A/N: Thank you everyone for your response! I wasn't actually going to post this until later. It was longer than I originally had, but Sarada somehow barged in and I couldn't say no to her. Enjoy reading!
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Chapter 3
The Last Uchiha's family get-together
Redemption: to make amends of the horrible deed committed in the name of self-righteousness or more like revenge on someone who really is as messed up as he is…
Sasuke shakes his head and sighs. Being on his own for too long has made him think too much and lose himself of the now. For example, just this morning he received Sakura's message from days ago about their daughter's showcasing her abilities and was hoping for him to come by. He was miles from Konohagakure and by the time he read it, after brooding how he missed seeing her graduate the Academy and her first missions, the day was almost over.
Whose brilliant idea was making him a father? At least he had one kid, unlike some idiot who has two and by what Sakura rants on (after commenting how wondrous their little girl is and when would he visit again because his little girl might be forgetting her father is even alive) about Naruto being just as great of a father as he is.
Which is bad.
His ponderings were interrupted by a flap of wings. The black haired Uchiha looks up at the dawning sky in worry at the sight of the hawk.
Either it's time for the Chunin exams or something happened…
His body tensed as the bird of prey dive toward him and at the last second, pulls up and showed that it had a message on its leg. Once Sasuke takes the message of the messenger bird, it immediately flew away. He opens the missile to find a short message.
Return to Konohagakure immediately.
Sasuke did not panic.
Although if anyone asks the shinobi nearby, they would have said with a slight shudder of a possible second coming of the Yellow Flash, speeding by. What they would not say, being busy of sending up prayers that it isn't so, they would have seen the worried faint frown of a young man.
Naruto stares blankly at the wall before him, ignoring the full breakfast spread in front of him. Hinata shakes her head in amusement, seeing how similar he is with his older self when he hadn't had his cup of coffee yet. She returns her attention at her daughter who is started to go to the Academy weeks ago. She finished up her breakfast and quickly put away her dishes into the sink.
"Have fun at the Academy, sweetie!"
Naruto blinks and returns his attention back to the table. He grins widely, "Yeah! Iruka-sensei is the best!"
"The principal won't be coming in to Aburame-sensei's class until tomorrow, Daddy," Himawari comments, putting on her red ninja shoes. She stood up with a twirl with her pink skirt floating a bit, smiling at her mother.
"Principal?" Naruto stares at her before looking up to Hinata across the table, who the latter nodded her approval of Himawari being ready for school.
Sensing Naruto's curiosity, Hinata explains, "Iruka-sensei was promoted during the Sixth's reign and the Academy was running more smoothly ever since. Shinobi were better prepared, which meant our clients are more willing to pay more for our services."
She frowns when she caught Boruto trying to sneak out before she notices him.
"Boruto, take Naruto to the Hokage Tower. I would have gone, but I need to help out with Sakura with something," she gave him a firm look, not budging at his loud groan.
"Fine," he pouts. Hinata had to look away of how similar he looks like his father, but she cannot say anything, aware about how the young boy gets tensed and defensive about such comparison.
She looks back at Naruto and frowns in worry at the untouched meal, "Naruto, your breakfast would get cold."
"Breakfast?" he looks down and stared in awe, "Whoa! All this is mine, dattebayo?!"
"Geez, you act like you never had breakfast before or something," Boruto mutters, but Naruto kept quiet, not commenting for once. Hinata's hands tighten over her shorts, but smiles brightly at Naruto, who began to eat faster after carefully taking a tentative first bite. By his speed eating his food, she's happy he likes it, even if it isn't quite Ramen.
"Just take your time Naruto. Boruto will wait for you to finish. Right, Boruto?" Hinata give him a bright smile that worried Boruto.
"Might as well. Who knows if he's going to faint again on his breakfast," Boruto mutters.
Naruto stood up and points at Boruto, "Hey! I did not faint! I-I was hit by an invisible shuriken!"
"Wimp," Boruto crosses his arms, but jumps when Himawari pats his arm, not sensing her being that near.
"We all have our bad moments. Just like you freak out when we go train with Aunt Hanabi," before Boruto could splutters out an answer, Himawari rushes out the door, waiting for Hinata to follow outside.
"Have a great day you two!" Hinata kisses Boruto's cheek and throws a smile at Naruto who stares with longing at Boruto.
"Yeah, you too…" Naruto mutters, returning his attention to his half-eaten breakfast.
It took a couple of hours to arrive within sight of Konohagakure, even after facing low quantity of bandits foolish enough to get in Sasuke's way. The no longer last Uchiha barely stopped at the Entrance gates of the hidden village to show his papers before using Shunshin to land in front of the Hokage's office. He ignored Shikamaru's complaints and Sai's bland smile, to kick down the door.
Before him, on the Idiot's chair, sat his old teacher, Kakashi, who for once wasn't reading his little book.
"…sensei, what are you doing in the Seventh's chair?" Then his eyes widen and activated his Sharingan in barely concealed worry, "How bad is he?!"
In response, Kakashi gave him that annoying eye smile and took out his book. Before Sasuke decides to go back his old ways of killing his sensei, he hears a preteen shriek behind him. He turns around and found himself on the ground hard. Sai (Sasuke still not sure what the rest of his team sees in that jerk) was still snickering somewhere .
If anyone asks how someone of his caliber was taken by someone half his size and not even in the same fighting level, Sasuke will blame it on being shocked by the bright orange he has not seen for a long time, blinding him, easier to be tackled.
"OH MY RAMEN! SASUKE'S BACK?! LIKE FOR REAL, DATTEBAYO?!"
Sasuke stares blankly up at the strangest image of his old teammate, being too young since he last saw him. That can't be right.
"…Boruto? Are you cosplaying…?" He was surprised at the weak, but still annoying punch of the boy. Yeah this isn't Boruto, but how could it be Naruto?
"Freaking idiot! Making Sakura cry! Leaving us like that—! How could you—?!" he sensed more than felt the shaking in his arm once Naruto stopped punching him.
Geez did Naruto brought a small water balloon, drenching my shirt as revenge for all these years? Sasuke isn't sure how to deal with this and before he could think any way to comfort his best friend/brother, Naruto gasps.
"What happened to your arm?! Did I do that?!"
"Hn, no…" Sasuke sighs, but frowns, "Oh wait, you did, but not yet—"
Just as Naruto pale in horror, Kakashi flips another page of his book and spoke up, "Wonder if Namiko would forgive him for cheating on her cousin's best friends twin sister's niece?"
At this Naruto rubs his nose on her orange coat's sleeve and looks sickening at their Sensei, "Agh! You still reading that?! Its lame! Just be grateful I was able to convince Pervy Sage to have her marry her best friend's nephew's step brother, than to married that two-timed cheating bast—"
Kakashi puts down the book and stares at him for a moment before giving him a bright eye smile, "Really? Why thank you Naruto, they were my OTP. I was worried because from his past books, Jiraiya-sensei wouldn't do that."
Naruto eyes at him suspiciously while he stood up, casually giving Sasuke a hand to help him stand up, "Are you messing with me?"
"Of course, you would end up editing those books," Sasuke mutters brushes off the snot and debated if he should use his fire jutsu on it in case it had any idiotic germs on his shirt, "I guess you had to practice your grammar from somewhere. I had my doubts for an idiot like you to be able to learn."
"Excuse me, stupid, duck butt head!" Naruto cracks his knuckles, ready for a brawl there and then.
Sai peeks into the Hokage office with a bland smile, "Ah, he isn't anymore, Dic—"
Kakashi interrupts, "Ah, Sai, glad you're here. Can you bring in Iruka? I have some questions on the upcoming genin team rooster that the older Naruto left behind."
Naruto tries to push off Sasuke's hand that prevented him from kicking Sasuke's butt to stare at his teacher, "Sensei, you're actually doing work?!"
Kakashi places his hand over his chest, "You wound me Naruto. I did hold on the Hokage hat until you were ready."
"Yet you didn't do anything and practically tricked Naruto do all your work in name of internship," Shikamaru grumbles and drops a stack on Kakashi's desk, "Now, you better do something or I will tell someone who actually succeeded in their revenge against you."
Sasuke picks up Naruto from the back of his shirt, ignoring the nervous laughter from their teacher.
"Oi! I'm not some kind of pet for you to pick up like that, Stupid!" Naruto windmills his arms and legs, trying to make Sasuke drop him.
Unfazed, Sasuke, neutrally responds, "Shut up, Idiot."
Although it was a little odd at first when the big dinner at her Godfather's house was cancelled all of a sudden and left to stay with Chouchou for a bit, it was stranger the next morning. Her mother cleaned up their home more than usual and began to cook something questionable, then she called Aunt Hinata and Aunt Ino to help in the hospital in her absence.
Unable to hold her questions, she asked her mother who looked guilty and happily told her the reason (or she suspects part of the reason). Turns out the answer was her father was coming back home! It was too bad he couldn't see her beat Boruto's butt in their Genin Showcase. While still excited to be finally see her father, Sarada was reluctant to leave home to get some groceries. Then she heard crazy rumors of an upcoming graffiti artist that painted the walls of Konohagakure with strange swirls. Some people were excited by them. Which was weird since Sarada never heard of such thing until she left the store that morning. Everything seemed fine before she went in!
When the young girl finally returned home, she heard shouts and broken furniture that vaguely reminds her of her childhood whenever her father was home along with her godfather.
"—you're just jealous of my awesomeness!"
"Hn, as if I want my clean wall splattered by your scribbles," Sarada brightens up at the familiar scoff. She runs into the kitchen and only stops to walk in a dignified manner once she was near the doorway.
"Sasuke, you have no right to say that since you haven't been here long enough to help me paint these walls and no you cannot paint my walls or so help me—CRACK!"
"Tou-san, welcome back! Boruto of course you'll be here—" Sarada stops to stare at the strange blond that for sure she thought was her teammate who tends to try to take off with her father, only to feel something different about him.
She eyes the blond's bright orange color jacket wore instead of the usual black jacket with red stripes on the sleeves. She narrows her eyes, "You're not Boruto."
The not-Boruto grins with legs apart and points himself with his thumb, "That's right! I am not that little jerk! I am Naruto Uzumaki, the awesome ninja who one day will be Hokage!"
"…Idiot. You're already Hokage," her father smirks. Her mother facepalms, but her shoulders shook in silent laughter.
Naruto splutters for a moment before leveling Sasuke a glare, "W-well not me as in right now!"
He then whispered almost too loudly to her good hearing, "How dare you make me embarrass myself in front of my fan."
When she caught her father's soft look at Naruto's pout, Sarada wonders at the other emotion lingering in his face, unable to pinpoint what it was. Before she could figure that out her mind froze, fully realizing who is in front of her.
Sarada blushes and shouts, "Seventh! Were you hit by a reverse age jutsu?!"
"Maybe? Last thing I remember was sleeping in my bed with a knife in my hand in the fourth town after being kicked out by the others in one day thanks to the Pervy Sage."
The young Uchiha gaps at him, still processing the great Seventh is before her and close to her age!
"I bet Pervy Sage was probably flirting with a bunch of woman again. That guy has no shame," Naruto rolls his eyes, putting his hands behind his head.
"Pervy Sage?" Sarada thinks back of anyone being perverted and knew the Seventh and the only one that came close was, "You mean the Sixth?" Sarada fiddles with her glasses.
"Eh?! He actually becomes Hokage after Baa-chan?!" Naruto stares at her wide-eyed.
Sasuke leans down to whisper to Sarada, "Sarada, Naruto was talking about Jiraya-sensei."
The young female genin stiffens and drops her hand away from her glasses, "…oh."
"What? You make it sound like he's dead or something," Naruto chuckles and looks around Sarada's home, missing the two (and one married into) Uchiha's twitch in unison, "You know what they say about bad weed never dies or was it bad something is immortal, meh whatever."
"Sasuke? Where's Boruto?" Sakura asks, untying the bandana tied on her head still eyeing Naruto take in their home.
Both Sarada and Naruto groans in unison before looking at each other.
"Hn. Needed to separate the two. Headache," Sasuke takes a seat in the kitchen and stares at Sakura move around to make lunch.
At this Sarada brightens up, "Seventh, would you like to train with me? Sensei gave us the day off since one of our teammates went to visit his family."
"Awesome! I totally want to see Sasuke's kid be better than him!" Naruto punches the air above him and beams at her with an excited glean in his eyes.
"Mom! Dad! We'll be in courtyard training!" Sarada quickly pulls Naruto outside in excitement. She didn't wait for their response and was already gone if they had.
"So, what did that annoying brat clone did to you?" Naruto asks, while stretching.
Sarada didn't stop from doing her stances, thinking over her answer, "Everything comes to him easily, but he doesn't try harder to be better. It's rather easy to beat someone who is rusty and unwilling to do the work."
"Heh," Naruto chuckles, "Sounds like Sasuke, no offence!"
"I wouldn't know," Sarada shrugs, but couldn't help her eyes linger back to the direction of the kitchen, "He's rarely home. I guess we have that in common at least."
After that it was silent until they finished their stretches.
"Rules?" Sarada asks.
"Know any summons?" Naruto stands within the inside edge of the faded circle.
She shakes her head and asks, "Not going ask if I use the Sharingan?"
"Psha!" Naruto makes a wave off motion, "If you have it go for it, if not do your worst!"
"Oh my gosh! Did you see on Chouchou recent pic? I wish I had an authentic Uzumaki swirl too!"
"So jealous! My mom said he use to do it all the time, before it was awesome!"
"Kya! Look! It covered my whole door!"
Boruto crushed the paper list that Uchiha-sensei gave him to do in one hand the other grips the shinobi supplies' bag he needed. He only lost sight of his father for 30 minutes before reaching the Hokage Tower and somehow he found that nasty, blinding orange coat and dared to wear it (what kind of self-respecting ninja wears bright colors?!), and worse, he decorated the whole village with different colored spray painted weird symbols!
It isn't even true art. He couldn't believe how stupid his own village is at times. He's surrounded by idiots.
He pulls the grocery bag, closer to himself and looks up at the rooftops. Seeing there was no one on them, Boruto quickly runs up the side of the nearest building sticking with the aid of chakra and jumps on the tiled rooftop of the Yamanaka's flower shop. Muttering about yet another grand thing his old man did at his age, Boruto rushed toward the Uchiha residence.
It was only after a couple of jumps when a familiar annoying cat dashed past him. Knowing what that meant, Boruto jumps back, barely dodging a couple of genin suddenly appeared, covered by bloody scratches as they ran after the accursed Daimyo's cat.
"Still doing errands on your day off, Boruto?" an amused voice spoke next to Boruto's ear.
"GWAH!" Boruto jumps and almost lost his grip on the rooftop, "Sensei!"
The short brown-haired with a blue bandana tied around his neck, grinning at him, "Thought for sure, you'll be with your other teacher."
"He's with the old man. I can't compete with him," the grocery bag swings a little by his side when Boruto crossed his arms, glaring at the Hokage Monument.
A worn, older hand ruffles his hair, causing Boruto to look up to his teacher's eyes full of understanding, "Chin up. You're Boruto and only you can be the best Boruto you can be."
Boruto scoffs a little brokenly, but gives a small smirk, "That was lame, Konohamaru-sensei."
"No one respect their elders anymore," the jonin of Team 7 proceeds to rub the younger boy's head before he lets him go, "Go on and meet up with your old man and your other sensei. See you tomorrow for training."
Then the team leader of Team 7 disappeared in a whirl of leaves, leaving Boruto stand on the roof alone once more.
"That's right! Uchiha-sensei is here!" Boruto quickly jumps over the rooftops.
She was out of breath, unable to move from the ground. Naruto looked worse off than her, but still had energy for another round if possible.
"Man, you sure are Sakura-chan's daughter," Naruto sat next to her, rubbing his chest where she gave a last chakra powered punch before dropping on the ground in exhaustion.
"You're really…are unpredictable," Sarada gasps out. Suddenly he squeaks after hearing something hit him. A little worried, Sarada looks over and stares at Naruto try to attack her father, throwing back a bottle of water.
"Here," Sarada looks up to find her mother giving her a bottle. With a murmur of thanks, she drinks it.
"Behave Naruto!" Sakura shouts, waving her fist threatening that send Naruto cover his head and Sasuke quickly let go of the smaller blond, "I cannot have my daughter learn your bad habits especially when she wants to be Hokage!"
"Mom!" Sarada covers her bright red face. She couldn't believe her own mother would embarrass her like that especially in front of the Seventh!
When she looks up, she catches Naruto throwing a smirk at Sasuke, who only looks away in annoyance.
Boruto decided right then to jump in from her rooftop with excitement, "Uchiha-sensei! Can we train before you have to leave?!"
Naruto spits out his water and glares at Sasuke, "Eh?! You're training my son? You thief!"
"Hn, you took my daughter, we're even," Sasuke raises an eyebrow.
They stared at each other before Naruto grins brightly, "This is better than awesome! Glad you stop your woe-me, woe-me younger self. I was worried you'll go crazy and actually want to kill me at sight or something. Again."
The two genin stare in suspicion at Sasuke or more like Sarada, since Boruto nods in understanding.
Sasuke was saved from even commenting when Sakura calls them in for dinner.
"I get to eat Sakura-chan's food?! Sweet!" Sarada blinks at the lack of smoke or leaves from the spot Naruto stood before disappearing in a blink of an eye.
Sasuke only chuckles, but with a hint of a dark smirk before turning to her and Boruto, "We'll train together and see how far along are you two."
Both genin cheered and raced back into the house only to stop when the older Uchiha calls out, "Don't eat the ramen."
Boruto scoffs, "I don't even like that stuff."
Suddenly a sense of foreboding washed over the young Uchiha.
"Say that again at Naruto, but make sure not within Sakura's earshot," once more a strange smirk made its appearance, but Sarada paid no heed, since she was very hungry.
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A/N: Finally I can afford being a full time student again, but I've forgotten the homework and exams done in one day being numerous, which means slow on updates for this story. Although I will still work on this story between the insanity of memorizing strategies and terminology for my major and working. Upcoming next is an interlude with a certain demon fox. Till next time and wish you luck to those on mid-terms and other challenging endeavors!
