A Shift Between Dimensions

I'm Gonna Kill You

Klaudia was putting the Ninja Hounds through their paces, a smile on her face.  She had learned so much since coming to work with them.  Her boss was one of her best friends as well.  His gruff exterior was just that, an exterior.  From the corner of her eye, she could see he was watching her closely.  She could well imagine why, she was as big as a side of a barn at this point and she was only seven months along.  She could not imagine how much bigger she would get in another two months.

Konahamaru was gone on another mission.  They seemed to be coming more frequently as of late.  There was so much under rumblings ever since the village had been attacked.  It seemed that evil was leeching out from all the rocks it had hidden under after the fourth shinobi war.  She bent over and praised the hound that had just performed perfectly under her instruction.

"Very good job, Tobi," she told the hound.  "You've come so far, I'm proud of you!"

She rubbed her back as she straightened and started walking back to the house.  She needed to sit down for a little bit.  Tobi walked alongside her.

"How long until your pup is here?" Tobi asked her.

Klaudia would never get used to hearing a dog talk so plainly with her.  It was always a bit startling but she assumed in time, she would get more used to it.  "Two months."

"How many you have in there?" Tobi asked with wide eyes.

Klaudia laughed at the words and rubbed her stomach, "Only one."

"Seems like you should have at least three in there as big as you are," Tobi commented.

"Tobi, you don't tell women they look huge," Tzako growled at him, catching the words as they approached.

Klaudia laughed and gave him a pat on the arm, "I agree with Tobi on this one. I feel huge.  This must be one monster baby."

"Hmm, I don't know if you should be working for too much longer Klaudia.  The dogs could accidentally hurt you."

She gave him a scowl, "This is the best part of my day, don't you dare try to make me stay home."

Tzako laughed at her look and raised his hands in peace, "As you wish.  If Konahamaru doesn't have a problem with it then I don't either.  I might get you to work with the younger dogs though until after the baby is born."

Tobi made a whining sound before saying, "But Klaudia is my favorite."

Klaudia grinned at the hound and scratched behind his ears, "You're a sweetheart, Tobi."  She then gave a heavy sigh, "I do need to talk to you about something, Tzako."

He turned his eyes towards her, grinning slightly.  "I think I know what this is about."

"As much as it kills me, Konahamaru wants me to stay home with the baby when it's born," she confirmed with a sigh.

"I assumed that would happen," he chuckled.  "It really is best for your child.  Most of the women in the village do that.  Only the widows and singles don't... speaking of which, how is your friend doing?"

Klaudia frowned and leaned forward to rest her chin on her palm.  "She will say she's 'just fine' but she's working herself to death.  I mean... she just had that baby and she's already back to working those three jobs.  I don't know what she'd do if Melissa wasn't watching the baby for her while she works herself into an early grave."

Tzako made a grunt before saying, "Doesn't sound like she has much of a choice."

Klaudia agreed and a small patch of anger rose up in her again.  If she saw Kakashi, she was going to kill him.  Just about everyone shared her sentiment.  He was going to come back to a shit storm.  It would serve him right.  Even Naruto was pissed at him.