Foreword: All right, my definition of a week is very loose. For me, Sunday through Friday constitutes one week, and today's just been so grand that I felt like publishing some more chapters.

At daybreak the next morning, Suzuna popped open one sleepy eye and then the other. The first dusty fingers of sunlight had only just started to tickle her eyes, so softly, she rolled out of bed and knocked on her brother's door.

"Hey, Orimi, open up in there."

"Mmm… don't wanna. It's not light out yet."

"C'mon, Orimi, please?"

"No, I'm too sleepy."

"Just for your big sister. Don't you want to talk about what Saeko and dad were arguing about last night?"

At that, Suzuna could hear the bedsprings whining as Orimi slowly made his way to the door.

"Yeah, yeah, ok. Where's Mitsuyo?"

A quick knock and a few hushed words later, dawn found the three of them sitting at the dining table, wondering about their parents' discussion over a bowl of cold cereal(1).

"They were obviously talking about us, of course…" started Mitsuyo.

"No duh, Sherlock," quipped Suzuna, earning her a glare from her sister.

"I wonder where we're going," said Orimi.

"Or even who we're supposed to stay with," continued Mitsuyo.

"Wait, when did he say we were leaving again? Didn't he say Monday?" asked Suzuna.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" exclaimed Mitsuyo.

"But we're not even packed up to go anywhere yet," noted Orimi.

"Oh yeah, that's right…."

"What do you think pops is going to do about it?" he wondered.

"Well, maybe he'll…" began Mitsuyo, but at that moment, Naruto walked out of his bedroom, arresting any further discussion.

"Good morning, kids," he yawned.

"Good morning, dad," they replied and said nothing more.

He walked over to the kitchen, washed the dishes from last night's dinner, and then grabbed a mug of coffee and sat down at the table.

"Look, there's no need to keep your mouths shut. I know you were listening in on us last night."

A collective sigh rose from his children. They never knew how to keep secrets from him, so they did not bother with trying to contradict him.

"How'd you find out?" asked Orimi.

"Your mother was yelling to beat the band yesterday night. You would have been deaf as a post if you didn't hear us arguing."

"So how about it, dad? Where are we going? Who are we visiting?" eagerly interrupted Mitsuyo.

"Slow down, slow down. It's not even seven in the morning yet."

"Come on, come on, come on, tell us!" pressed Suzuna.

"I'll take my own sweet time about it, Suzuna," retorted Naruto, and he began to drink his coffee very, very slowly.

"If any of you nag at me one more time, I'll drink this coffee even slower, and I won't tell you until I finish."

Bursting at the seams with curiosity, Suzuna, Mitsuyo, and Orimi watched as drop by drop, their father finished drinking and fastidiously wiped his lips with a napkin.

"Now," he said pleasantly, "where were we?"

"You were going to tell us where we're going tomorrow," reminded Suzuna.

"Ah, yes, about that. Well, tomorrow, you are going to go visit a woman I know named Hyuuga Hinata. You guys are going to stay with her for maybe a month or two, or until two weeks before summer break ends."

"Huh? Who's Hinata?" asked Orimi.

"She's a woman who lives right near the coast, quite far away from any city or resort town, so it's very peaceful there."

"But why are we going to visit her?" asked Suzuna.

"She's a good friend of mine, and I've been talking about you for some time, so we decided that you guys should go meet her for a while. She's been looking forward to it for a long time."

"How long does it take to get to her house?"

"Honestly, I'm not exactly sure. We'll be taking the train there, so the ride shouldn't last longer than three hours, and then from the bus station to the rural junction, that should take about half an hour. From there, however, we'll have to walk all the way to her house."

"What for?"

"There are no roads actually leading up to her house, just a very long dirt path."

"That's weird."

"Naw, it's actually quite a nice place, once you get used to all that walking."

"When are we leaving?"

"You all are leaving tomorrow, eight o' clock sharp in the morning is when the train leaves, so you all better go to bed early tonight, alright? Especially you, Mitsuyo, so don't even think about staying up until after eleven this time."

"Eh heh heh heh…" she grinned. Naruto smiled back and mussed her hair absentmindedly.

"You know, after breakfast, you guys should get packing right away. You're going to be gone for over a month, so you'll need a lot of stuff."

"Alright, then let's roll!" Mitsuyo bounced out of her chair, "what are we all waiting for? Let's go somewhere, just as long as it's away from Saeko!" She bounded off, down the hall, and into her room. Naruto just stared after her and chuckled a little.

"Heh, that kid", he turned to the others, "All right, are you two finished with your cereal?"

Orimi and Suzuna nodded.

"Good, then follow your sister's example and get packing. You never know what you might need."

"Ok, dad," and within a few more minutes, the table was completely empty.

For the rest of the day, the apartment was bustling with activity as the Uzimaki children stuffed their suitcases full of clothes, a few books, and some toys that they thought they would need and tossed out the things they did not fit in their bulging packs. The prospect of being away from their hated mother for over a month fueled their efforts so well that when Naruto checked in on them in the afternoon, they had already finished packing.

"Clothing?"

"Check."

"Toothpaste, toothbrushes?"

"Check."

"Towels, swimming suits, and sunscreen?"

"Check, check, and double check."

"Excellent."

After they ran through the checklist, Naruto pulled all of the luggage next to the front door and embraced all of his children in a group hug.

"Have fun with Hinata, ok?"

"We will."

That night, even Saeko seemed slightly happier, perhaps because this was the last night she would have to see her hated children in over a month. She did not exactly crack a grin at the table, but she definitely was not scowling as much as she usually did.

"When are you all leaving tomorrow?" she asked.

"The train leaves at eight, so we're getting out of here about seven-thirty," replied Suzuna.

"Ah, ok. I'll be at work by then," said Saeko.

All night, Suzuna, Mitsuyo, and Orimi all tried to sleep, but their minds were all whirling; so much was happening so quickly. In less than two days, they learned that they would have to live with a complete stranger for almost the entire summer and had to pack accordingly on such short notice. They did not even have a clear picture on this Hinata woman. The most that they knew about her was that she was on old friend of their father's, ever since grade school. A little sad at leaving their father behind and a little happy at getting away from Saeko, the children were all filled mostly with anxiety. Would Hinata prove to be just as mean or even worse than their mother? Was she a boring old salt with nothing better to do but sit on her front porch and knit all day?

The next morning, Naruto came around and shook them all awake.

"Hey you, get ready."

Within the next thirty minutes, Suzuna, followed by Mitsuyo and Orimi, were all ready to go and smartly dressed. It was seven-thirty, on the dot. After a last-minute check to make sure that they really had packed everything, they drove to the station and began looking for their platform. Naruto flipped through the tickets.

"Let's see, 8:00 inter-coastal express, no stops; Platform 14." Up ahead, a big plastic square bearing the number 14 became a helpful guide.

"Hey, dad! It's platform 14, over there!" Orimi pulled on Naruto's sleeve excitedly.

"Good job, Orimi. Everybody on board." They showed their tickets to the guard, who waved them through. Once on the train, Mitsuyo and Orimi began scrambling for seats.

"I get to sit next to the window!" crowed Mitsuyo as she took the spot.

"No fair! I called it first," objected Orimi.

"I'm older, so boo to you," retorted Mitsuyo.

"Dad, can I sit next to the window?"

The trip, as Naruto had correctly guessed, took three hours. To Orimi's disappointment, there was not really that much to see outside of the windows. The scenery was basically one constant green blur, briefly punctuated with cow-shaped blurs in the country, building-shaped blurs in the cities, and big blue smears near the beaches. By the time the train reached its destination, all four of the Uzumakis on board were fast asleep.

The intercom beeped to life, and the overly-polite voice of the recorded announcer broadcast itself.

"We have arrived at our destination. Please remember to pick up any items you may have brought on board…"

"What?" mumbled Naruto drowsily. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the other passengers filing off. Quickly, he fully aroused himself and woke up the rest of his family.

They stepped off of the train, blinking and yawning in the sun. Rubbing her eyes, Mitsuyo took a look around and got her bearings:

They had arrived in a large town, but it was not exactly as large as a city. It was a pretty well-sized municipality. A ring of hills encircled it, and on the Eastern edge, there was a large stretch of beach. Mitsuyo took a whiff of the air; it was not at all like the city air she used to breathe.

"It smells kind of funny here," she said.

"That's the ocean you're smelling," said Naruto.

A few meters away from the train-station entrance, there was a bus stop. There, they boarded a bus bound for the country-side and drove along the lonely rural roads. Suzuna noticed that they were heading for the hills in the North, and the further they drove, the ranks of buildings thinned and then disappeared, giving way to meadowlands, still unspoiled by human development.

"It's very picturesque, isn't it, Suzuna?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed.

"It's been who knows how long since I last went down this path," mused Naruto to himself, "I haven't seen Hinata in such a while."

"Was she a really good friend of yours?"

"Yes, she definitely was. You guys are definitely going to have a great time."

A few minutes later, the bus came to a halt and the driver opened the door for them.

"Have a good day, sir," he said as Naruto exited the bus.

"Thank you, you too."

As the bus driver drove away, Naruto and his children stared at the long, brown path that lay in front of them. It wound through a field of tall grass and made its way up to the top of a large hill. From where they were standing, they could see the coast just behind the hill and heard the seagulls squabbling over the latest piece of food that came their way. It was almost eleven o' clock in the morning, and the sun was hanging high over the entire scene. The sea breeze whipped through Naruto's hair, and for the first time, the children could see a healthy color creep over his skin and his face. Gone were the sagging eyebrows, the half-lidded eyes, and the blank cheeks that he always wore in Saeko's presence. They were all replaced with a more wholesome picture.

He took a deep breath, "I forgot how good this air was to me." He turned around and looked at each one of his children.

"I know I don't have to remind you to be polite and respectful while you're here, right?" he asked.

"You got it, dad!" they all assured him.

He nodded, hefted the bags, and trudged up along the path with all three children in tow.

Up on top of the hill, where the path ended, there sat a small house with five rooms and a small garden in the front hemmed in with a neat, white, wicker fence. In the garden, a woman was busily tending to some tomato plants when she heard the gate to the garden rustle open and shut.

"Hey, Hinata. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

She stood up quickly, and then ran forward to embrace the speaker, dropping her trowel in the process.

"Yes, Naruto, it's been too long. It's so great to see you again!"

At the entrance to the garden, Suzuna, Mitsuyo, and Orimi quietly studied the Hinata lady in front of them.

She was a very pretty thing, with unusual blue hair down to her shoulders and very pale, almost white-colored eyes. Right now, she was clad in her gardening clothes and had been working for some time, yet her garments were besmirched only by a few streaks of dirt here and there. On their way to her house, Naruto had said that she was entering her early thirties, but she did not look a day over twenty.

After they were done hugging, Naruto turned around to introduce Hinata to his children.

"Suzuna, Mitsuyo, Orimi, I want you all to meet Hinata."

"Hi, everyone," her voice was so soft, almost inaudible against the sound of the sea breeze whistling through the children's ears.

"Hi, Hinata," they all replied.

"I'm very happy to meet you all," she said.

"And I'm sure you four will have a great time this summer," added Naruto.

"Yes, we certainly will."

"All right, I have to go, Hinata. The return train is leaving within a few hours."

"Take care, Naruto. We'll see each other again, right?"

"Of course, Hinata," and with another brief hug, he left the garden and walked down the path and out of sight.

(1) Cold cereal is not a traditional Japanese breakfast, but pardonez-moi for this little discrepancy, as I have no idea what a traditional Japanese breakfast is usually made of.