Promises Remembered

Part 2 Chapter 17

A/N I went back and re read the entire thing from the beginning, just to make sure I don't forget anything as I wrap up, and there are so many things, mostly little, that I need to fix. Nothing so big that it would warrant being done before I finish so it won't be stalling my update schedule but annoying to me. For instance, I realized I implied that Kakashi wore his father's haori to his funeral but he would have been five and I once used 'sudden/suddenly' thrice in one sentence. So, nothing super important. I have the next two chapters done and the last two in my head. Pretty sure the last one will be a lot of self indulgent, random scenes from the rest of their lives. 

Part 2 Chapter 17

Kakashi

Michi was talking again, but Kakashi only caught snippets. The blood was rushing in his ears and his chest ached. It was hard to breathe.

"Forty percent survival—chakra exhaustion—no responsibility, the Daimyo—"

He pressed his fists against his eyes, breathing slowly. In through his nose, out through his mouth. In, out. Again. Again. Not again. He couldn't lose her again. He didn't want to live through that again.

"...really, she had such an impressive well of chakra, I'm optimistic this time. If you can answer a few more questions, I may be able to get a better picture of how she will fare."

Pulling his hands away, scrubbing his eyes, he sniffed hard and focused on the far-too-eager man again. "What kind of questions?"

He gestured between Tadao and a chair. The younger man rounded the desk, pulling out the chair for Kakashi. "How long was she there?"

With a sidelong glance to Hinata, he swallowed thickly but did not take the seat. "Two years. Seven-hundred and thirty-three days exactly."

Michi nodded, scribbling again before he frowned. "What?" He looked back at what he'd written and began shuffling through the papers on the desk, pulling out one and reading it closely. "I calculated she would last much longer than that. Was she sick? Extremely injured?"

Kakashi shook his head, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "No..."

"But—"

"She was pregnant."

The pen clattered to the floor. "What did you say? Preg— She was pregnant? But that's..." He accepted a new pen from his assistant, his excitement seeming to grow with each breath. "That's incredible! Did you hear, Tadao? I've created a clone jutsu that can sustain another life!" He rounded the desk, getting far too close to Kakashi, causing him to take two steps back. "How far along was she when the clone failed? Did the child survive? Was it a boy or girl? Do they possess enough of their own chakra to work jutsu?"

"Yes, my son just graduated from the shinobi Academy. What does that have to do with whether or not she's going to survive?"

Michi's eyes widened, a faint blush coloring his face. "Marvelous... You'll have to forgive me. This is my life's work, you see. I got carried away." He turned back to the desk, scribbling again. "So far as we can tell, the distance in time does not affect the length of time the clones survive. We have been picking relatively peaceful eras, though where they end up seems to be beyond our control. Something of a key flaw, considering..." He glanced back at Kakashi and then at Tadao. "Eh... well, our goals. Anyhow, as I said. I had estimated her clone would last closer to three years. So far, almost all test subjects that were shinobi have survived. Civilians do not possess enough chakra, unfortunately. But her um, pregnancy—" He made a giddy sound at the reminder of his success. "—likely changed everything. Tell me about her last days. How did the pregnancy progress? Was it easy or were there complications?"