SUMMARY: Naruto's life as the mayor of Konoha and widowered father of two isn't bad. It's manageable. He's got the undying love and respect of his city. He's got a faithful secretary in Shikamaru. He's got a responsible babysitter in Konohamaru. He's got the two mandatory douchebag best friends in Sasuke and Sakura. He's got his children, Boruto and Himawari, whom he loves more than he's able to comprehend. And he's got the memory of Hinata in his mind, every single day.
The appearance of an angry foreign boy from Suna in his life sounds like nothing but trouble, but Naruto's never been one to shy away from trouble. Subconsciously, he welcomes it, because trouble is a distraction from his own pain. But he didn't expect the Suna boy to bring his mentally ill father and the Light back into Naruto's life.
A/N: Danzo is a dick and I hate him.
CHAPTER 1: Different
"Naruto, there's a call for you," Shikamaru said.
It was a simple sentence, but Naruto found his heart stuttering painfully for a fraction of a second. He struggled not to let it show on his face. Shikamaru, his assistant and one of his best friends since childhood, was amazingly, and sometimes rather annoyingly, perceptive; Naruto did not want the intelligent man to badger him later about his reaction, or worse, blame himself for causing it. There was no reason to make Shikamaru feel guilty for something that wasn't his fault. It was just that...for a painful moment, Naruto almost thought that the call would be Hinata, phoning in to check on him.
But he was pretty sure that unless Heaven had subscribed to one of AT&T's shitty wireless phone plans, Hinata wasn't the caller.
It wasn't often that Shikamaru would transfer a phone call to Naruto himself. Naruto was a busy man, perhaps Konoha's busiest, since he was the mayor. He trusted Shikamaru to take care of most of the callers, whether they be zealous fanatics, petty complainers, or actual contacts of importance. Naruto only had to stop work to actually speak to someone if the caller was an Extremely Important Person, like a big-time sponsor (he honestly hated talking to those, but what choice did he have), or if the call was personal.
Naruto could tell by Shikamaru's tone of voice that this call was the latter. Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't call him during work hours...Konohamaru was still in school...so who...
"Naruto?" Shikamaru's slightly impatient voice knocked him out of his reverie.
"Right, right. Sorry, Shik," Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Who is it?"
Shikamaru hesitated. "It's Boruto."
"Boruto?"
"Well...about Boruto." Shikamaru shrugged, and without divulging any further details into the situation, placed the phone in Naruto's outstretched hand.
Naruto put the phone to his ear and took a deep breath before opening his mouth. "Naruto Uzumaki speaking."
"Mr. Uzumaki, I'm sorry to inform you that your son was involved in a fight with another student."
Naruto sighed deeply as he drove his bright orange car from his office to Alliance Middle School. It wasn't the first time Boruto had gotten into trouble at school, but previous instances had been cases of inattentiveness in class, poor grades, or pranks pulled on teachers. Naruto never thought he'd see the day Boruto get violent with another student. Mischievous Boruto may be, but the kid wasn't malevolent.
...And during Boruto's past misdemeanors, Hinata had still been alive.
I really need to stop thinking about her today, Naruto thought to himself as he pulled up at the mostly empty parking lot of Alliance Middle School. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon; even though Naruto had left his office to come here as soon as he could after receiving the phone call, it had still taken him a while to wrap things up. School had been out for over an hour by now. Naruto loved his job, but still he cursed his busy life; he technically wasn't even supposed to leave work until 7 or 8 in the evening. Normally, Boruto and Himawari, Naruto's other child (who attended Sarutobi Elementary School), took the school bus home and were babysat by Konohamaru until Naruto returned. However, due to today's extraordinary circumstances, Shikamaru had insisted that Naruto take the rest of the day off so that he could go speak with the school dean and pick Boruto up himself.
Naruto was still smartly dressed in a suit, having not had time to change since leaving his workplace. However, he knew that his state of dress was not the real reason why the school's front desk receptionist immediately stood up and enthusiastically welcomed him when he walked through the doors. Naruto's electric blond locks and whiskered face were well-known and well-loved by Konoha's citizens. Normally, he basked in the warmth and love of his people, but today, considering that the only reason he was here was because his son was in fucking trouble, the receptionist's endearment only served to annoy him. He almost wished that she would glare at him and maybe even snipe at his poor parenting skills—almost assuredly the treatment any other parent would receive. It was no less than what Naruto felt he deserved. Naruto loved his kids dearly, but he had no actual idea of how to be their father. Hinata, the perfect mother, would have known exactly what to do with Boruto in a situation like this.
Or would she have? After all, Boruto had never gotten into a fight before...but regardless of how Hinata would have reacted, Naruto...had not even the slightest inkling of a clue what to do.
"Boruto's waiting for you in the dean's office. It's just down this hallway, through the double doors, then the seventh door to your left. Would you like me to accompany you—"
"Don't sweat it," Naruto dismissed, trying his best to affix his fake smile on his face. "I know where it is."
The receptionist lady smiled and nodded. Naruto turned away and briskly walked towards the dean's office.
The hallways were mostly silent, due to the fact that most of the staff and students had already gone home. Which was why Naruto was able to hear the heated voices when he reached the end of the hallway.
"In addition to your unruly behavior, this is the third time this week you've violated the dress code, Mr. Sabaku!"
Naruto frowned. The dean was an unpleasant man named Mr. Shimura, but Naruto had never heard him speak with such harsh tones. Naruto understood the need for strictness in the face of misbehavior, but he did not condone unkindness towards a child.
"Face paint isn't a dress code violation," a young, unfamiliar voice, presumably the aforementioned "Mr. Sabaku", bit back. Naruto raised his eyebrows. That was a distinct Suna accent. Was this the student that Boruto had gotten into a fight with?
"A long-sleeved shirt would very well be a dress-code violation if it served as a distraction to the other students."
"My face paint didn't 'distract' anybody. Nobody even looks at, or talks to me." A pause. "Except for this imbecilic simpleton."
"Hey, watch it, you bastard!" Ah. There was Naruto's lovely loud son.
"Silence!" Mr. Shimura snapped.
The door to the dean's office was cracked open, just wide enough for Naruto to peer inside without being noticed by the room's three occupants. Naruto wondered at his own actions—why was he peeping like a spy?
Boruto was sitting closest to the door, holding an ice pack over his right eye, a massive pout on his face. Next to him, sitting hunched with his elbows draped across his knees, was a boy Naruto didn't recognize. His dark brown hair was styled with what looked like too much hair gel, and he was wearing a massive black trench coat that looked way too big on him.
"Mr. Sabaku, you are henceforth forbidden from wearing face paint at this school," said Mr. Shimura. "Unless you'd like to risk expulsion?"
Naruto was surprised. Surely face paint didn't warrant expulsion?
The Sabaku boy raised his head, and Naruto was able to clearly see his face for the first time. True enough, he was wearing face paint—two crimson E's facing inward that decorated his eyes all the way down to his chin. Traditional Suna fashion. Still, the boy needed not paint his face to show off his desert heritage; he had the telltale pale skin, high cheekbones, and heavily-lidded eyes of the Sunanese.
"My father personally applies war paint on my face every morning. The likes of you can't take that away from me." The boy's face remained expressionless, but Naruto could see the defiance and hurt simmering behind his painted eyes.
"Then your father should understand that you do not come to school to go to war. But I suppose he wouldn't understand the difference, considering where he came from, and how he's raised his son to act in school."
Naruto cringed, recognizing the low blow. He knew Mr. Shimura was a bigot if only because of his outspoken political views that contrasted sharply with Naruto's open-door international policy, but Naruto never imagined the dean would sink so low as to take his prejudices out on a student.
Then, to Naruto's disappointment, Boruto pointed rudely at the Sabaku boy's face, and cried, "Yeah, your dad is a total whack if he even thinks that stupid makeup looks good on your stupid face!"
Naruto waited for Mr. Shimura to reprimand Boruto for the rude outburst...only to be met with silence.
Not everyone from Suna wore face paint—it was a personal choice—but those who did wore it with their homeland's pride, all the more symbolic since Suna was currently ravaged with civil war. Naruto knew that Boruto, Konoha born and bred all the way, didn't realize how racist and offensive his comment had been. Children were ignorant, and could be jerks to each other sometimes. But he'd expected the adults in Boruto's life to step in in the event of such insensitive mistakes being made...not sit around and let the prejudice grow.
Having witnessed enough, Naruto strode purposefully into the room. "Hey, buddy, that wasn't very nice," he reprimanded his son, whose head snapped up in surprise and embarrassment. "That was petty and you know it. You shouldn't say things like that." Naruto watched with increasing curiosity as the Sabaku boy suddenly sat up, stiffening, looking towards the wall to avoid Naruto's eyes.
Pretending that he hadn't heard Mr. Shimura's comments about the boy's face paint—which he privately decided really wasn't all that offensive or distracting—Naruto smiled and offered, "I think you look cool."
The Sabaku boy's eyes suddenly swiveled to meet Naruto's, wide with surprise.
"Daaaaad," Boruto groaned, exasperated at the fact that his dad was actually complimenting the classmate he apparently had beef with, at the same time that Mr. Shimura cleared his throat and acknowledged, "Mr. Uzumaki."
"Mr. Shimura!" Naruto greeted the dean. "Hi, I'm so sorry I'm late. I came as soon as I could. My little guy's givin' you problems again, huh?"
"No worries," Mr. Shimura said drily. "You're a busy man. Besides, Mr. Sabaku's father hasn't even arrived yet." He turned to the Sabaku boy. "Mr. Sabaku, this is Naruto Uzumaki, the mayor of Konoha," the dean said, somehow sounding extremely patronizing.
Boruto groaned loudly, hating any reminder of who his father was. Naruto, sensing the Sabaku boy's discomfort, stuck out his hand and grinned, "Just Naruto is fine. Nice to meet ya!"
"I know who you are," the boy mumbled darkly.
"Heh," Naruto chuckled nervously, awkwardly withdrawing his hand when it became evident that the boy was not planning to take it any time in the next ten years. The tension in the air was thick, and Naruto silently cursed out Mr. Shimura for the unnecessary introduction. He was sure that the man had only done it to make the Sabaku boy feel bad, and Naruto did not appreciate being used as an intimidation technique. Still, he didn't want to bring it up and cause a scene in front of the kids, so he simply sat down in the empty chair next to Boruto and asked, "Would you mind filling me in on what happened?"
Mr. Shimura cleared his throat. "Mr. Uzumaki, your son and Mr. Sabaku here were found exchanging physical blows in the courtyard when they were supposed to be in their sixth period class. Boruto insists that Mr. Sabaku followed him out of the classroom during a bathroom break and started the altercation. However, instead of seeking aid from one of the staff, he returned the blows. They were found by Mr. Aburame when they failed to return to class after an extended period. Mr. Sabaku...has nothing to say for himself."
Naruto chanced a glance at the Sabaku boy, and found his eyes burning with hatred at Mr. Shimura. "Boruto Uzumaki was on his way to vandalize the teachers' lounge," the boy muttered.
"Hey, how dare you! I just needed to do my business!" Boruto exclaimed, but the reddening of his face gave him away.
Mr. Shimura raised a brow at the Sabaku boy. "Oh? Now you choose to talk?"
"Not like you would've believed me."
"You don't have the best record, Mr. Sabaku."
"I've never done anything wrong!"
"H-hey, it's okay!" Naruto quickly interrupted before Mr. Shimura could open his mouth again. Even if the Sabaku boy was lying, even if he was completely in the wrong—that did not justify the hateful glares and condescending tone that the dean was choosing to use on him. Naruto was getting sick of it. "Maybe it would be best to let the boys cool down. It's bad enough they had to wait around after school for their stupid old dads." Naruto internally berated himself for that comment; he'd meant it as a self-deprecating remark, but considering the pride with which he'd spoken of his father earlier, it was possible that the Sunanese boy might take offense.
"Mr. Uzumaki, I cannot allow an offense to go unchecked," Mr. Shimura said.
"I know. I'm not expecting you to let them off completely. But the boys are hurt and angry right now and I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunity to confront this in the future, right?" Before Mr. Shimura had the chance reply, Naruto quickly continued, "Boruto, let me see your eye."
Boruto gave Naruto a long-suffering sideways glance; Naruto looked back unflinchingly. Finally, with a dramatic sigh, the younger Uzumaki reluctantly peeled the ice pack off of his face. The area around Boruto's eye was red and swollen, and Naruto had been beaten up by Sasuke enough times during his youth to recognize that the eye would soon turn purple. Oh, how Hinata would've fussed had she seen her son sporting a black eye…
"Hey, at least it's just one side, right?" Naruto said. "I remember when I was kid. Uncle Sasuke and I used to beat each other up all the time, that bast—uh, jerk . One time he socked me good in both eyes and I couldn't see properly for three days!"
Boruto deadpanned, unimpressed; he had, after all, heard his father regale this story dozens of times. Mr. Shimura pursed his lips distastefully, but Naruto heard the Sabaku boy huff quietly with disbelief and...amusement? Good, that meant Naruto was doing something right. "N-not that I approve of your actions," he added hastily to Boruto. "You should absolutely not take after my example and I'm disappointed in how you behaved, Boruto. Boys are stupid and shouldn't beat each other up. Don't think I'm letting you off the hook; you and I are going to have a serious talk once we get home."
Boruto frowned deeply as he slapped the ice pack back onto his face. He looked away from Naruto and mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Yeah right you will." Naruto cringed, but instead of addressing his son's obvious displeasure, he turned to the Sabaku boy instead. "Hey," he said as gently and inoffensively as he could muster. "You okay? Injured anywhere? It's best not to wait if you need an ice pack."
I'm—" the boy hissed, recoiling. But the sharp movement made him wince, and suddenly he was clutching a hand to his torso. The horrendous trench coat hid whatever was underneath, but Naruto could guess that the boy's ribs would probably be aching for days, if Boruto's fighting punches were anything like his father's. "I'm fine," the boy growled.
Naruto raised a brow, but understood a prepubescent boy's foolish need to hide his own pain out of pride. "I believe you, but just to be on the safe side—Mr. Shimura, could you get him an ice pack? Just so I feel better about it, y'know?"
Mr. Shimura looked between Naruto and the Sabaku boy. Then, without a hint of remorse in his eyes, he looked back at Naruto and coolly stated, "It's a shame, but the nurse's office is already closed. Besides, Mr. Sabaku's made it pretty clear that he's fine."
Naruto saw red for a fraction of a second, unable to believe that Mr. Shimura was unwilling to help an obviously hurt child. Even Boruto couldn't help but look up with a bit of uncertainty at what Mr. Shimura had just said, although he didn't say anything out loud.
"It's just an ice pack—" Naruto protested, "surely, in the cafeterias or something—"
"We shouldn't have to be here for much longer, anyhow," Mr. Shimura interrupted coldly. "School's already long past out. The sooner Mr. Sabaku's father decides to show up, the sooner his son gets his ice pack."
Naruto resists the tempting urge to give Mr. Shimura a black eye to match Boruto's. Instead, Naruto silently counted to ten, thanking his lucky stars for the lessons in diplomacy drilled into him by—well, basically everyone he knew, since he used to be the brashest, rudest fuck as a child.
"I already told you, Father's not coming," the Sabaku boy mumbled.
"I've called your father and made him aware of the situation—" Mr. Shimura started.
"Yeah, but he didn't say he'd come, did he? I take the bus home, usually. Father doesn't—" the boy hesitated—"drive."
Naruto noted the small hiccup, and filed the observation away for later. "Look," Naruto interjected, rubbing his face tiredly. "Why don't you just let us know what their punishment is going to be, and then I can take Mr. Sabaku home, okay?" At this moment, it suddenly occurred to Naruto that he didn't even know the boy's first name. Oh well, he'd have to ask later.
"Dad!" Boruto half-shouted, half-whined, clearly not looking forward to sharing a ride with his newfound nemesis.
Mr. Shimura looked personally offended. "Mr. Uzumaki, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't allow you to—"
"Can we please just get this over with?" Naruto pleaded, finally allowing the impatience to seep into his voice. "I've got places to be." Not technically true, as Shikamaru had cleared his schedule for the rest of today, but for the sake of his own sanity he really needed to be anywhere but in the office of this infuriating man, sometime within the next few minutes. "I am, after all, a busy man."
Mr. Shimura remains steely for another beat, but finally relents. "One-week suspension," Mr. Shimura said shortly, "is the typical penalty for violence on the school grounds. However, considering that this is Boruto's first infraction—"
"One week. I understand," Naruto cut in quickly. He had no illusions that under normal circumstances, Mr. Shimura would not even consider reducing Boruto's punishment, and was only doing so presently to further belittle the Sabaku boy—who would presumably receive no such special treatment. Naruto thought that Boruto probably deserves the suspension anyway, and that he should share it fairly with his classmate. "Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Shimura. I'll have Boruto back after the week is up. Give me another call if there's anything else you need. Boys?"
Mr. Shimura looked like he wanted to get the final word, but eventually pursed his lips and said nothing. Boruto leapt out of his seat, obviously itching to get the hell out of the dean's office.
The Sabaku boy stayed seated and silent. He met Naruto's eyes steadily, and even though his face was just as expressionless as before, Naruto could see confusion and a little bit of fear swimming amidst the rage and pain in his eyes. The Uzumaki patriarch's heart tore a little at the sight of such eyes in a boy so young, but forced himself to meet the conflicted, forest-green gaze with a friendly one.
The clock on the wall ticked loudly.
Finally, the boy slowly stood up. He was good at masking his pain, but Naruto recognized from the way he was hunched over just slightly that his ribs were indeed throbbing. Suddenly, Naruto wondered about the huge trench coat the boy was wearing. It was, after all, perfect for hiding any injuries. Remembering the slight hesitation in the boy's voice when he'd brought up that his father didn't drive, Naruto was suddenly overwhelmed with concern that the boy might be...mistreated.
Alarm bells continued to go off in Naruto's head as he, Boruto, and the strange boy walked out of Mr. Shimura's office in silence. The boy had mentioned that his father personally applied his face paint every morning, hadn't he? There had been respect and admiration in his voice when he'd said that...but it wasn't uncommon for abused children to worship their guardians, especially if they saw said guardians as titans of strength.
They walked past the school receptionist. "Bye, Boruto!" the woman said brightly, and Boruto puffed up his chest proudly as he waved her goodbye. The receptionist very obviously did not acknowledge the Sabaku boy, and not for the first time today Naruto felt his eternal faith in humanity shrivel just a little.
When the unlikely trio finally exited the school's front doors, Naruto grudgingly accepted the fact that whatever the Sabaku boy's home life was like, there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. Naruto had no proof, and interrogating the stoic child would obviously get him nowhere. The most he could do was attempt to endear himself to the boy for now.
Naruto shoved away thoughts that he was being a manipulative fuck by "tricking" the boy into trusting him. He did genuinely want to be nice to the kid, okay?
"Hey," Naruto said to him, causing the painted face to turn just the slightest bit in Naruto's direction. "If you have someone else you'd be more comfortable with taking you home, that's fine too. I just had to get you two out of there—your dean is a fucking dick." Both Boruto and the Sabaku boy looked startled by Naruto's vulgarity, but Naruto wasn't concerned about petty swears; he was more concerned that the boys would come to accept Mr. Shimura's racist behavior as acceptable. If anything warranted cussing in front of middle school kids, it was this. "But I genuinely don't mind giving you a ride. As long you don't complain about my beautiful car, that is!" Naruto laughed, pointing at his orange baby.
"That thing is an abomination!" Boruto cried.
"See, I get enough of that from my brat," Naruto joked good-naturedly.
The Sabaku boy said nothing, merely glaring at said car as though it had insulted his family. There was a long pause as he seemed to be internally debating something.
He sounded immensely displeased about it, but the boy finally mumbled, "The car is fine."
"Dude, you're like the first person who's ever said that. I freaking love you already, kid."
There was a messy pile of manila folders from Naruto's work on the front passenger seat, so both boys were forced to clamber into the back together. Naruto chuckled to himself as he observed the two of them plaster themselves against the opposite car doors, keeping as much distance between themselves as possible.
Naruto asked the boy for his address, and after another long silence, the boy finally muttered the street and house number. Naruto entered it into his GPS, raising his eyebrows when he saw what area it was located in. He wasn't familiar with the exact neighborhood, but he knew that it was, in general, a very well-to-do area. After all, it wasn't too far from his own home, and the Uzumakis didn't do too badly themselves. The Sabaku boy had claimed that his father didn't drive, and Naruto had automatically assumed that it was because their family couldn't afford a car. But if the Sabakus could afford a house there, then a fucking Porsche should've been well within their budget.
It would be a 20-minute drive from Alliance Middle, but only about 6-7 minutes from the Uzumaki house. For some reason this closeness comforted Naruto, though he couldn't fathom why. Naruto started his car and pulled out of the school parking lot. For a few minutes, he contented himself with listening to the gentle hum of his car's engine.
"So, I never caught your name," he remarked when the silence was getting to be too much, peering at the boy through his rearview mirror.
"Just call him Bastard," Boruto said loudly.
The Sabaku boy's eyes slid to Boruto, who pointedly avoided them by looking out the window.
"Boruto, I didn't ask for your name," Naruto sighed with a stern look at the blue eyes that matched his own.
"My name's not certainly not Bastard! Hmph!"
"...It's Sabaku," the other boy said guardedly, when it became clear that Naruto was still waiting for an answer.
"So...your name is Sabaku Sabaku?" Naruto asked, being annoying on purpose.
The boy scowled. "Shinki," he finally relented.
"Shinki, huh?" Naruto smiled. "Shinki Sabaku. I like it!"
They drove in silence for several more minutes. "In six hundred feet, turn left on Sarutobi Avenue," the GPS droned in an automated female Kumo accent that Naruto had deliberately set to amuse Himawari. His daughter said it reminded her of the way Chocho's mom talked, even though Karui had lost most of her Kumo accent since moving to Konoha. "That's Boruto's sister's school," Naruto pointed out as they passed by Sarutobi Elementary. Neither boy said anything, though Naruto saw Shinki look out the window in muted curiosity.
At the corner of the next stoplight was a convenience store. Naruto turned inside, and parked at the first available parking space. Naruto saw Shinki straighten slightly, eyes widening as though in alarm.
"I'm dying for something cold," Naruto explained. "You boys want anything to drink?"
"Strawberry slushee," Boruto piped up immediately, making Naruto roll his eyes.
"Okay, and how about you, Shinki? Don't worry, I'm not gonna poison ya."
Shinki narrowed his eyes, as though seriously doubting that Naruto wouldn't try to poison him. "No," the boy finally said.
Naruto shrugged, not pushing it. "I'll be back in a minute. No roughhousing while I'm gone, 'kay? No touching or kissing either. I will know." Naruto laughed at their twin looks of alarm and embarrassment. Ah, Sakura would have punched him for that joke if she were here. Good thing she wasn't.
Luckily for Naruto, the convenience store cashier was one of the few people who didn't recognize him, or maybe just didn't care. Regardless, minimal conversation was made and in under five minutes, Naruto was out the door, holding two slushees—strawberry for Boruto and orange for himself—and an ice pack.
He slid back into the driver's seat, pleased to see that his son and Shinki had heeded his warning and not caused further physical damage to one another. Naruto had barely held out the strawberry slushee when Boruto had already snatched it from his hand, taking no time to make loud slurping noises of delight. Shinki glared at him with thinly veiled disgust, obviously biting back a derisive remark. Naruto suspected that his own presence was the very reason Shinki held his tongue.
"Here," Naruto said, holding out the ice pack to Shinki, making Boruto pause his obnoxious sipping for a fraction of a second.
"I said I didn't want anything," Shinki said, sinking into his seat.
"No, you said you didn't want anything to drink, because that's all I actually asked you," Naruto corrected. "So this doesn't count. Unless you plan on opening the ice pack and sucking on the ice. To which I say: that's nasty! And potentially hazardous. I dunno, do they make ice packs with normal water or some weird chemical stuff? Still, why would you do that?"
Boruto somehow managed to groan in embarrassment while still sucking loudly on his slushee at the same time. Shinki, though, continued to stare at the ice pack as though doing so would make it magically disappear.
"I already told you I'm fine," he insisted unhappily.
"Then just keep it for the next time you and Boruto beat each other up, okay?"
Naruto's arm was starting to get tired from holding the ice pack when Shinki finally accepted it with a muttered, "Whatever." Naruto smiled and pulled out of the convenience store parking lot to continue on the road to Shinki's house, and after a few minutes of driving, Naruto caught Shinki subtly opening the buttons of his trench coat and holding the ice pack against his ribs. He fought himself not to comment; he would surely only end up embarrassing the boy. Thankfully, Boruto kept silent as well, if only to avoid his father's displeasure.
For the next ten minutes, Naruto kept the conversation alive, chattering about everything and nothing—his specialty. He tried to keep off the topic of Boruto and Himawari, though, not sure how Shinki would take to hearing him prattle on about his own kids like an annoying dad. Boruto was unusually silent, but Naruto decided not to call him out on it this time. Shinki, on the other hand, was about as conversational as a dead fish, but Naruto had plenty of experience with dead-fish conversationalists because of all the years he'd known Sasuke. Still, even as Shinki stared intently out the window, Naruto had a feeling that the boy was listening. He insisted to himself that this was progress.
Naruto couldn't help but grow quiet, however, as they pulled up to Shinki's neighborhood. Shinki didn't live in a house, Naruto realized; the Sabakus lived in a neighborhood of mansions. Even Boruto stopped drinking his slushee to stare in awe at the ostentatious houses passing his car window.
But the sizes of the residences would do nothing to soften the surprise of seeing House #56001 roll into view.
The Sabaku home was either a crime scene or the most bizarre paint job Naruto had ever seen in his life. There wasn't a centimeter that wasn't covered in dark red. Every inch of the house was generously, angrily lathered in paint. It wasn't a bright, offensive red, but rather the color of blood halfway between fresh crimson and dried burgundy. Even the windows were painted over, and Naruto couldn't help but wonder if it was possible for its inhabitants to see outside them from the inside. There was a fence surrounding the house, also painted red; instead of a grassy front lawn like its neighbors, there was sand, literally the only non-red thing on the property.
Naruto couldn't imagine living in the vicinity of this house, much less inside it. He strongly suspected that the neighboring houses were empty, and wouldn't have been surprised if their previous occupants had purposefully moved because of their bizarre neighbor.
"Wow," Boruto gasped, and he was in too much awe and shock to make it sound like an insult.
Shinki said nothing, defiance blazing in his eyes. It suddenly seemed very obvious that the color of his face paint matched his red house.
Naruto, too, was too shocked by the sight to properly analyze how he felt about the house; however, he also realized that it would be way too obvious not to bring it up at all. "Whoa, that's cool, y'know!" he exclaimed. "I wish I could do that to our house—with orange, of course! But Boruto would never let me, 'cause pink is his favorite color, y'know."
Boruto was still too slack-jawed to even respond to Naruto's obvious teasing. Shinki, however, seemed surprised that Naruto was responding so positively, and for the first time since Naruto had met him, his face cleared of all negative emotion.
"Father says red keeps the demons out," Shinki said.
Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but realized that for once, his brain had been robbed of words. What did one say to such a thing? It was the most honest, personal thing Shinki seemed to have said all day, but at the same time it was the most abnormal. Boruto was, at this point, too weirded out to even know what to respond, which Naruto considered a good thing. His son was not known for his sensitivity.
"Your dad sounds like a smart guy," Naruto said at last, nodding. Shinki said nothing, but the frown remained absent from his face.
Naruto parked in front of the house. What a sight for the neighbors; a bright orange car and the big red mansion. Naruto's earlier concerns about Shinki's home life returned to him, and if he was completely honest with himself, the mind boggling state of the Sabaku house was not doing anything to reassure him. As Shinki put the ice pack away and began rebuttonning the front of his black coat, Naruto quickly rummaged for a piece of paper. He opened a random manila folder and saw a report for Konoha's infrastructure budget. Ah, whatever, he could make another copy of that later. He tore a off corner of it and scribbled, "Boruto's dad :P" and his cell phone number.
"I don't know if Boruto told you, but it's an Uzumaki tradition that if we beat someone up, that person becomes family!" Naruto said, handing the scrap of paper with his number to Shinki. "So next time you want a ride or anything, maybe go bowling with us on a Saturday? Just give me a call anytime, okay?"
The confusion returned to Shinki's eyes, but still the boy was not frowning. "I...thank you," he finally mumbled as he took the paper and stowed it in his pocket, pleasing Naruto with the positive reaction.
He hoped that the boy got the hidden meaning that if he ever needed anything at any time, he could call Naruto.
"Want me to walk you to the door?" Naruto asked, hoping the boy would say yes.
But Shinki shook his head. "No. Father is…" he trailed away. Naruto waited for him to finish his sentence, but he never did. Instead, the boy said, "Thank you, Mr. Uzumaki." He bowed his head, surprising Naruto with the suddenly impeccable manners.
"It's just Naruto. Or Boruto's dad," Naruto corrected faintly. "Say...hi to your dad, for me?"
Shinki got out of the car, and Naruto and Boruto stared intently as Shinki unlatched the gate of the fence and walked the sandy path to the front door. He knocked instead of ringing the doorbell, and after just one knock the door flew open, revealing a thin, short person with red hair and red clothing. Naruto was starting to realize that red was a recurring theme. With no hesitation, Shinki ran through the door towards the person and just as quickly, the door swung shut. The whole bizarre ordeal was over in five seconds, leaving the house looking quiet and undisturbed. It had all happened so fast that Naruto had not even the chance to catch whether the person behind the door was male or female—much less his or her face.
"What...was that?" Boruto's stunned voice finally broke the silence.
Deciding that he needed to get out of the Sabakus' driveway before he was accused of loitering, Naruto started his car and drove away.
"Something...different," he replied. At first, Naruto had assumed that the Sabakus were inherently different because of their Sunanese heritage. However, he was starting to get the feeling that a different city of origin was the least of their...oddities.
Later that day, as Naruto was making new copies of the infrastructure report he'd torn, his cell phone rang in his pocket with an unfamiliar number.
"Naruto Uzumaki speaking," he answered with shaking fingers and an almost shaking voice, heart hammering as he prepared to leap into action on behalf of the boy he had met earlier today.
But it was not the boy on the other side of the line. "Th...thank you," whispered a deep, raspy voice, before there was a click and the line went dead.
A/N: Also on AO3! My AO3 account name is YZYdragon2222. AO3 is currently ahead in terms of updates. Am working on getting AO3 and FF accounts on the same page.