the bathroom lights were on, so Miyoshi must have just woken up earlier to have a shower. I glanced at the clock, but it was still a bit early to wake the Genin.
"Hey, Kakashi," Miyoshi said, sticking her head out the bathroom door.
"Mm?"
"Um, don't freak, but I think I might be pregnant."
I froze. Pregnant? Did she think, or did she know? I tried to force myself to think rationally, to consider what we needed to do from here and how we needed to prepare, but for once it felt like there was nothing going on in my head. I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to respond to that.
"...what?"
"I mean, I probably should have guessed when I was feeling a bit dizzy on the way up here after the fight, but I put that down to an injury. I only just now realised because I was throwing up so I thought I'd check, and the signs would certainly suggest that I am," Miyoshi went on, almost as if she were oblivious to my dumbstruck state.
"S-so, for definite?" I asked weakly. "We're gonna... we're gonna have a baby?"
"I think so." Miyoshi met my eyes. "Probably. I'll have to see another medic when we get home, of course, just to make sure. It's not always as obvious when you test yourself. But as far as I can tell... yeah."
I sat down. I took a deep breath. Then I allowed myself to smile. "So we really will have a family."
Miyoshi sat down next to me. "We really will."
There was a knocking on the door suddenly, and Iko called, "hey, Sensei! You up?"
"Yeah, one second," Miyoshi called. She pecked me on the cheek then got up and opened the door. "What do you need?"
"Damaru has to tell you something but he doesn't want to," Iko said.
"Is it important?" Miyoshi frowned.
"It's super important," Iko said. "But I don't know what it is because apparently I'm not trustworthy."
"Well, where's Damaru?"
"I think he's in Shizuka's room, she came around a few minutes ago asking for him."
"Is it something to do with Shizuka?" Miyoshi asked.
"I dunno. But she definitely knows what it is, because they always talk about it."
"How do you know?"
"They always talk like they're arguing or something, and they always stop suddenly or change the subject whenever I get close to them. I think it's something serious."
"And Damaru has to tell me, but he doesn't want to."
"Yeah. I asked him about it last night and he says it's something that he really ought to tell you but he's not sure if he can." Iko wasn't being nearly as silly or loud as he had been the times I'd met him. He was being serious, and I could read concern in his eyes. It seemed Miyoshi's students were closer to each other than they pretended to be.
"Okay," Miyoshi said. "I'll talk to him. You pack up your things, okay? We're gonna get a quick breakfast and then go."
"Okay."
"Definitely something to do with Shizuka," I said, once Iko was out of earshot.
"Oh, I never doubted that," Miyoshi agreed. "I'll go see what's going on."